A Little Inspiration for Entrepreneurs

13.10.09

Grasshopper, a virtual phone service for entrepreneurs, ran a brilliant viral marketing campaign to re-brand its service. The campaign had media and the blogosphere abuzz. The main part of the campaign involved sending chocolate covered grasshoppers to 5000 of the most influential people and media outlets in America. You have probably heard of the campaign but do you know the results it produced for the re-branding of Grasshopper?

The campaign brought the company over 25,000 StumbleUpon referrals, nearly 3000 twitter referrals, and 170 published news stories and blog posts. If you’re thinking, “wow, I need that kind of exposure,” read the Grasshopper case study they published. It may give you inspiration for your own viral marketing campaign.

Grasshopper also produced a video for the campaign. If you have not yet seen the YouTube video, Entrepreneurs Can Change the World, you can watch it below. It will leave you feeling inspired and make you proud to be an entrepreneur.

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Natalie MacNeil

Natalie MacNeil is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of She Takes on the World. She is also the Co-founder of award-winning digital media firm, Imaginarius. For more information about Natalie, visit NatalieMacNeil.com.

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  • http://www.thecluelesscrafter.com/ Lydia, Clueless Crafter

    An amazing video.  Did they ever do the job of seizing the soul and leading it right down the grassy knoll to entreprenuriatopia!  

    I have not heard of Grasshopper, so I analyzed the marketing campaign with fresh eyes. Though their name was not mentioned until the end, the effectively used the color green in the background as its proxy.  The whole way through, I got this sense that Grasshopper was carrying me.  The up-down rhythm and movement of the words  through space also conjured notions of the nimble grasshopper.  I began to feel like one!

    My two cents on the initial reaction to this video.
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  • http://www.shetakesontheworld.net Natalie MacNeil

    Good observation Lydia. I’m glad it was new for you! I just read the case study and I thought I would share the story for people who may have missed it. I think they did an amazing job on the video and the campaign in general. It goes to show how powerful social media can be if you put some thought into it and execute your strategy well.

  • http://www.thestylishcopywriter.com Amanda

    That video made me tear up! Loved it! Now off to read that case study… :)
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  • Natalie MacNeil

    Amanda, my business partner and I were the same way when we saw it. And we used it in a couple of our seminars and it made us emotional every time. It’s very touching. I absolutely love it and watch it every time I want to feel energized and motivated.