Mighty Viral Fox, the 3-year-old social channel that aims to bring people “the most popular stories, clips and videos on the web,” is rebranding to The Mighty Fox.
With help from clickbait headlines and fake news, “virality” — once coveted by brands and publishers grappling with social media — now has the negative connotation of low-quality, forgettable content. As a result, Mighty Viral Fox is rebranding to The Mighty Fox and shifting its focus to producing more original videos on Facebook.
“Brands want to align themselves with others that are highly reputable,” said Matt Flint, founder of The Viral Group, the media company behind Mighty Viral Fox. “There are billion-dollar companies that don’t get our number of views, but the brand identity is really clear and been built over many years. We understand the value of high-quality, clear brand identity, and we didn’t think it was possible with the name Mighty Viral Fox.”
The Viral Group runs 30+ channels across food and lifestyle, the most popular of which is Mighty Viral Fox. Mighty Viral Fox — which got millions of engagements on Facebook in the last few years typically publishes videos that people can relate to. “When you have such a big audience, you have a responsibility to open up about who you are as a company, rather than this voiceless brand,” said Flint. “We’re taking ownership of who we are and what we produce; it will be more stressful, and there will be more heat.”
Each day, Mighty Viral Fox publishes between 3 – 5 posts on Facebook, 60 percent of which are original and the rest submitted or licensed from content agencies and other aggregators. It hopes to flip this to 75 percent original content, like weekly mini-documentaries on social issues. It will likely spend a period of three months focusing on topics like mental health or the environment and has hired a head of purpose to oversee this.
“The main shift is having an added edge of responsibility and maturity, like when a teenager becomes more aware of their surroundings,” said Flint.
Globally, Mighty Viral Fox is increasing its video team from 4 to nearly 20 and its text editorial team from 2 to 6. The company, which has an average employee age of 25, has also hired a string of senior executives.
