Social media holds power to change lives, and a 37-year-old potato-farm laborer’s viral Tik Tok video proves it. Nathan Apodaca, who has a Tik Tok ID @420doggface208, recently posted a clip on the famous video app where he’s longboarding to work while drinking OceanSpray juice and lip-syncing to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams.’
The video has 24+ million views and is getting a lot of attraction on all social media platforms. Apodaca is no less than a celebrity now and has become a well-known name among social media users.
Image source: Google
His viral video has not only changed his life, but also has led the biggest viral marketing stunt of 2020 and has spiked the sales of an old album. How? Let’s find out!
Behind-the-scenes of the viral Tik Tok video:
Apodaca’s truck broke down on a highway in Idaho Falls, Idaho. His workplace, potato warehouse, where he has worked for about two decades, was two miles away.
Instead of asking for help, he decided to pick his longboard and head to work, along with a bottle of Ocean Spray’s Cran-Raspberry juice.
“I was just sitting there, and I’m like, ‘OK, I’m not gonna sit here and wait for nobody to pull some jumper cables,” he said in an interview with NPR. “‘I’m not gonna flag anyone down.’ So I grabbed my juice, grabbed my longboard, started heading to work, ” he added.
He recorded the viral Tik Tok video while he was on his way to work.
How did Ocean Spray turn a sensational video into a viral marketing stunt?
Ocean Spray took the opportunity and made a fantastic marketing strategy by delivering a cranberry-red Nissan pickup truck for Apodaca, filled with Ocean Spray products.
Image source: Google
Ocean Spray’s CEO, Tom Hayes, in an interview said, “When I first saw Nathan’s video, I knew Ocean Spray wanted to help. We’re so glad we could give Nathan a cranberry-red truck, and be a part of the movement that is bringing such positivity worldwide.”
In the times when brands are becoming extremely cautious with their marketing strategies and are focussing on budget cuts, Ocean Spray played a smart move, without digging a hole in their pockets. Brand’s move to gift him a truck naturally became an addition to the unexpected viral promotion.
On Ocean Spray’s marketing move, Hayes in an interview said, ” The way we’re actually looking at marketing is from that authentic lens. So yes, we are so delighted and grateful for the positive spotlight that this viral video put on our product.”
“What we’re trying to do from a marketing perspective is use that authenticity to organically engage with consumers in a meaningful way, and we are trying to optimize our marketing strategies in real-time to foster more of a two-way dialogue with a younger audience…. We didn’t make an entire marketing model and assessment. We just tried really quickly to join the conversation,” he added.
The organic PR of the brand has become one of the best viral marketing stunts of 2020. On being asked about the increase in sales after the marketing through the video, Hayes said that it’s too soon to check if there’s any fluctuation in sales, but the word-of-mouth marketing is astonishing.
Increase in Fleetwood Mac’s sales:
After the Tik Tok where Apodaca lip-syncs to “Dreams” went viral, the sales of the famous 80’s band surged and Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 Rumours classic, has seen a massive spike in streams. It has become such a massive hit and has made its mark in the Rolling Stones Top 100 Songs Chart. The band, Fleetwood Mac, took over their official twitter account and congratulated Apodaca as well as appreciated the video. It created even more buzz on the internet.
According to Alpha Data, before Apodaca’s video went viral, the 1977 Rumors classic was receiving an average of 490,000 streams a day, but three days after the Tik Tok video became a sensation, the song has been streamed an average of over 1 million times a day.
Let’s look at the percentage increase of the album on different platforms:
- Sales tipped in three days. From Saturday to Monday, it increased by 184%
- According to Spotify reports, the streams went up to 127% on the platform with a 242% increase in first-time listeners of the song.
- There was a 221% in streams on Apple Music, according to the Apple report
- The Apple report also stated that there was a 1,137% increase in Shazams for the song, indicating that the song was finding new listeners.
The band’s lead drummer, Mick Fleetwood was so touched with the video that he recorded his own version with a skateboard and juice. It has six million views.
Image source: Google
In an interview with NPR, Mick said, “To some extent, it was a lovely accident. It could have been any song, but it was ours. For us in Fleetwood Mac, the inspiring thing was that it was just so off the wall. Did we expect it? No. Are we happy and delighted? Absolutely.”
Mick and the Tik Tok star, Nathan Apodaca recently met each other virtually and had a heart-to-heart conversation.
Image source: Google
The ‘Dreams Challenge’:
After Mick Fleetwood tried recreating the sensational video, the challenge became viral. Fans are now adding their touch to the trend. The Dreams Challenge is making rounds all over social media now and we love to see such a fun and delightful challenge on our feeds.
