No formula is the formula for Indonesia’s viral ad videos

With its 139 million social media users, equaling half of its total population, Indonesia has become a hotbed for brand spending on social media, with  video advertising predicted to reach US$ 751.4 million this year. 

But not all spending pays off equally. In the race for social media dominance, brands strive to create videos that go viral. Yet, striking the right balance of tone, trend, audience, and timing often feels more like magic than science, no matter how much strategy and research goes into it.

Wisnu Satya Putra, CEO of Dentsu Creative Indonesia, struck gold last year with their viral ‘Recharged’ campaign for Pantene starring Keanu Angelo, an Indonesian male influencer known for his short-fused temperament persona and having long unruly hair. The video, Dentsu says, reached 23 million impressions with 98 thousand engagements within 24 hours.  

Putra says that relatability and emotional resonance are some of the contributing factors to a viral brand video. 

“The Indonesian audience, particularly the youth, prefers authentic, relatable content that reflects their values and experiences. They appreciate creativity, humour, and storytelling that speaks to their daily lives and aspirations,” he said.

Putra explains that a relatable video allows the audience to see themselves in the content. It fosters a sense of community and understanding, making the audience more likely to engage with brands.  Not only this, but aligning the video with current trends and then complementing it with a strong hook within the first few seconds and shareable elements can encourage audience interaction and amplify visibility. 

Creating viral hits: art or science?

Despite these insights, virality remains elusive. As such, there is no standardised formula for it. “There is no formula for making a viral video. You can follow certain formats that other viral videos would have done but there is no guarantee that it is going to be successful,” says Chetan Shetty, the managing director of Digital Sea, an agency group that houses McCann Indonesia and FCB Jakarta. Nevertheless, he continued, virality can be stimulated.

At Digital Sea, Shetty and his team run a social content shop called Snack Studio, that creates more than 200 TikTok videos each month on behalf of 25 brands from four key marketers. The studio has established a framework to create brand videos based on consumer behaviour, trends, and brand message. They conduct video research to find out the audience’s preference, then categorise it into behaviour traits such as curiosity and fear of missing out (FOMO).

@jharnabhagwani Moodboosterku sehari-hari @Pesona Vitalis ��✨ #ItsTimeToSparkle #VitalisEDTSparkle ♬ It's Time To Sparkle - Vitalis

“Have you ever seen a make-up transformation video on TikTok? That is using curiosity as a trait,” Shetty explains.. “You want to watch it because you want to know the end result,” he explained while showing a TikTok make-up transformation video by Indonesian female content creator Jharna Bhagwani. The video (seen above), which was McCann Indonesia’s project for Indonesian fragrance brand Vitalis, has reached over 66 million views on the platform.

Surprise is also a powerful tool for virality. “If you can surprise your audience, you’re more likely to drive shares,” Shetty notes. Snack Studio even uses an internal dashboard to track trends across TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and Google, generating fresh video ideas based on real-time data.

Aiming to create more shareable ads on a consistent basis, Snack Studio has been utilising and developing an internal dashboard that collects data from TikTok, Instagram, X, and Google to track the current trends on the internet. The trends, consumer insight, and brand message are mapped to generate various video ideas.

Moreover, Digital Sea partners with an artificial intelligence company, Gimmefy, to craft some of their day-to-day video campaigns to speed up the production process while larger campaigns still follow conventional approaches. 

Custom content  

Besides creativity and ideas, Putra said tailoring video content based on the platforms’ unique culture and behaviour has been Dentsu Indonesia’s strategy to create a highly engaging brand video. “For TikTok, we prioritise short, snappy content that leverages trends. Instagram allows for more visually polished narratives, while Facebook is suited for storytelling that builds community. YouTube often serves as a platform for deeper engagement,” he revealed. Additionally, the company focuses on timeless themes and relatable storytelling to ensure the video has a long engagement after publishing.

Naturally, the individual personalities of social media influencers play a critical role. Putra shared that the ideal influencers for a brand video should align with the brand’s values, resonate with the target audience, and genuinely connect with their followers.

“Influencers play a significant role in boosting a video’s virality on social media and digital platforms. They have established trust with their audience, which can lead to higher engagement rates and wider reach. When an influencer shares a brand video, it not only taps into their follower base but also encourages shares and discussions,” he elaborates.

Dentsu also differentiates its video strategy based on the audience’s demographics. “Humor and relatability are usually used for the younger audience, while more sophisticated narratives work for older segments,” Putra  adds.

Ignatius Untung, a behavioural marketing expert and the chief marketing officer of Biensi Fesyenindo, explained that relatable videos are more likely to have a high engagement because they trigger the audience’s subconscious or the autopilot brain system. 

Referring to a psychological book by Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast, and Slow (2011), Untung says that the human brain consists of two thinking modes namely system 1 (autopilot system) and system 2 (pilot system). The autopilot system is fast, intuitive, emotional, and works based on stored memories or experiences. Meanwhile, the pilot system is slow, analytical, and operates based on logical judgement.

“Research shows humans are dominantly using the autopilot system including in decision-making. That’s why a video can be viral when it triggers the audience’s subconscious, driving them to click and share,” he states. 

However, Untung emphasises that viral videos don’t necessarily impact the brands’ business growth and sales.  “Content can have a high shareability but it doesn’t guarantee that people will buy the product. That is two different things,” he says.

Regarding the issue, Shofiyyah Rahman, a senior business analyst at marketing consulting company Markplus Corp., revealed that viral videos have more impact on brands with a business-to-consumer (B2C) model that focuses on consumer goods. “It works best on the brands whose consumers are exposed to social media and making their own purchasing decisions,” she said.

For smaller local brands, Rahman adds, virality can be a game-changer.

“Products from well-established brands such as Unilever, P&G, and Wings Group, are widely available in the market and people are familiar with them. Even without a viral campaign, they already have a lot of sales channels,” she adds.