It seems that many marketers and advertising experts alike still retain a fundamental lack of understanding of viral marketing and how and when to employ it effectively. The term viral refers to the peer to peer spread of a campaign much like a viral epidemic (as argued in depth by Malcolm Gladwell in his 2000 book The Tipping Point) and is a frequently referred to and integral part of modern marketing vernacular. However it is a concept who’s use is often misguided and as a result is rarely of itself a glaring success.
The proper use of viral involves a strategy which embraces true user centric communications planning placing the user and their experience at the center of the planning process. This is an essential step in the formation of successful viral marketing for if the campaign is more skewed towards brand objectives than user engagement it will not develop the momentum characteristic of successful viral campaigns. Often times brands and planners look to viral as a means to getting more out of limited budgets through false expectations that if they can luck into a well executed viral that it will yield low cost reach and frequency. This is wrong and is dangerous thinking for those keen to pursue this form of marketing. The proper motivation from a brands perspective for viral marketing should be to develop a campaign that strikes an accord with the user by delivering a campaign idea which resonates sufficiently with the user that it then develops the momentum. This is really just common sense but for some reason time and again marketers are drawn into the thinking that they can exploit the notion of viral to their advantage which really is also just an exploitation of the user and an affront to the philosophy the brand should hold towards delivering an authentic value proposition in all of its communications.
This topic deserves a more in depth study which is beyond my own time constraints at the moment but in summary it should be noted that when planning a viral campaign that significant resources must be invested particularly at the planning phase but also a commensurate amount of resources at every stage. If the right amount of planning and creative input is allowed a viral will more than just deliver reach it will be appreciated, remembered and possibly even described as cool and that’s how a brand can develop true loyalty and a legacy it can leverage for many future campaigns to come.
An exciting example of a successful viral campaign who’s planning was skewed incredibly in favour of the user is the Dorritos Hotel 626. The campaign site was an interactive game used to support the bringing back from the dead a number of discontinued flavours and did not once mention the word corn chip but was a resounding success for the brand (see case movie below). This is very brave marketing but it just goes to show that if brands are willing to embrace a philosophy of authentic user centric communications they will reap the rewards.
