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Mekanism Engineering Viral Marketing Case Solution

Solution Id Length Case Author Case Publisher
2660 1455 Words (6 Pages) Thales S. Teixeira, Alison Caverly Harvard Business School : 512010
This solution includes: A Word File A Word File

The case is based on mekanism – a digital media production company that has developed expertise in creating and managing viral marketing campaigns for different brands and clients – such as Toyota, eBay and Microsoft, for example. As the advertising landscape evolved and shifted towards the adoption of viral marketing, mekanism gained increased popularity as it promised clients virality in their advertising and marketing messages. Viral marketing, in turn, was lucrative for marketers as it promised a higher and a positive word of mouth, increased consumer engagement and cost-effectiveness for their advertisement content. Mekanism has gained increased appreciation and acceptance from clients for its ability to ‘engineer’ virality through brand storytelling, platform management and the use of influencer networks. The case is centered on Mekanism’s decision to become a full-service agency with the expansion of services to other media, versus holding on to its unique and niche position as a facilitator for generating viral content for brands. 

Following questions are answered in this case study solution:

  1. How is the advertising landscape changing and how does that impact Mekanism?

  2. What role can viral marketing play as a promotional tool for advertisers?

  3. What types of brands stand to gain from using viral advertising? Which brands may not?

  4. What is Mekanism's secret sauce for "engineering virality?"

Case Study Questions Answers

1. How is the advertising landscape changing and how does that impact Mekanism?

The advertising landscape was fast changing from traditional to contemporary platforms. Previously, a major chunk of advertisements was pushed forward through the television. However, consumers had started to tune out the TV advertisements. This prompted advertisers and marketers to then shift to online advertising with paid online media content. The online video advertising allowed marketers to place their ads between streaming videos – so that consumers could not tune out. However, this too is fast changing as the concept of viral marketing, and viral advertising has gained spotlight. Marketers and advertisers now try to create viral video advertising, where they receive unpaid exposure. Viral marketing and viral video advertising are placed on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram – which are driven by consumer-generated content. These advertisements and videos are engaging, and marketers hope they will spread across their desired consumer groups through consumers sharing them with friends and acquaints directly and indirectly over social media platforms. The viral video advertisement is more cost-effective for marketers and brands, and allows higher engagement and interaction – leading to increased brand awareness and connection. This highlights that the advertisement landscape has evolved to now focus on generating marketing content and advertisement that are engaging and interactive, and which could generate high exposure through becoming ‘viral.’

For Mekanism, this meant focusing energies and efforts on understanding different aspects of ‘virality,’ and incorporating the same in the campaigns it created for its clients. The company sought to become the one-stop shop for the digital needs of different brands- from creativity to strategizing to the distribution of content over digital platforms. For this, Mekanism needed to attune itself with the changing landscape, and familiarize itself with understanding marketing features that lead to marketing videos becoming viral and appreciated by consumer groups. For mekanism, this is needed to be able to cater to the demands and needs of its clients, and to develop the right content for brands. 

2. What role can viral marketing play as a promotional tool for advertisers?

Viral marketing is a modern promotional tool that is used by marketers to influence their target consumer groups, as well as secondary consumer groups. Viral advertisement and marketing is based on the concept of developing promotional content and message that are then shared and forwarded directly by the consumers amongst their circles- leading to virality.

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