How to Create a Viral Brand Moment Without a Big Budget

What Is a Viral Brand Moment?

When you hear “viral marketing,” you might picture massive ad campaigns featuring A‑list celebrities or glossy Super Bowl slots. But in reality, some of the most iconic brand moments came from brands that spent very little, instead leaning on creativity, surprise and authenticity.

Strategies That Can Lead to Your Brand Moment Going Viral:

Emotion & Surprise: Guerrilla & Ambient Ads in Everyday Spaces

1. Guerrilla stunt marketing: Coca‑Cola’s famous “Happiness Machine”, a vending machine that unexpectedly handed out snacks, flowers and even pizzas to unsuspecting students, generated millions of organic views and widespread media buzz.

2. Ambient ads in everyday spaces: IKEA turned subway cars into fully furnished living rooms, inviting commuters to sit, relax and snap photos of the surreal space like this.

These campaigns are prime examples of guerrilla and ambient marketing where emotion, surprise and a clever use of public space come together to create unforgettable brand moments that people feel compelled to share.

Here are 5 great examples of how guerrilla and ambient marketing can be executed effectively on a small budget, featuring real-world case studies that illustrate how creativity drives impact:

1. Heyday Canning Co.’s Bean Swap (Small business pop‑up activation)

Heyday, which sells flavoured canned beans, ran a swap pop-up where people exchanged cans of any bean for Heyday cans. The playful stunt cost very little and became a viral TikTok sensation, drawing lines around the block and boosting brand awareness without expensive media buys.

2. Jolie Skin Co.’s Dirty Truck Campaign (Urban branded vehicle)

Jolie Skin Co. turned a plain city truck into a mobile billboard, completely covering it in fake dirt to ask, “What if your shower water is dirtier than this truck?” The visual intrigue helped generate widespread social attention and conversation, all on a modest production budget.

3. Local coffee shop’s chalkboard sidewalk art (Street-level ambient art)

A neighbourhood café drew vibrant chalk murals in front of its storefront, featuring witty, coffee-themed messages. Passersby stopped, snapped photos and shared them on social media, generating buzz without breaking the bank.

4. Founder’s cryptic card stunt (Hand-delivered surprise)

Lori Cheek mailed cryptic black cards with her dating site URL into influencers’ bags and pockets, each costing about $12.50. The stunt landed her front-page coverage in The New York Times and interest from Oprah’s show, all for a tiny budget.

5. Who Gives a Crap (small-scale guerrilla with big laughs)

Who Gives a Crap took the everyday yep, toilet paper and turned it into unforgettable comedy and marketing fuel. From Day 1, their branding used playful puns, toilet-themed taglines and tricked-the-system copywriting, an irreverent tone that stood out against the soft-focus, puppy-driven toilet paper ads in the market. Toilet humour is taboo-adjacent and shareable. By tapping into something most companies shy away from, they became instantly share-worthy.

Even more memorable was the founder’s stunt to raise capital, Simon Griffiths actually sat on a toilet for 50 hours straight in a live stream to crowdfund $50,000 for their first production run. That move not only secured funding but captured headlines and attention in a way no standard pitch could.

Quick Guide: Launch Your Own Low-Budget Guerrilla Moment:

1. Pick the Right Spot

Pick a public or high-traffic space where your audience naturally flows.

2. Create a Visual Surprise

Craft a visual surprise: chalk art, stickers, cards, props.

3. Stay Legal & Ethical

Keep it legal and ethical, avoid fines or backlash.

4. Encourage Sharing

Encourage sharing with clever messaging or hashtags.

5. Capture the Moment Yourself

Capture & amplify with your own camera, post photos or video promptly.

6. Join the Conversation

Engage the buzz, reply to content users share, repost, comment or run a mini-contest.

Unexpected Products or Brand Extensions:

1. Tesla Tequila: What started as an April Fools’ joke became a limited-edition product drop that stirred the internet. Tesla, best known for its electric cars and space-age innovation, released a lightning bolt-shaped luxury tequila bottle, completely unexpected, yet weirdly in sync with the brand’s eccentric, tech-chic identity. It wasn’t just about the drink; it was a collector’s item, a conversation starter and a marketing masterstroke that generated buzz across social media, lifestyle blogs and tech forums alike. The scarcity and novelty did the heavy lifting, no traditional advertising was needed.

2. Chipotle’s car napkin holder: This one hit differently because it addressed a hilariously universal truth: how Chipotle fans hoard napkins in their cars. Instead of ignoring it, the brand leaned into the meme. Their limited-edition car napkin holder, released in collaboration with a lifestyle influencer, was a tongue-in-cheek solution to a very real problem. The absurdity and relatability of it struck gold on TikTok, where creators stitched, duetted and joked about it, propelling it into viral territory. It’s a perfect example of how acknowledging your audience’s quirks can turn a simple merch drop into a cultural moment.

Digital Engagement: How to Spark a Movement Online:

Here’s how small brands can spark real uproar and reach, even without the budgets of industry giants. These ideas are drawn from real-world case studies, some from global brands, others from smaller companies, but all prove the same thing: creativity can outshine cash.

