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Your ATTN Please || Tuesday, 27 May

Your ATTN Please || Tuesday, 27 May

May 27, 2025

You know what’s better than going viral?

Being memorable. Because a million views don’t mean much if no one remembers you 5 seconds later. Virality might bring the hype, the sales, or even a sold-out product drop. But without a strategy to back it up, your brand will fade just as fast. So, if you’re lucky enough to get a surge of eyeballs, how do you actually hold onto them?

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MARKETING TODAY?

AI is winning at Pokémon, IG pays creators $20k to recruit users & Duolingo is still quiet (for once)

Anthropic is making Claude play Pokémon for research.

AI using Pokémon to showcase its skills? Hell yeah. A few months ago, Anthropic launched a Twitch stream called “Claude Plays Pokémon” which showcases Claude 3.7 Sonnet’s abilities at Pokémon Red live. The demo is meant to show how Claude is able to analyse the game and make decisions step by step, with minimal direction. This week, the company announced two new models, Claude 4 Opus and Claude Sonnet 4. And apparently, Opus is even better at playing Pokémon than its predecessor.

"What's the point?" you ask. You mean, other than it being cool asf? Anthropic’s Pokémon research is a novel approach to tackling a pre-existing problem: how do we understand what decisions an AI is making when approaching complex tasks, and nudge it in the right direction? The goal is to build AI that can handle increasingly complex, long-term tasks safely and reliably, using the best game in the world. (Duh.)

Instagram is offering creators up to $20,000 to bring people to the app.

Instagram is testing a new “Referrals” program that literally pays creators for driving traffic to the app. This is not just for any creators, though. This is an invite-only, limited test for US-based creators. So, how does it work? Well, when people visit Instagram or sign up for a new account from links shared by invited creators, Meta will pay the creators a commission. Some will be able to earn $100 for every eligible new user who signs up for an Instagram account. Others can earn $100 for every 1,000 eligible visits to the app. Both are capped at $20,000. Talk about easy money.

Duolingo is "Experimenting with silence" after going dark on socials.

It’s always something with this damn owl. Except, right now, for what might be the first time ever, it’s nothing. Since Saturday. May 17th, Duolingo’s social media accounts have been dead silent. The brand complete scrubbed its Instagram and TikTok accounts, leaving cryptic messages like “Real eyes, realize, real lies,” and “gonefornow123,” alongside a set of two dead roses and three eye emojis in the bio description.

Duolingo is constantly a hot topic of conversation when it comes to its social first approach. The brand often plants itself in the centre of culture with its impressive and buzzworthy stunts. And these have led to a hefty increase in engagement for the brand. According to ADWEEK, “monthly active users have increased from 40.5 million in 2021 to 116.7 million. This has also translated to $192.6 million in billings last quarter, a year-over-year boost of 40%.” Those are some serious numbers, y’all.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

DEEP DIVE

You went viral. Now what?

You did it! You officially went viral.

That rogue idea you had for a video of your product worked. The confetti went off, the views rolled in by the masses (like that one time I downloaded Tinder for 24 hours - never again).

Then came the orders. You even sold out! Influencers called you their new "holy grail." Randoms posted unboxing videos in their cars. It was an ecommerce vendor's dream. But now it’s been three weeks and… crickets.

You feel duped. Worse than being ghosted. And it's left you thinking, “What did I do wrong!?”

Oh baby. Nothing at all. This is the social media cliff: where hype dies, attention moves on, and brands that don’t have a long-term strategy quietly fade into algorithmic oblivion. So, how do you avoid it? I’m glad you asked.

Here’s the thing you need to understand. Virality does not equal longevity. Virality is a sugar rush. A one-night stand. It’s exciting, intense, and gone long before the morning (or before you can screenshot your Shopify dashboard).

And while a viral moment might spike sales, it doesn’t build a brand on its own. Because if we’re honest, “TikTok made me buy it” is often code for “I bought it, used it once, and now it’s in a drawer.” Yeah, I’m looking at you, red velvet flavoured toothpaste.

