How successful is viral marketing?

As social media sites grow and Hollywood gets a better handle on how to utilize them, the number of viral campaigns for new and returning films and movies is on the rise. Some of what’s out there is really clever stuff. Some is best left ignored.  

I’ve been curious for a while about how effective these campaigns are at raising awareness, so when the folks at “Breaking Bad” reached out to talk viral campaigns, I jumped.

The show had a couple of methods to promote the AMC show’s third season, which premiered on March 21^st, a series of YouTube clips and a microsite revolving around the character Saul Goodman (played by Bob Odenkirk). They were funny stuff – but did they draw an audience?

Apparently so. The video clip garnered 2M impressions across the web, and more than 100k engaged video views on YouTube. The microsite itself attracted between 50,000 and 100,000 unique visitors (admittedly a wide range).

How did that affect ratings for the show? Well, it’s kind of an apples to oranges comparison, since “Breaking Bad” has been gathering steam and buzz since its premiere – but it’s worth noting that the third season premiere was the series’ highest rated episode.