Pranks are good - So says Prankvertisers !

Prankvertising is a hot debate these days in advertising world. The idea to capture your audience with a visceral reaction and emboss an idea/brand/set-up in their mind has always been tempting for the marketers. However, what makes this form of advertising an art and a science both is - how much creativity you can employ into these at one hand and how precise and calculated you should be on the other hand to keep the whole experience interesting and relevant. Most importantly, how clearly and effectively the experience can communicate the intended message to the targeted audience effectively.

     
                                  Prankertising for the movie CARRIE - 500,000 + views in 1 month 

 
Prankvertising is a high-profit-high-loss chip. Right from the point where the idea of creating a prankvertisement is conceived till the point it is in public domain, there are multiple points that can make or break the whole experience for the marketers and audience.

                                    TNT Belgium Launch - 46 million views since Apr 2012

These ideas are top-of-the-roofs idea which are (and should be for the right buzz!) loud and subtle at the same time. They are largely clutter-breaking ads. This is also the sign of a good prankvertisment. It should be loud in the content but subtle in intent. Hence, it should be able to generate top-of-the-mind recall due to its content and must also be able to pass on the message to the audience in a simple yet effective way.

The cost associated with prankvertising is less since these are generally created to be aired on social media or fan page and not on expensive TVC slots.  Generally, these are created with the idea to promote a concept or a product in the public domain and rarely warrants for an action from consumer there and then. Hence once the ad is created it is released in social media which is the most common platform for such initiatives. These campaigns largely rely on social sharing and creating a buzz on the online communities. Word-of-mouth and social sharing hence are the strongest medium for propagating the same.

                           LG IPS Monitors - So Real, Its Scary - 20 million views since Oct 2012

Challenging part in this is the fact that since the reliance on taking the ad and hence the message forward is on audience prerogative. This means that if the content is interesting, the sharing and buzz-creation will work on its own. In case the content is not strong enough, it will be killed at very early stage by the TG and netizens. Hence, the first measure of success for prankvertisers will be the penetration (rate and absolute numbers) for the ad put in public domain.

However, as mentioned earlier, prankvertising is a dual-edged sword. These ads usually catch people out of prior information hence there always is a risk of events taking a turn which was unaccounted for. Sometimes the prank may not go down well with the audience who might feel offended. Such unwarranted events lead to bad publicity which is difficult to shed off.  The more practical problem with such events is that they sometimes become too loud and ignores/misses the second important part of the campaign – pass a message to the audience. Hence, one should be extra cautious while bring in a plan for prankvertising to the table.

Not to forget, sometimes questions are raised on prankvertising about its credibility and authenticity. Many argue that the people who are presented as ignorant passers-by and unsuspecting audience, are usually actors. This takes away the appreciation of the surprise element that the audience is shown to have gone through in the whole experience.Ethical behaviour is another factor that is invoked whenever such ads make rounds. Critics questions the rightfulness of involving people into a video making or campaign/ad without taking their prior permission.

However, on a pure advertisement perspective, It is clear that a well-thought of prankvertising campaign which manages all the macros and micros of planning and execution is a strong clutter-breaking method which also come out as cost-optimized and effective. Keep the prank mode on!

Cheers,