- Growing Viral
- Posts
- THE LUCKY EGG: THE FORMULA FOR VIRAL VIDEO GROWTH
THE LUCKY EGG: THE FORMULA FOR VIRAL VIDEO GROWTH
The 4-part strategy behind The Lucky Egg’s viral video success...
Niall Ratcliffe
March 02, 2025
Morning!
I just went to my first ever TedX talk at TedX Manchester today. It was quite the experience.
We had a woman passionately talking about growing veg, a man who made glue with cows’ blood and another who hacked the dark web. Pretty wild stuff. I’m hoping they’ll let me get up on stage and talk about marketing one day.
For now, I’ll just keep my thoughts to this newsletter - and today I’ve got a banger for you.
Let’s get into it!
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION
BREAKING DOWN THE STRATEGY
We've just taken a massive leap as an agency and built out our own in-house video team. The decision was a little scary at first (very scary actually), but it was based on a simple thesis…
→ Video is going to play a huge part in all good marketing strategies in the future.
People say it’s the future of marketing. I’m not sold on it being the only form of content we create going forward, but there’s no doubt it will play a huge part.
So in the lead up to building our video team out, I spent months obsessing over companies that have truly mastered short-form video, especially those telling engaging business stories.
Too many marketers currently rely on:
Talking-head videos.
Boring corporate content.
Or cinematic visuals.
But which companies are making truly exceptional videos, and what are they doing to make that happen?
That’s the question I wanted to answer.
And it’s safe to say I found that answer when I discovered ‘The Lucky Egg’.
They’ve built a 500,000-person cult following all through using a creative short-form video playbook, and today, I’m going to break down the 4 key principles for you.
Here’s how you create a viral short-form video strategy:
Principle 1: Get The Audience Invested (AKA Use A Challenge)
The biggest issue with most companies' video strategies is that no one cares about them or their videos.
It doesn’t matter if they’re:
Perfectly scripted.
Beautifully edited.
Highly engaging.
If no one cares about the company, no one will care about the videos either. The key is to find a simple way to get them invested in the videos you’re creating - and that’s exactly what The Lucky Egg did.
When they were kickstarting their video strategy, the content creator behind their accounts - Leo Olson - introduced a simple yet high-stakes challenge that grabbed attention.
He bet his boss that if he could get their Instagram to 200,000 followers, his boss would get a tattoo of his choice. If Leo failed, he would get a tattoo of his boss's choice.
Instantly, just hearing about this second hand, you perk up and get interested in it. But this challenge did 3 amazing things that got people invested in the company:
Upped the stakes: It turned the content into a high-stakes game that viewers couldn't resist. It was no longer just random videos, it was a high-stakes wager that viewers were a part of.
Follow-along challenge: It created a series that people could tune into regularly. Why else would people constantly look out for or come back to The Lucky Egg’s Instagram page?
Gave a reason to care: It made the content more engaging by giving the audience a vested interest. They wanted 1 side of the wager to win and could constantly come back to support their side of it.
The first video announcing the challenge pulled in over 6.7 million views. The 2nd one documenting the challenge? 1.6 million. The third? 1.9 million.
These are some of the highest performing videos they’ve ever put out and yet they all revolve around this tattoo challenge.
Don’t get me wrong, adding a challenge into your strategy doesn’t sound like a mindblowing concept. Yet, for me, it’s the closest thing to a silver bullet you can get when it comes to engaging your audience.
You have to give them a reason to care, and a high-stakes challenge does exactly that.
Principle 2: Have a Face to the Brand
One of the crucial elements in The Lucky Egg's early growth was having Leo Olson as the face of the brand.
It’s something so many brands overlook, yet for me, I think they never would have grown their following if they tried to run faceless company socials like so many companies do.
This approach is similar to UGC but with someone who consistently represents the brand, and it was essential for The Lucky Egg for a few reasons:
Familiarity: Leo's presence built a sense of familiarity. Audiences recognised his face and associated it with the brand.
Clear style: There was a distinct style that became synonymous with The Lucky Egg. When you saw a video, you knew it was theirs.
Someone to get behind: Having a consistent person made it easier for the audience to form a connection. When Leo left, fans were gutted, showing they had come to love him as much as the brand.
And that last point is so key, just take a look at some of the comments on the video that announced Leo was leaving:
When you’re trying to build your social presence, you have to stack as many reasons to follow you as possible and having a likeable personality as the face of the brand is a key part of this.
But this isn't unique to The Lucky Egg. Even B2B brands like HubSpot have realised the value of personalities on social media. Their CMO has openly said they're investing in having faces for their brand on socials.
And it shows with The Lucky Egg since Leo's departure - who are struggling to replicate his success, likely because they keep switching who represents them.
Having a consistent face is crucial for long-term success, especially with short-form video.
Principle 3: Always Be Telling 2 Stories
I hate that every marketer and their dog blab on about storytelling nowadays. It’s probably the most overused piece of advice in marketing. Yet it is such a key part of all great marketing.
And the same goes for The Lucky Egg - these guys are amazing storytellers.
But the key to their video success is that they’re constantly telling 2 stories:
Short stories: Each video has a clear narrative with an obstacle and intention.
For example, they were trying to create a game around the TV show “Traitors” (the intention) but were struggling because they were facing legal hurdles from the BBC (the obstacle).
Each video follows classic storytelling principles - intention + obstacle - and that’s why it’s so engaging.Long-term brand story: Every video adds context to The Lucky Egg's overarching brand story about who they are and where they're going.
Watching each video deepens the audience's connection to the company, turning every piece of content into a part of their larger journey.
That second point is something that so many companies miss. They treat each video as a standalone piece of content, missing out on this deeper brand story.
But The Lucky Egg interweaves every video into their brand story, helping them build a massive cult following of 500k people.
It's not just about individual viral hits, it's about building a lasting cult audience.
Principle 4: Creating YOUR Style
A key aspect of The Lucky Egg's success is the consistent aesthetic, style, and tone of voice in their videos.
Every video follows a similar theme and opening, using the same fonts, editing style, and recurring elements like green boards with cutouts - even down to using the same arrows in their animation.
This may seem like nothing, but this familiarity helps in several ways:
Quick recognition: In the fast-scrolling world of social media, viewers can instantly recognise their content.
Familiarity: This consistency builds a sense of comfort, similar to a favourite TV show or a favourite jumper.
Ease of production: Clear guidelines make it easier for new content creators to maintain the brand's style.
By having a consistent aesthetic and voice, The Lucky Egg ensures its content stands out and is easily recognisable in this endless world of content.
If you want to grow your following rapidly with video, you need to find a style your audience loves, and you need to make it your own.
🌱 THE GREENHOUSE
Things I’ve saved this week that are worth seeing:
TL;DR
Introduce a Challenge: Challenges give your audinece a reason to be invested.
Have a Face to the Brand: Consistent personalities create familiarity.
Tell 2 Stories: Short and long-term stories deepen audience engagement.
Choose YOUR Style: A recognisable aesthetic ensures quick recognition and this feeling of “comfort”.
The Lucky Egg are such a great example of what’s possible for companies who truly nail their short-form video strategy. It’s safe to say we’ll be taking a lot of inspiration from them over the next few months - and yes, I’m 100% stealing this playbook from them
Hopefully you found this useful. If you did, why not share it with a friend?
Until next Sunday.
— Niall
WAIT… BEFORE YOU GO
Rate this week's playbook |
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Learn AI in 5 minutes a day
What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join 1,000,000+ early adopters reading The Rundown AI — the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.
If you’ve read this far, why not see how else I can help you: