Viral marketing

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The buzzwords viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-

existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing
objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread
of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network
effects of the Internet.[1] Viral promotions may take the form of video clips,
interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or even text messages.

The goal of marketers interested in creating successful viral marketing programs is to identify individuals
with high Social Networking Potential(SNP) and create Viral Messages that appeal to this segment of the
population and have a high probability of being taken by another competitor.

The term "viral marketing" has also been used pejoratively to refer to stealth marketing campaigns—the
unscrupulous use of astroturfing on-line combined with undermarket advertising in shopping centers to
create the impression of spontaneous word of mouth enthusiasm.[2]

History
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There is debate on the origination and the popularization of the term Viral Marketing, though some of the
earliest uses of the current term are attributed to Harvard Business School graduate Tim
Draper and Harvard Business School faculty member Jeffrey Rayport. The term was later popularized by
Jeffrey Rayport in his 1996 Fast Company article 'The Virus of Marketing' , and Tim Draper and Steve
Jurvetson of the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson in 1997 to describe Hotmail's e-mail practice
of appending advertising for itself in outgoing mail from their users.[3]

Among the first to write about viral marketing on the Internet was media critic Douglas Rushkoff in his
1994 book Media Virus: Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture. The assumption is that if such an
advertisement reaches a "susceptible" user, that user will become "infected" (i.e., accept the idea) and
will then go on to share the idea with others "infecting them," in the viral analogy's terms. As long as each
infected user shares the idea with more than one susceptible user on average (i.e., the basic reproductive
rate is greater than one - the standard in epidemiology for qualifying something as an epidemic), the
number of infected users will grow according to a logistic curve, whose initial segment appears
exponential. Of course, the marketing campaign may be wildly successful even if the rate at which things
are spread isn't of epidemic proportions, if this user-to-user sharing is sustained by other forms of
marketing communications, such as public relations or advertising.
Among the first to write about algorithms designed to identify people with high Social Networking Potential
is Bob Gerstley in Advertising Research is Changing. Gerstley uses SNP algorithms in quantitative
marketing research to help marketers maximize the effectiveness of viral marketing campaigns. In 2004
the concept of Alpha User was released to indicate that it had become now possible to technically isolate
the focal point members of any viral campaign, the "hubs" who are most influential. Alpha Users can
today be isolated and identified, and even targeted for viral advertising purposes most accurately in
mobile phone networks, as mobile phones are so personal.

In response to its use, many sites have started up trying to describe what viral marketing is.

Notable examples

 The Ponzi scheme and related investment Pyramid schemes, are early examples of viral

marketing. In each round, investors are paid interest from the principal deposits of later investors.
Early investors are so enthusiastic that they recruit their friends resulting in exponential growth until
the pool of available investors is tapped out and the scheme collapses.
 Multi-level marketing popularized in the 1960s and '70s (not to be confused with Ponzi schemes)
is essentially a form of viral marketing in which representatives gain income through marketing
products through their circle of influence and give their friends a chance to market products similarly.
When successful, the strategy creates an exponentially growing network of representatives and
greatly enriches adopters. Examples include Amway and Mary Kay Cosmetics among many others.

Launched in 2002, BMW Films was among the earliest viral marketing campaigns. It attracted nearly 55
million viewers and helped to elevate the career of Clive Owen

'Viral' advertising spreads through marketing plans

By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY
CANNES, France — Viral advertising is spreading as a popular, efficient marketing tool, as consumers
increasingly pick and choose what ads they watch and when.

Evan, left, and Gregg

Spiridellis, who created
the This Land spoof, have
been hired by Anheuser-
Busch.

By Kevork Djanseizan, AP

Viral is today's electronic equivalent of old-fashioned word of mouth. It's a

marketing strategy that involves creating an online message that's novel or
entertaining enough to prompt consumers to pass it on to others — spreading the
message across the Web like a virus at no cost to the advertiser. (Related: U.S.
ads scoop up awards.)

Marketers have caught the bug and are increasingly weaving viral components
into their marketing plans. Not only is the approach relatively inexpensive, but also
it can sometimes be more believable than standard ads.

"People have grown increasingly skeptical of

packaged, canned, Madison Avenue-speak,"
says Russ Klein, Burger King's chief marketing
officer.

The company has reversed a long sales decline

thanks in part to its increased use of non-
traditional marketing, especially viral. It has
proved particularly useful in reaching the fast-
food chain's core market of young men.

  The key to effective viral: Create and execute an

Long John Silver's 2-minute 'Road idea that's intriguing enough to get consumers to
Trip with ShrimpBuddy' promotes interact. Burger King has used wacky ideas by
the chain's popcorn shrimp. agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky to promote its
chicken sandwiches and salads online.

