For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, “Caine’s Arcade” is the newest feel-good viral video to hit social media channels this week. In this 11-minute film, we meet 9yr old Caine, who spent last summer hanging in his Dad’s used auto parts store in East L.A. while Dad, George, worked weekends. And like most kids who have to hang with their Dads in the office (been there…boring!) Caine is looking for creative, imaginative ways to spend his time.
Unlike most kids, Caine is incredibly inventive and majorly resourceful in promptly getting to work building his own cardboard arcade.
But it’s not just any 9yr old’s arcade; it’s an arcade complete with a working claw game fashioned out of a hook and a piece of yarn, tickets dispensed from the bottom of the machines right into the hands of winners, and strategic games with rules that replicate a real arcade experience.
The other major factor differentiating Caine from most kids is that thanks to the power of social media, he now has over 54,000 Facebook fans, his own Twitter Handle, his own website, and a quickly growing scholarship fund exceeding $120,000 (at the time of this writing), which is more than double what it was when I first visited the site only 24 hours ago.
Established by Nirvan Mullick, the video documentary’s creator, the scholarship fund is intended to support Caine in his future intellectual pursuits. The website http://cainesarcade.com/ asks us to imagine “what this kid could build with an Engineering Degree!” I actually can’t imagine. But I’d love to be around to see it when he does. I’m a fan for life!
What’s amazing about all of this (despite the inventive little kid at the heart of the story) is that none of it would be possible without social media. In a few days’ time, with the help of Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Reddit, Vimeo and other social outlets, a family’s life has been forever changed, and the hearts (and wallets) of millions of internet users have been touched by Caine’s Arcade.
This isn’t the launch of the first cultural phenomenon thanks to social media outlets. Facebook (as well as other social platforms) has been demonstrated its influence in massive, history changing events; not just those that change the life of one person or one family. Governments have been overthrown, political campaigns have been powered and won, democracy and social change have been influenced, and the needle moves every single day in powerful ways thanks to social media.
Advertisers, then, have a tremendous landscape in which to create tremendous opportunity. The smartest advertisers are harnessing the same power that is sending Caine to college, to shift brand sentiment, acquire a larger customer base, create loyalty, and drive social conversation around their brands. They have the power to engage consumer’s hearts (and wallets) in the same way that Caine’s Arcade has done.
Make no mistake; this is no small pursuit. Even advertisers who do develop smart strategies will have to fight the age-old thinking that if you build it, “they will come.” The reality is that the distribution of social content is crucial to even the most feel-good viral video experiences. You’ll notice that I listed a number of sites where you can find Caine’s Arcade. Chances are good that if Nirvan Mullick relied on only one or two of the major Social outlets above, Caine’s scholarship fund may not be exceeding–downright blowing away–every single target they dared to expect.
Broad distribution of even the best Social content is crucial to gaining momentum, going viral, and winning those hearts and wallets. And maybe, if you’re really strategic, winning fans for life.
– Jen Starr
Senior Account Executive
