Dollar Shave Club founder and former CEO Mike Dubin rode the viral wave of success

From dusty books to dollar blades, an entrepreneur who started by selling his Grandmas’ books on the side of the road saw himself catapult into success after he struck gold with his YouTube sensation Our Blades are F***ing Great.

Created using a small advertising budget, the improv video communicates the brand’s unique selling points: price, quality and convenience, alongside a stack load of humour.

To create a successful marketing campaign, take a look at these 5 basic rules:

Rule Number One: Viral marketing is only as good as the remaining marketing mix

High quality products at an affordable price that are easily accessible are a shoppers dream and when you pair that with clever content and humour, the stage is set for success. Dollar Shave Club, aka DSC, hit the nail on the head with their value proposition to offer exactly that with no B***S*** .

Rule Number Two: Viral marketing needs to be backed up by traditional forms of communication

The Blades are F***ing Great campaign saw 12,000 new subscribers within a few days and 9 years later has over 27 million views (and counting). How did they spread the word about their brand and not crumble in a heap after the hype was over? Well, they backed it up with a bucket load more content through multiple channels, media and platforms including TV ads and radio.

Rule Number Three: Excessive planning and intervention kills any viral marketing campaign

The DSC campaign targeted the right people with the right message under the right circumstances. In 2012, YouTube was the only place to go if an entrepreneur had any hope of going viral and before the content was unleashed to the masses, some careful planning took place. Alongside the launch of their campaign, they relaunched their new website and announced a $1 million seed round of funding. And to top that off, the campaign was timed to go up just before the South by Southwest Festival in Austin.

Rule Number Four: Highly provocative and edgy messages are a double-edged sword

Great viral marketing messages need to be memorable and interesting - shoppers are looking for a point of difference and DSC made sure their viewers got exactly that. The unconventional and hilarious video paved the way and set a trend for humor-focused advertisement.

Rule Number Five: Successful viral marketing requires a little bit of luck and gut feeling

With the ever changing digital landscape, a little bit of luck is what every entrepreneur needs in their toolkit. While luck may have come into play, Mike Dubin studied his failures but didn’t let them define him, claiming that every path he had ever taken led him to the creation of DSC.

These 5 basic rules gave Mike the helping hand he needed to ride the viral wave of success and create content that resonated with millions of people worldwide. If there was one more piece of advice to pass on from one marketeer to another, it would be to

“Create resonant ideas based on our shared experience of humanity”

Do you have any words of advice you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them.