"Interruption or disruption as the   VIRAL ADVERTISING fundamental

premise of marketing" no longer works, says
Jeff Hicks, chief executive and  Burger King: Chicken Fight partner at
Crispin Porter + Bogusky. "You have to create
content that is interesting, useful  Burger King: Pimp My Burger or entertaining
enough to invite (the consumer). Viral is the
 Long John Silver's:
ultimate invitation." ShrimpBuddy

Hicks' agency on Wednesday won the Grand

Prix (best overall), as well as four Cannes
Lions, in the online ad category at this week's International Advertising Festival
here. The annual competition honors the world's best advertising in eight
categories.

Brewer Anheuser-Busch has hired Gregg and Evan Spiridellis to create Web
entertainment this summer for Budweiser. They are the brothers who created This
Land, an animated spoof of the presidential election that spread across the Web
last fall eventually to be seen by an estimated 80 million viewers.

"All viral means ... is that you've created a message that people want to share. It's
proof that your message is resonating," says Gregg Spiridellis, who co-founded
animation and design studio JibJab with his brother. "If people want to pass it
along, that's what brand marketing is all about."

Though specific viral spending is difficult to measure, overall spending on Web

advertising continues to rise. Last year, marketers spent $7.4 billion, a 21%
increase over 2003, on Internet ads, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

While the Web can be effective, it also can bite back. Consumers can spread
gripes about a brand just as easily.

"Advertisers are not nearly in control of their brand message as they think they
are," says Klein. "When you are out there living in that world, they are not
always going to say nice things about you. You can't get too uptight about
how you manage the conversation."

Viral also takes off best with a boost, cautions Hicks: "Where you really get
the 'one plus one equals three' is to include viral into the mix of media.
Involving traditional media is an important step." Advertisers trying to get
consumers to "talk" among themselves:

Ellen Neuborne

Viral Marketing Alert! STORY TOOLS

E-mails bearing ads are starting to raise consumers' temperatures  Printer-Friendly Version
E-Mail This Story
 
As viral marketing gains momentum, I sure wish I could get a flu shot. It's a deceptively
simple concept: Create a message, send it via e-mail, and make it so compelling that
recipients want to pass it on to everyone in their address book. Advertisers are hot on
the tactic, and the idea of putting consumers to work spreading the word about a brand
or service seems sound.

But like most good ideas, viral marketing has its drawbacks--and we may see them
very soon. Just like banner ads and portals, viral marketing is being hailed as the Next
Big Thing. So expect thousands of such campaigns this year, says Marc Feldman, an
analyst with marketing consultancy IMT Strategies. "Marketers are definitely jumping
on this bandwagon," he says.

The prognosis for many of these campaigns isn't good. Sure, there are some high- North American and European
Cover: Photo by Graham Trott 
profile viral success stories. Take Hotmail. By simply sending e-mail, consumers hawked the service because every
message contained a Hotmail ad. That helped it grow to 12 million accounts in its first year, 1996. The 1999 hit
film The Blair Witch Projectbenefited from similar contagion. On Web sites and in chat rooms, the film's promoters
hinted that the fictional tale was really a documentary and let the bug run wild. I had never been to a Blair Witch site,
but by the time the movie opened even I had heard that it was a true story. I'd been bitten.

Still, marketers should beware viral overload. Most of the campaigns involve e-mail. Fans of 'Nsync, for example,
have been encouraged to pass along an audio clip from the group's latest album. And Lee Jeans sent messages with
news of a cool video game featuring characters from TV and print ads.

My inbox occupies an ever-bigger slice of my hard drive. If viral marketers have their way, in addition to my daily dose
of e-mails from companies pitching junk, I'll get another pile passed on by friends. It'll be cute once, maybe twice. But
there's a viral traffic jam lurking just a few clicks down the Information Highway. Even good friends can be as
annoying as marketers if they bombard me too much. Companies think viral marketing will cut through the clutter, but
if they come en masse, they'll be the clutter.

Then there are teen troubles. To date, most viral campaigns have targeted high school and college students. But you
can't always depend on this group to spread the news. Moviemakers trying to emulate Blair Witch discovered as
much last summer. Studios enlisted e-mail-happy teens to flack for Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Cecil B.
Demented, and others. None got the viral lift that Blair Witch did. And viral marketing to teens raises privacy issues.
Not only do the ads target minors but they also ask their help in plugging the product. That's dangerous territory.
Finally, there's the potential for backlash. Once they figure out they're pawns in the latest marketing wars, teens will
yawn and move on to the Next Next Big Thing. Or worse, they could turn on the offending company.

Viral marketing is a powerful theory. It attempts to harness the strongest of all consumer triggers--the personal
recommendation. In the Net age, it may well be possible to include consumers in marketing and let them spread the
word to global millions. But as companies pursue this latest tactic, they would be wise to remember it's no miracle
cure for their marketing ills. At best, it's a way to support a broad marketing program. At worst, it's an awful little bug
spread by desperate marketers and their unsuspecting consumers. I already feel a chill coming on. 

By Ellen Neuborne