WHAT IS VIRAL ADVERTISING?
A viral (or viral email) is commonly a piece of bite-sized entertainment that is
spread infectiously around the Internet. It is passed on from person to person much like a virus in the real world, but it should not be confused with a virus. Virals generally spread via the Internet, but mobile networks are increasingly becoming significant.
Examples include short movie clips, pictures, text and simple games, but there are no rules. The content engages the viewer enough to want to pass it on to other people. Funny virals are the most common form, but they can also be topical, informative, shocking, stupid or a combination of any of these attributes.
The term "viral advertising" refers to the idea that people will pass on and share cool and entertaining content; this is often sponsored by a brand, which is looking to build awareness of a product or service. These viral commercials often take the form of funny video clips, or interactive Flash games, images, and even text.
Types of Viral Messages
Pass-along: A message which encourages the user to send the message to others.
The crudest form of this is chain letters where a message at the bottom of the e-mail prompts the reader to forward the message. More effective are short, funny clips of video which people spontaneously forward. Many of these, such as the Cog (television commercial) from Honda began life as TV commercials and have since circulated on the web by word of mouth. The number of people reached in this way is often much greater than the number who viewed the original ad.
Incentivised viral: Offering rewards for providing someone's address. This can dramatically increase referrals. However, this is most effective when the offer requires another person to take action.
Most online contests offer more chances of winning for each referral given; but when the referral must also participate in order for the first person to obtain that extra chance of winning, the chance that the referral participates is much greater.
Undercover: A viral message presented as a cool or unusual page, activity, or piece of news, without obvious incitements to link or pass-along.
In Undercover Marketing, it is not immediately apparent that anything being marketed. Particular effort is made to make the discovery of the item seem spontaneous and informal, to encourage natural mimetic behavior.
Outside world "clues", such as graffiti appearing in cities with key viral words, is often used to direct people to search out the presented "mystery". Because of the large amount of unusual and entertaining content on the internet, this can be the hardest type of viral to spot, especially as companies try to imitate the style and content of amateur websites and authentic underground movements.
"Edgy Gossip/Buzz marketing" ads or messages that create controversy by challenging the borders of taste or appropriateness. Discussion of the resulting controversy can be considered to generate buzz and word of mouth advertising.
Prior to releasing a movie, some Hollywood movie stars get married, get divorced, or get arrested, or become involved in some controversy that directs conversational attention to them.
An example is the publicity campaign about the dubious love affair between Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes that came out just before each of them released a movie.
Methods of Transmission
Transmission of viral marketing can occur in one of four ways:
Word of Web: Typing into a web-based form that converts that information into an e-mail, sends to recipients. An example of this is any article at MSNBC.com. In the article, there are links that encourage you to send to a friend; this brings you to a web-based form that you fill out, and this form converts all of the information to the recipient in an e-mail.
Word of E-Mail: The most common type: forwarding e-mails, such as jokes, quizzes and pictures.
Word of mouth
Word of IM: Perhaps the fastest-growing mode of transmission, hyperlinks are sent over instant messaging servers such as AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, or Google IM. This method is popular with many young people who are arguably more likely to trust a link sent by a friend via IM than by that same friend through e-mail.
Reward for Referrals: Sometimes, the marketing company offers a reward for referring customers, encouraging you to use any of the above methods.
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