Viral marketing is a marketing strategy that employs word-of-mouth through social networking sites in order to spread a brand, intended to spread across the internet with no cost to the advertiser (Howard, 2005). One way to describe typical advertisements that we see on TV is “linear.” The advertiser pays a TV station money to show their advertisement ‘x’ many times. If this is the case, we can assume that viral marketing works in exponential fashion. The advertiser places their ad online in a few key places (popular social networking sites), it spreads through the internet like wildfire as users take it upon themselves to spread the brand.
It’s a simple premise, but there are a few key components that are required for an advertisement to go viral. First, the ad must be intriguing. It has to have the viewer wondering and/or left in awe. This is necessary because the user must deem the content worthwhile of telling others about it. Second, the ad should be interactive. Internet users in 2009 are sophisticated. They live in a consumer society, they crave consumption. If a viral marketing strategy is going to be successful, there must be something to do.
A popular viral marketing campaign occurred in 2008 for the film “The Dark Knight.” It employed websites that slowly revealed highly sought after material, such as first glimpses of Heath Ledger’s Joker, Two-Face, and other storyline elements. Websites appeared that had campaign slogans for Harvey Dent, websites were discovered where users were asked to send in pictures of certain areas in the United States, etc. It was very interactive and helped build hype for the film to extraordinary levels, becoming the biggest blockbuster film in years.
A viral ad that was used to market "The Dark Knight"
The television show “LOST” also used a viral marketing strategy in which it released films, which appeared like “hand-held” amateur shot videos that revealed storyline aspects of the show that the producers did not feel important enough to include on the TV show, but felt the story should be told. They called it “The Lost Experience” and helped build hype for the show’s return in the fall.
It is exponential. It is cheap. It is the perfect strategy to drum up hype. And it all comes down to the user. This mass viewership that can find something intriguing and spread it like wildfire. And marketers know it. It’s a fusion of media. A fusion of internet and television that culminates in an extremely efficient marketing mechanism.
