The most common symptom of the common cold can be a good thing in a sales environment. Although a marketing “sneeze” may not resemble the sinus-clearing kind, it’s still an effective way to spread marketing “germs” that sneak up on consumers and cause them to behave in predictable ways.
Effective viral-marketing campaign strategies boost website traffic and increase brand awareness. Viral marketing is defined loosely as nontraditional techniques that build consumer awareness of a product, website, or brand. Like a virus, consciousness about the intended topic spreads until it literally “infects” the intended demographic population. People start communicating with one another about the product, website, or brand. A market synergy is achieved when this communication reaches a level at which significant numbers of consumers take action. Movement can entail becoming a new customer or developing a reinforced awareness of a company’s brand.
Viral marketing often is a form of guerilla marketing, in which the campaign cost is negligible. It encompasses consumer-to-consumer word of mouth, chat rooms, bulletin boards, emails, or postings on video-sharing websites. Ingenious by design, viral marketing is an extension of an existing want or need: As consumers spread the word among themselves, the seller’s product becomes an item of desire without additional work or expense on the marketer’s part.
One accidental viral campaign began when adult affiliate program SmashBucks placed its name over a Starbucks logo. SmashBucks co-founder Mike Hawk explains, “The mermaid was flipping everyone off, and instead of [Starbucks Café], it said ‘fuck off’…The logo ended up on T-shirts and was very popular.” Although SmashBucks eventually heeded Starbucks’ cease-and-desist letter, the campaign had taken on a life of its own.
The hallmark of a perfect viral campaign is its effortlessness. The intended demographic seems to discover the brand on its own. However, seasoned marketing managers for adult websites know serendipity has little to do with successful viral marketing. Most professionals “seed” information to start a viral campaign. Hawk effectively used video-sharing site YouTube to demonstrate his company’s content. Recently purchased by Google for 1.65 billion dollars, YouTube provided an invaluable conduit for SmashBucks’ access to consumers, although that channel abruptly closed when YouTube banned adult materials.
A common marketing misconception among industry newbies is that large search engines automatically bring in customers. High rankings on search engines carry a high price, and alone, they can be ineffective. Even when used in conjunction with search engine banner ads, many websites get lost in a net of adult content providers looking to catch new consumer fish. Dominic Rioux, marketing director for Playboy.com, says his well-established brand “rarely [does] any banner advertising.”
Instead, experienced marketing managers supplement their use of search engines. Enter viral campaigns, which utilize myriad resources to maximize branding. One method often employed by marketing professionals is “The Rule of Three” approach. This method combines traditional advertising, public relations, and a viral component.
For example, if an alternative lifestyle dating website catering to an 18- to 35-year-old male demographic wants to gain traffic, tradition dictates advertising in established markets like men’s magazines or cable television. However, viral marketing takes personalization a step further, using consumers’ own lifestyles to generate word-of-mouth appeal.
For the dating website, a viral-marketing approach could be innovative—for instance, posting small signs near major highway entrance ramps—each sign possibly reading “Got Dates?” along with the website’s address. The idea may work, it may not. The goal is to spark consumer conversation.
Recently, Playboy employed a similar technique on MySpace with its “The Girls of MySpace” campaign. By using the buzz generated within the MySpace community to attract consumers to the Playboy.com website, the campaign encouraged more than 100 women to submit photos of themselves. Ten finalists appeared both in Playboy magazine and on Playboy’s Cyber Club. The cross-promotion capitalized on MySpace’s appeal and drew more of its audience to the Playboy brand.
When executed properly, viral marketing enhances traditional marketing approaches. Consumers naturally encourage other consumers to visit targeted websites. Then, calls to action—joining a website or purchasing products or services—become easier to mount successfully. Viral marketing can mean a better bottom line and enhanced brand awareness—certainly goals that are nothing to sneeze at.
