Culturing Marketing Media Virus

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Nowadays a huge amount of information about viral marketing can be found, its definitions and types. Moreover, there are not so many experts who are able to flag what is what – what is a hidden marketing or guerrilla marketing - what is said to be substandard marketing campaigns.

In any case there might be a problem in understanding of core essence of the term viral marketing. Even experts are not strongly determined in accuracy of usage of its methods. The understanding of reasonable usage of viral marketing varies from one specialist to another which is even more confusing. Here we will try to cast light upon viral marketing, hidden marketing and guerrilla one.

Long time ago guerilla marketing was determined as a means for survival of small companies which had to compete with big ones. Business competition is a war so warlike terminology came to life. One of the main features of guerilla marketing was its cheapness where you need less money but more brain. It would be reasonable to mention here shocking marketing, life placement and viral marketing when the information about a product is transmitted by customers themselves or decoy – ducks.

Viral marketing is a type of guerilla marketing. Its main purpose is to create a new motive for making a purchase. This is not a direct advertisement, nothing is imposing here so there is no any internal psychological resistance for making a purchase. Marketing departments are operating more effectively in that case. Guerilla marketers do not use reasonable argumentation, they are playing on emotions. It is like see it – like it – buy it – without thinking – spontaneously.

To sum it up, guerilla marketing is diverse marketing communication campaigns that are looking out of universal means of promotion of services and products. As a rule these are campaigns of scandalous and provocative character which allows exhibiting a product in the best way for the customer.

How it works:
Viral marketing or media virus is an advertisement which is targeted at clients subjected to conviction. Then we are infect them with necessary information for us and can be certain in further distribution of the facts embedded. There is a snowball effect here: while using a product clients distribute information about it which looks like an epidemic.

Viral marketing today is a means of brand promotion in the Internet. The core essence of it is distribution of information via personal contacts. The main thing here is to create a necessary atmosphere for a fast and smooth extension. So viral marketing is a pert of a hidden one. It dwells in Internet primarily in the places with lots of bloggers, community inhabitants, forum and social net occupants. There is an easy road here. Send a thrilling and interesting message about a product that will hook the audience and be free. A word of mouth communication starts here with active discussions, generating traffic to your web-site or just creating a buzz over your product or service.

Backbone: Just Make it Breathtaking

Viral marketing is a strategy when a product, service or their ads possess such an influence on customers that he or she is eager to become an active advertiser of it. This is an idea or message that we will distribute with pleasure, tell to a friend or post in our blog.

There are also undercover marketing, buzz marketing and stealth marketing. Interesting ones. The point here is that customers and future loyal clients do not even suspect that they have undergone influence of an advertisement. These are nice stories about celebrities’ preference and loyalty to one of the unknown brands. Watches, tea, coffee, internet providers, mobile phone and software development companies and the like. Such bush telegraph helps to gain loyalty and constant interest to a brand. An obvious advantage here is that such means of communication is more persuasive and effective. Everyone is inclined to believe his own friend more than to an ad.

The main purpose of any viral marketing campaign is to generate a motive for talks and discussions about a product or service, to attract attention and create a buzz. Also it is worth saying that you never know how strong the effectiveness of viral marketing campaign can be which is hard to predict and control. But if a campaign will work out then people will come to you for service, advise your product to friends and will be faithful clients and amiable compilers of your brand fan – club. The viral effect does not take long to kick in. One person refers 10. Those 10 refer 10 who also refer 10 and in the end you have thousands of new users.

Hidden marketing is a type of guerilla marketing and can also be named a special case of a viral one. Hidden marketing is used in the cases with limited sources and when a fresh and a brand- new marketing approach needed. In any case hidden marketing is a unique instrument of promotion. It is a complex of measures aimed at a long-standing positive image of a product development among potential clients and customers.

The strongest advertising effect has guerilla marketing, lesser one belongs to hidden marketing, and the minimal impact is appertained to viral marketing.

Core Points:

Guerilla marketing:
• Narrow segment coverage of customers
• Directivity to a concrete segment
• Pretentious and bizarre marketing
• Cheap and sensational
• Usually on the streets of a city

Hidden marketing:
• Nothing in common with viral marketing
• Hired people ( decoy- ducks) are advertising a product by hidden ways
• Not a direct advertising ( you never guess that it is an ad)
• Distribution of information in blogs, social networks and communities by links to a web-site, photos, comments, questions and recommendations.

Viral marketing:
• Mass audience as well as a narrow segment coverage
• Buzz-marketing, “Word of Mouth” ( rumors, chain letters with warnings, “leaked” information, gossips, urban myths, secondhand versions of official reports)
• Special viral content, games. Micro-sites, videos
• “Snowball “communication
• Submitting articles to article archives (the easiest way to get instant free publicity)
• Free eMail service
• Free Greeting Cards (If you go to yahoo or some other free greeting card service and send a card, your friend does not get the card in their email box. Instead they get an email message with a URL where they can go pick up their eCard. So they go pick up their card and probably bookmark the site and send out an eCard or two by themselves).
• eBooks (free and paid ebooks generate thousands of visitors and always have something of that kind “If you find any of my downloads useful, a link back would be greatly appreciated”).

Examples:

• BMW Films: These films showcased the company's vehicles, of course.

In 2005 BMW announced that its award-winning internet short-film series. BMW took its non-traditional approach one step further by creating DVDs of the films, and distributing them in a targeted fashion at no cost to key audiences. One of BMW’s first forays into this arena was the distribution of The Hire Season One DVD with issues of Vanity Fair magazine. This distribution helped create additional buzz for the film within a key audience. The full DVD collection (with all eight films) was unveiled at The Palais des Festival during the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.

• Subservient Chicken: Remember the tag line, "Have it Your Way"?
The Subservient Chicken is a viral marketing promotion of Burger King's line of chicken sandwiches and their "Have it Your Way" campaign. It was created for Miami advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky by The Barbarian Group. 2004.

• Grocery Store Wars: The Organic Trade Association managed to imbed "The Ways of the Farm" (and the Dark Side of the Farm industry) in millions of unsuspecting onsumers' minds.

• Method's Come Clean: The company sells personal cleaning products. The application encourages you to share your confessions and "come clean."
http://www.comeclean.com/

• Comcast's interactive puppets: It's clear who "pulls the strings" when it comes to entertainment. The themed puppets represent the programming available with On-Demand from Comcast Digital Cable.
http://www.comcastic.com/

• Virtual Bartender 2: Produced by Beer.com, the bartenders will respond to many requests. But when it comes to ordering a drink, they'll only pour you a beer.

So no matter what kind of marketing can be chosen by a company – the aims of it are alike. They are a product or service promotion, generating of a long-standing positive image of a company. The main difference is in means and approaches to its application.

Vera Leonik , eMarketing Specialist at www.qulix.com”>Qulix Systems – Custom Software Development Company, located in Minsk, Belarus, Eastern Europe. Our client-oriented approach and effective offshore software development services are the things that will help you to achieve your business goals. For more detailed information on SCM/e-marketplace, please feel free to contact us. Copyright 2007© Vera Leonik. All rights reserved. This article may be freely reprinted on your websites. We only require the article and the resource box at the bottom of each article remain unchanged.

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