If you want your business to be more than a flash in the FYP, you need a game plan for what happens after people rush to buy.

But first, why does the post-viral hangover happen?

No retention plan. You spent all your energy on the first sale and forgot to nurture repeat customers.
The product didn’t live up to the hype. Ouch. TikTok can’t save you from bad UX or meh quality.
You were known for one thing. People came for the gimmick, not the brand.
No community. Virality is volume. Longevity is loyalty. You need both.

So, here’s how you build from the moment:

1. Turn customers into evangelists.

Encourage UGC after the purchase. Create a post-purchase experience that begs to be shared. This could be stunning packaging, a cheeky thank-you card, or a QR code that leads to a weird/funny/heartfelt video.

2. Capture their email (and their heart).

Set up smart lead-gen that feels native (think: “Want to be on the early list for our next drop?” instead of “Sign up now!”). Follow up with content that adds value, not just asks for more sales.

3. Don’t just ride the trend. Start your own.

Create content formats you can own: recurring characters, visual hooks, signature humour. When people start recognising your brand without seeing the logo, you’re on the right path.

4. Build the ecosystem, not just the product.

Think about how your hero product fits into a larger story. What’s the next thing they need? What’s the bigger transformation you’re helping them achieve? Use post-viral momentum to introduce new SKUs, stories, and solutions.

5. Make retention feel cool, not clingy.

Use loyalty programs, exclusive drops, or behind-the-scenes content that rewards staying close. Don’t just try to resell. Try to reconnect.

Last but not least, use the data before its cold.

Your viral moment gave you a treasure trove of insights—what messaging resonated, what creators clicked, what content format worked. So don’t waste it!

Turn best comments into copy. Seriously. They’re gold.
Run retargeting ads on people who interacted but didn’t convert.
Segment your new customers and test follow-ups by product, creator, or UGC angle.

Long story short, going viral is a gift, but it’s not a damn growth strategy. It’s an opening act. To turn a one hit wonder into a long-term, you need to:

Build emotional stickiness
Keep showing up with content after the hype
Create moments worth staying for—not just ones worth sharing

Because TikTok may have made them buy it. But it’s up to you to make them actually care.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

TREND PLUG

🎶I have crossed the horizon to find you🎶

A 9 year old song from Moana called "Know Who You Are" is TikTok's latest viral trending sound.

The lyrics "I have crossed the horizon to find you... I know your name" are being used as a celebratory anthem for when you finally find that thing that has eluded you forever. Think when you find that show you forgot the name of, your bestie's most recent hinge match you've stalked, or even your husband finding your emotional support water bottle.

How you can jump on this trend:

Hop on the sound and throw up some onscreen text describing a thing you've been searching intensely for. Lip sync the lyrics "I have crossed the horizon for you." That’s it!

A few ideas to get you started:

When I finally find that one Canva template
When I find the password to the brand’s Pinterest account
When I finally find the font from that one café’s menu I saw in 2021
When I finally find the Slack/Teams message that proves I said it first
When I finally find the TikTok I saw once at 2am and can never find again

- abdel khalil, brand & marketing executive

FOR THE GROUP CHAT

😲WTF: Ship appears in man's garden?!
✨Daily inspo: never stop
😊Soooo satisfying: Smooth incense burner
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Tomato mozzarella rolls!

TODAY ON THE YAP PODCAST

yourattnp.lease
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ASK THE EDITOR

Is there any point to trying to go viral? It seems totally random, like there's no rhyme or reason. -Rick

Hey Rick,

The reason what goes viral seems random is that most of us don't understand what makes a video perform well. But if a piece of content has gone viral, there will be a deeper human truth that people are connecting with. This is what sparks the engagement.

The platforms are looking to push content that is getting a lot of commentary. So the ones that are getting a lot of engagement will continue to be shown to more people. If you want to figure out how to go viral, it's important to scroll with intention. When you see something perform really well, question why that is. You will start seeing patterns, and you'll realise it's not that random after all.