Why Targeted Marketing Beats Chasing Hype
It’s cold and flu season so naturally, we thought we’d talk about something else that tends to go viral: marketing campaigns.
There’s a lot of buzz around the idea of going viral online. One day you’re posting a cheeky little reel from the car yard, the next your video’s hit two million views and your cousin’s boyfriend from 5 years ago is texting saying they saw you on TikTok.
Sounds exciting, right? But here’s the thing: viral doesn’t always mean valuable.
So… What Is Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing is when your content takes off online; shared, reshared, memed and quoted across the internet. It can often feel like winning the marketing lotto, but it’s not always the win that it seems.
Most viral campaigns end up speaking to a really broad audience – often people who have no interest or ability to actually buy from you. They tend to take off for unpredictable reasons and the attention doesn’t always translate into leads or sales.
That’s great if you’re a national brand or an online retailer, but if you’re a local business trying to get actual bookings, walk-ins, or enquiries, that kind of mass attention can be a bit… useless.
Big Buzz Doesn’t Always Mean Big Results
Take the viral ad from NZ Cheap Cars; a used car yard in New Zealand. Filmed on a phone with some classic dry Kiwi humour, it was rough around the edges and totally unfiltered and people loved it. Over 2 million views later, it was a full-blown hit.
But here’s the thing: NZ Cheap Cars is a national business. That kind of broad reach actually works for them as they can sell to customers across the country.
For local businesses, it’s a different story. Viral might get you views, but if most of those people live nowhere near you, it’s just noise. If your product or service can’t be delivered at scale, a more targeted approach will always deliver better value.
What We Focus On (And Why It Works)
When we work with clients, we don’t set out to create viral content, we create content that connects. We build marketing campaigns that speak directly to the right people: your customers, in your area, who are most likely to book, buy, refer or come back for more.
We’re all about smart, engaging storytelling that builds trust and keeps your brand top of mind with the people who matter. Instead of chasing random attention, we focus on attention that leads somewhere – whether that’s more foot traffic, more enquiries, or more conversions.
We’ll always make your content look great and perform well but we care far more about who’s seeing it than how many are.
So What Should You Aim For?
Instead of asking, “How do I go viral?”, a better question is: how do I stand out to the people that matter? How do I stay relevant to my ideal customer? And how do I build a brand that people remember and recommend?
That’s the kind of thinking we love. It’s also exactly what we help our clients do every day.
Let’s Build Something That Sticks
At ADhesive Communication, we’re proudly local, proudly strategic, and proudly untrendy (in the best possible way). We don’t chase hype, we build creative, results-driven marketing that helps businesses grow. You can find out more about our speciality services right here on this website.
So if you’re ready to attract the right kind of attention the kind that actually benefits your bottom line let’s chat.
