As the clock stroke midnight on Sunday evening, several corporations began to unleash round afer round of April Fool’s Day viral marketing jokes and pranks on online consumers.  Companies used different social media sites and pages as a platform to dupe friends, family and colleagues into believing preposterous ideas and product campaigns.

Establishing credibility with customers is always important for any competivie organization, but being able to light-heartedly joke about April Fool’s Day often raises positive awareness for brands.   Viral marketing on various social media platforms is being picked up by companies as an inexpensive and extremely effective way to engage consumers and garner the attention of new audiences.  If done correctly, participating in April Fool’s Day viral marketing on social sites is a practically free way to generate goodwill and media buzz for a company.

One of the best uses of viral marketing on April Fool’s Day was done by Red Box when they released an announcement that they were going to start selling lunch meat and sandwich ingredients that consumers could choose from to compliment their movie rental.

After admitting that the idea was a prank, Red Box offered a discount code to customers as a way to say, “Thanks for having a playful attitude with us.” Their April Fool’s joke was successful because it peaked people’s interest in the company while also showing that they can be creative and goofy.

Embracing sometimes over-looked holidays can end up paying off when it comes to viral marketing because Americans are eager to find a new reason to celebrate or laugh.  In terms of viral marketing, April Fool’s Day is a great jumping-off point for companies that are trying to get the attention of new consumers and nurture the existing relationships they have with customers.