Impression Millionaires: UNYP Students Final Project Conquers the Web

In a remarkable demonstration of creativity and strategic marketing, two of our students, Matěj and Natálie, achieved viral success with their final project for the Guerrilla & Viral Marketing course. Tasked with creating a music video for the local band Ludens, they embraced the challenge, applying guerrilla and viral marketing tactics to captivate a wide audience. Their efforts paid off spectacularly, as the video garnered over 1 million impressions within just 48 hours of its release. This achievement not only highlights the power of innovative marketing strategies but also showcases the exceptional talent of our students in harnessing the potential of digital platforms to achieve real-world impact.

Today, in this interview, we’ll delve into the journey Matěj and Natálie embarked upon, from conceptualization to viral success, and explore their overall experience at UNYP, providing insights into the unique opportunities and challenges they faced along the way.

Matěj: I am a 22-year-old student in the Business Administration dual degree program. This is my last year of studies, but I plan to pursue a master’s degree here at UNYP as well.

I chose UNYP due to my positive experiences with American-style education, as the theoretical approach of the more traditional Czech education system never really suited me. I prefer learning in the field, studying real-life case studies, and receiving tips from seasoned specialists, which is precisely what UNYP offers. I discovered this school while attending the Gaudeamus college fair and after researching references online, I knew that this school was a great match for me.

Initially, I chose to concentrate in marketing, but after a one-year internship in the field, I realized that this path was not what I envisioned it to be and switched back to Business Administration.

Natálie: I am a 23-year-old Business Administration student. I originally started with a concentration in Human Resources, but after a few classes, I realized that I wanted my studies to go beyond this scope, so I switched to Business Administration.

During my high school years, I quickly realized that I enjoyed learning and communicating in English. I was attending a regular Czech high school at the time and knew that I wanted something more, something that went beyond what most universities offered. That is why I chose UNYP for my studies. I felt that studying in English provides a great advantage in life, and I enjoy improving my skills while learning something new. I also appreciate the level of care for each individual student – I truly feel supported at UNYP.

Favorite UNYP Classes or Professors:

Matěj: There are so many that need to be mentioned:

I loved statistics and Music Psychology with Mr. Agopian. His great energy and passion he puts into his classes always make it a wonderful experience. And since we share some similar hobbies and beliefs, I am always looking forward to a friendly chat in the hall during breaks.

I also need to point out Mrs. Kalinová and her accounting and investment classes. She is the sweetest person I have met during my studies, and she always gives real-life examples and practice scenarios, so you really get a sense of the importance of the theory we learned before.

Others that have to be mentioned include Mr. Pattison’s Viral and Guerrilla Marketing class, where I loved all the tips and tricks no one ever shares with you, and Mrs. Beatriz’s Spanish class, which was one of the most entertaining classes I have had.

Natálie: I must agree with Matěj on this one. Both Mrs. Kalinová and Mr. Agopian lead wonderful classes, and they manage to make the intimidating subjects of Accounting and Statistics into memorable and enjoyable experiences. I also enjoyed many electives that UNYP offers, especially because they allowed me to experiment and learn more about my passions and discover what I like, which further helped in choosing my career path. There were many wonderful professors that I got to work with, who have great careers in their fields and share unique points of view that I otherwise would not have known, such as of course Mr. Pattison.

Promoting the Band LUDENS:

When deciding on what to promote, we knew we did not want to choose just any company to which we felt no attachment. To create something outstanding, we knew we had to choose a brand or area we both felt passionate about, so it was an experience rather than just a school project. Passion, in our opinion, makes the difference between good and great.

After multiple ideas, we found our common interest – music. Natálie has a great passion for music, and since she is also a figure skater, music is her trusted companion on ice. Matěj is heavily into music production, has played in two bands, and currently manages a starting band called LUDENS. Since Matěj helps them not only with management but also with their marketing, we thought we would kill two birds with one stone.

In addition, we felt that the mission of the band is important – with their lyrics, they want to help people through tough times and fight against one’s loneliness with their energetic, crazy shows. After the show, you can always see them chatting with everyone at the bar, giving smiles all around.

Working Together as a Team:

Firstly, we sat in a café and talked about the values and mission of the band, so we could develop an idea that would reflect them. The creative process is better in a group because there are many different views, and you can follow up on each other’s ideas. Fortunately, we both agreed on two main ideas that we wanted to pursue, and we started to work on the details – from where and when to shoot them to where we were going to distribute it.

After completing the necessary planning, we decided that to increase our efficiency and eliminate any clashes between our timetables, we would each shoot and distribute one video. We continued to communicate to ensure we were on the same page, but after the planning process, we worked independently.

Challenges and Solutions:

We knew that promoting music – an invisible product – would be a challenge. What could we put into the video if we had no “visible” product? That was the initial fear, but rather than choosing something different, we thought it could be a fantastic opportunity. Most of the best marketing campaigns are not about promoting a product or a company; they’re selling a feeling, a status, a lifestyle, and we aimed to achieve exactly that. We created a video that reflects the mission of the band and includes the music in the background, without having to worry about where we add a “bottle of coke” to the video so that it still promotes the company.

The biggest challenge arose in the distribution process. Facebook groups are dead, so most of them never accepted our video, or they had little to no reach. On Instagram, we contacted around ten accounts that share funny videos from their fans – none of them even replied. On TikTok, if you are not a regular user, their algorithm buries you, so not much engagement there either. We felt like we were getting nowhere, so we had to get creative about our approach. How could we show the video to thousands of people without the need for an algorithm, or the help of others’ influence? The perfect solution was Reddit. We posted it in one subreddit, and it got around a hundred thousand interactions in just a few hours. Reddit was working, so we started posting there, resulting in over a million interactions and around a thousand shares. Due to Reddit policies, we could only track the first 48 hours, so the number might be even larger today.

Engaging the Audience:

There are two main reasons why we had such engagement: the first is the tips and tools Mr. Pattison taught us. We had controversial discussions in the comment sections, we created the video so that it was surprising and unique, but not shocking, so that no one knew it was fake, etc. If you want to know more, enroll in Mr. Pattison’s class of Viral and Guerrilla Marketing. We had an absolute blast and learned many useful tips to take any marketing strategies to a whole other level, with little to no budget.

The second reason is the feelings that the video invokes. Our aim was to recreate the feeling you had in your student years of endless parties and fun. We wanted the viewer to think: “Oh yeah, they are having a blast” and recall their happy memories of when they did similar things, either last month or ten years ago. And it did exactly that. Many people shared their fun times in the comments or sent the video to a friend with whom they used to do crazy stuff.

Advice for New Students at UNYP:

Matěj: I highly recommend scouting for opportunities in the career’s office. There is no other school that finds you so many good internships and field-related jobs. I had the chance to apply for a one-year marketing internship in my first year, which led to part-time employment as a procurement agent in the same company until today. It’s not only a great start to your career, but you can put your knowledge from UNYP immediately into practice, and vice versa. And to apply for a master’s program, you need two years of experience anyway, so why not start today?

Natálie: Talk to everyone! UNYP is unique in that there are people from all over the world attending, each of them with a different background, experiences, and goals. From my experience, people at UNYP are friendly, and there are opportunities to make friends during every class, break, or event. Take advantage of it, and you are guaranteed to find future colleagues, as well as friends for life.

Also, if you are not sure about something, ask! UNYP has a great support system in place, including free counseling, tutoring, and other services. The classes can be challenging, but UNYP gives all students great tools to help them achieve the best possible results. Starting at a new school can be intimidating, but if you put in the time and effort, you will have a wonderful time!