This video has been making some rounds this week, and I think it’s worth sharing. I saw it first on the Sched events blog, whose author called it “simply awesome and one of the most interesting promotional videos I’ve come across in quite some time.”

I watched it; I liked it; I re-shared it on Twitter, and then other people started chiming in that they also had seen this video and loved it and could not stop watching it.

I’m going to be honest. Their praise went way beyond what I thought when I first saw this vid. As I said, I liked it and thought it an interesting and effective promo; but I didn’t have any kind of falling-in-love reaction to it. My initial thoughts were:

• Good example of an effective way to reach a young audience.
• Catchy and easy to watch.
• Proof that you don’t need high production values to do an effective video.

But why does it seem to resonate so much with people? I have a few thoughts but would love to hear yours as well. Here are a few elements that I think make this video work:

• First of all, it borrows its music from Pink’s fabulous song “Raise Your Glass.” Hard not to like that, even if you didn’t already know it. Catchy tune, easy to listen to, even when performed with different lyrics (OK, let’s be honest; these lyrics are mediocre at best) by someone else. (If you don’t know the original song, scroll to the bottom; I’ve embedded the Pink video there.) I honestly don’t know if this falls within a fair use interpretation for copyright purposes; so if it doesn’t, please don’t think I’m encouraging anyone to violate copyright law.
• If you’re the target audience for this vid — nerdy science geeks — it’s got to make you feel great about yourself. It’s a celebration of who you are.
• Despite that, it shows a lot of different kinds of people. They may all be “nerdy science geeks,” but someone in it probably looks like you. Some look stereotypically like nerds, and some look more like the cute guy or girl you wish would ask you out.
• The people in it are clearly having fun. That’s contagious.
• Related to the above, it’s genuine. I think the low production values really help in this regard. This video doesn’t look like it was put together by slick producers. It looks like it was done by someone who really enjoyed this event and wanted to share it with others.

People who organize and manage events: think about this. Especially if you’re looking to attract a younger audience to your event (any association leaders out there worried about recruiting younger members?), this kind of video is a tactic you really might want to consider. It’s probably less “professional-looking” than most of what you do, but that also means its less stodgy. Maybe it’s time to take a chance on something a bit out of the ordinary for your group.

And now, the Pink video. Enjoy: