We take a look at one of the most successful viral campaigns of all time and the impact that social media can have in supporting causes.

1. KONY 2012
Case study
Reporting period:
05 March – 12 March 2012

2. Formalities
Only a sample of all the data posted was used to create this case study.
We only looked at English comments, but from a worldwide
audience.
Our reason for this case study is to showcase the impact social media
can have on any cause.

3. Timelines
On March the 5th, a short film was uploaded by Invisible
Children that aimed to make Joseph Kony famous. Not to
celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent
for international justice.
Only 10 days later:
The video has been viewed 78,064,750 times
It has received 1,329,136 likes and 95,612 dislikes
The Facebook page has been liked 3,051,788 times.
And 2,635,115 people are talking about it online.

4. Online buzz

5. The Numbers
We tracked the story for 3 days only
Over 150 000 comments were posted, mainly on social media
70%
15%
1.5%
0.7%
The remaining 12.8%

6. The Reach
More than 20 billion impressions were
generated by the audience.
Of course these were not unique impressions,
as people were exposed to comments from various sources
in this time period.
85.1% social media
3.5% website articles
10.4% blogs 1% news sites

7. Hot topics
Different hashtags were used to promote and track the
campaign.

8. The Sentiment
79% of the comments were neutral (retweets, shares, news posts).
20% of the people showed their love for the campaign.
1% of the audience did not like the campaign or agree with the
campaign.
The aim was to go
viral. The high amount
of retweets and
shares is an indication
that this was achieved.

9. Positive Feedback

10. Negative Feedback

11. Attacks
There are a few negative
theories around the campaign that
are circulating as well.
These sort of rumors are
damaging to the campaign’s
reputation.

12. Attacks
Some claim the NGO is purely running
this campaign for financial gain.
Others ask questions on the relevance
of this campaign since there are
facts that were not included in the
video.
Others linked the campaign and the
numbers to issues closer to home:
abortion, crime, accidents, etc.

13. Impact
The campaign gained thousands of Twitter followers over night. And the
video becomes the most viral video in history.

14. So what?
This campaign, and others just like it, are great because they gain the attention
that they aim to acquire. However, the negative responses KONY 2012 is
getting are hindering the success of the campaign.
The aim of the campaign though, was
to create awareness.
Was this achieved? Definitely.
Will it make a difference? We will
only be able to tell over time.

15. More information
We have all the data and analysis available that went into writing
this case study. If you are interested in receiving this, please contact
us on the details below.
If you want to know what is being said online about your brand, then
contact us on the details below and we will gladly set up a demo
account for you.
South Africa: United States:
Tel: +27 11 021 8740 Tel: +00 (1) 704 450 2403
Email: infosa@saidwot.com Email: infous@saidwot.com
Web: www.saidwot.com