Viral Marketing, an aptly named internet phenomenon whose term seems to have lost all sense of irony, is one of the great mysteries for the modern day marketer. If anyone has an exact formula for how to achieve it I’d be happy to hear it, but for now it’s about all I can do to talk a little bit about the phenomenon itself, and perhaps glean some insights into what key factors might contribute to viral success.
The term was first coined in the mid-90’s by Harvard Business School professor Jeffrey Rayport in an article for Fast Company. The analogous relationship between a pathogen and viral media stems from the voluntary or perhaps involuntary spread of the media itself. When someone forwards you a funny video, that video can be considered viral. If you consider that video to be funny enough in turn to forward it to one of your friends, you have played host to and transmitted the “virus” as well. The marketing aspect of course comes into play when a certain brand or corporate message or idea is inserted somewhere into the mix.
There doesn’t seem to be any kind of definite rule of thumb about how the insertion takes place, save to say that it is different/original in each case. Here are a couple of examples of successful viral videos. The content of the first, a Cadbury commercial featuring a Gorilla playing the drums to a Phil Collins song, literally has no connection whatsoever to the brand it is endorsing. Yet the video is so funny, original, and different that the viewer can’t help but associate some element of the gleeful experience of viewing with the brand itself. Conversely, the Smirnoff Raw Tea video incorporates the brand identity directly into the content, but juxtaposes preppy characters with rap video stereotypes to create another funny and memorable video.
These videos both share humor, which seems to be one of the most conducive qualities to viral media. They are both relatively short, and they don’t attempt to go into a great deal of depth about the product itself. Essentially they do nothing but associate an entertaining experience with the brand, which is what many ads do in the mainstream media. However the difference is that there is something definitively offbeat about them. These aren’t ads you would see on American television. Both of them make the viewer sit back and say “what is this?!” at first, and then the payoff comes. This element of initial bewilderment is fundamental aspect of successful viral media. It is the veritable x-factor that makes you want to send it to someone else. It is a common theme that will be the focus of many further posts.
Posted by fbnewman 