1. Leverage Community & User‑Generated Content

Instagram & TikTok challenges: e.l.f. Cosmetics launched an original song “#eyeslipsface” tailored perfectly for TikTok. What ensued: over 7 billion views and millions of user‑created videos.
Lifestyle brands as catalysts: Gymshark’s “66‑day Change Your Life” challenge invited followers to transform and share with hashtags like #gymshark66, generating tens of millions of views and ongoing drive.
GoPro amplified its brand with user clips of extreme sports and travel, real vs. scripted, turning customers into storytellers.
Bright Sport created a video showcasing their new product, a “shining ball” with a seemingly provocative text overlay: “Guys, Nike doesn’t even have TikTok, you can’t even tag them, so they can never steal our design.” This statement was a masterstroke. It was designed to challenge users and, in doing so, to spark a reaction. The phrase “you can’t even tag them” was a direct dare, an invitation for viewers to prove the company wrong. The strategy worked flawlessly. Users flooded the comments section with tags for Nike’s brand name, attempting to draw their attention. This collective effort to “get” Nike to see the video created an organic and massive wave of engagement. The video quickly went viral, accumulating millions of views and attracting a huge audience to Bright Sport’s product. This campaign stands as a testament to the power of creative, cost-effective marketing. By understanding the platform’s limitations and the user’s desire for interaction, Bright Sport generated immense brand visibility and customer interest without spending a dime on traditional advertising. It was a shining example of how a clever idea, rooted in solid research, can be more powerful than a large marketing budget.

2. Micro‑Influencers & Word‑of‑Mouth – The Original Viral

Instead of reaching for celebrity endorsements, look for micro-influencers in your niche. Brands like Daniel Wellington built their empire by partnering with smaller influencers. While many people aim for big names, micro-influencers with 10,000-50,000 followers have 60% higher engagement rates compared to influencers with millions of followers. What makes this powerful is the trust and genuine connection they hold with their audience, and it’s a much cheaper option.
Word‑of‑mouth still drives massive trust: real customers talking in real voices. A brand like Glossier built its brand through a strategy known as customer-led growth. Instead of relying on paid ads, the company empowered its users and amplified their personal stories.

The Power of Personality: Humor, Story, & Purpose:

1. Video with a Slice of Humour and Raw Personality

The Dollar Shave Club debut video cost just around $4,500, but went extremely viral (26+ million views). Felt real, unscripted, funny, direct, “Our blades are f***ing great”. Bigger lesson: pick a recurring problem in your field and deliver a bold, unvarnished answer, preferably with a twist or laugh.

2. Memes, Pop‑Culture & Self‑Aware Humour

Ryanair leaned into TikTok humour. Green‑screen filters portraying their own plane complaining about baggage fees or delays. The brand voice leaned into self‑deprecation and meme culture, and it became viral organically.
Jet2’s viral jingle remix: In Summer 2025, Jet2 holiday’s signature jingle blended with a familiar pop song. With irony-laced mishap videos (#Jet2Challenge), it sparked over 2 million TikToks all without celebrity, just playful and shareable audio.

3. Real Human Stories or Social Purpose

Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” campaign invited women to describe themselves vs. strangers’ descriptions. Simple format, high emotional authenticity: deeply shareable and aligned with the brand’s mission of self‑esteem and beauty beyond filters.
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: A grassroots idea, born from purpose. No big media budget, just peer nominations and a cause, resulting in $115 million raised and billions of views.

Your Roadmap to Virality: A Step-by-Step Guide

Identify a key emotional trigger

Viral moments often start with a brand tapping into a core human feeling – joy, nostalgia, outrage or surprise. In 2025, more brands are focusing on emotion-first marketing strategies to cut through the noise.

Use resource-light but high-impact formats
Whether it’s a TikTok-friendly meme, a street-level stunt or a creatively repackaged product, modern campaigns thrive on low-budget, high-creativity executions that feel native to the platforms people love.

Design for shareability
In a year where content virality is built on remix culture, brands must create assets that people want to screenshot, stitch or repost. Think snackable videos or visual hooks that work across platforms.

Root everything in brand authenticity
Consumers in 2025 are highly attuned to inauthenticity. Building a campaign with a clear brand voice and story is non-negotiable. The best campaigns align with your unique identity and values, not just trending formats.

Leverage micro-influencers for organic ignition
Many 2025 marketing playbooks start with micro-influencer seeding, as creators with smaller but loyal followings can spark real engagement without breaking your budget.

Invite your audience to co-create
Viral content spreads fastest when the audience plays a role. UGC, duet challenges, AR filters or co-branded remix formats are all part of the new wave of participation-led strategies.

React in real time and keep the loop going
A viral moment has a short shelf life. The smartest brands are adopting agile content strategies, listening to the reaction, jumping into comments and pivoting fast to extend relevance.

Conclusion: It’s About Connection, Not Cash

Viral brand moments don’t require huge budgets, they demand clarity, creativity, authenticity and connection. Whether it’s a funny video from a startup founder, a meme-strategy campaign done with a smartphone or a heartfelt social experiment, the core ingredients are the same: invoke emotion, invite participation and stay true to your brand’s voice.

By blending guerrilla tactics, user-generated content, real human stories and shareable humour, even small brands can create massive impact, emotionally resonant stories that real people care about and remember.