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Chapter 2: Theoretical
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Viral Marketing Campaign Circled The Globe in 15 Minutes
Added : (Tue Jul 22 2003) For Immediate Release
Viral Marketing Campaign Circles The Globe In Fifteen Minutes
Troy, AL -- LifeWay Christian Resources, the second largest Christian retailer in the U.S. and Seventh
Impression, award-winning brand development specialists based in Goshen, Alabama joined forces to create
one of the most powerful and highly effective viral marketing campaigns ever -- achieving click through rates
in excess of 90%.
Developed to promote an online bible study course, hosted by well-known personality Beth Moore, more than
20,000 sales were attributed directly to the viral campaign. By the time the tracking had stopped, the
campaign had reached as many as 43 tiers of propagation.
Michael Epps Utley, Marketing Coordinator at LifeWay says, “We knew that viral marketing could be a highly
effective tool, and that if we could reach folks with an interest in the product then it would sell itself. We
wanted folks to have fun, to be engaged, to have multiple opportunities to experience our site and the
products for sale in a way that would give them a reason to come back.”
That’s where Seventh Impression came in. After much brainstorming it was decided that they would develop a
series of inspirational e-postcards from LifeWay that people could pass along to friends and colleagues. Then
they set to work going through the demographics to find the right lists for their needs.
Utley reports that the test results were overwhelmingly positive, confirming the validity of the basic idea. “Then
it just exploded out of the box,” he says. “So much so, they had to reset the database before launching the
formal campaign.”
Chris Tidwell of Seventh Impression says, “Viral marketing can be a great direct response tool in addition to a
powerful branding vehicle. The trick is to know what motivates your customers to purchase.”
“People spend several hours a day in front of their computer communicating with their friends and family.
Marketers just have to give them a reason to pass on the sales message. In this case an enormous amount of
people passed along the message. They were touched by it and even emailed to say how thankful they were
for the opportunity to share the message with others,” says Tidwell. “That’s the magic of it.”
To receive a copy of the entire case study email [email protected]
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How To Unleash Your Own Viral Marketing Campaign
by Michael Low
One of the e-marketing topics least written about is viral marketing. Yet it is one of the most successful e-marketing methods
used today! In this article, I will discuss the various forms of viral marketing (VM) being used online. I will also provide
examples of each form of VM and how you can use it.
VM #1. Word-Of-Mouth
The most common implementation of word-of-mouth VM are the "Tell A Friend" or "Recommend This To A Friend" forms on most
websites. Usage rate differs from site to site. For some entertainment sites, the usage of tell-a-friend forms can be very
high. Yet for other large content sites, the usage may be insignificant. The usage rate depends a lot on the kind of content
being recommended and the user group. However this form of VM can be cheaply and quickly implemented and its efficacy
can be enhanced with a contest or lucky draw. There are a number of free tell-a-friend service providers online. For a list of
them, go to http://www.internetmarketingfocus.com/ to.cgi?l=a010p1
VM #2. Pass-It-On
This is a popular activity for most email users - be it corporate, home or academic account holders. When we receive attachments
of funny pictures or cool Flash games, we usually forward them to friends. And they in turn forward the attachments to their
contacts. The snowball effect can create a distribution channel easily reaching hundreds of people within a few hours - from
just one original email. Here's how you can implement pass-it-on VM: Create a fun game using Macromedia Flash and send
it out to contacts in your address book. Include your website URL within the Flash program and invite people to click to your
site. Also make it available for download on your website .. and watch it spread virally! If you want to track statistics such as
the rate of infection, you can always include a 1x1 GIF or other e-tracking mechanism. For pass-it-on VM to succeed, you
have to create something that people will want to share with others. Other pass-it-on VM media include PowerPoint slides,
fun graphics and small utility programs. Check out some pass-it-on VM examples at http://www.madblast.com
VM #3. Service-based
The most successful service-based VM pioneer is Hotmail. They started with little promotion but grew phenomenally using a little
tag line that they included at the bottom of every email sent out. The tag line included a short teaser and their website URL.
Now imagine the number of emails that are sent out daily and how those emails help Hotmail get more new users - which in
turn result in even more emails sent out! The next example is Blue Mountain e-greeting cards. When someone sends an ecard using Blue Mountain, the recipient has to go to Blue Mountain's site to view it - bringing in another potential user who
will send out more e-cards. One more example: BraveNet Web Services. BraveNet provides webmasters with tools such as
guestbooks, forums, polls and email forms. When people use a BraveNet guestbook on a member site, they are exposed to
BraveNet's advertisements - inviting them to sign up for a BraveNet service. If you own a service-based site, you should
seriously consider implementing VM to grow your site. Start brainstorming for ideas!
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Coca Cola launches viral campaign to promote Alive
I just received this through email from one of the companies involved in the development:
'A four month campaign consisting of a multi-level platform game, a new level being launched
every 2 weeks. On-line traffic being generated from MTV and Nickelodeon. On-air spots in
association with Thank Nick it's Friday on Nickelodeon. Viral aspects introduced via e-invites
and e-cards throughout the game.'
A lot of money is being spent on this. The product branding is very good, the site
promotion/seeding is incredibly generous, there are great prices, and yet they screw up on the
game (viral object) side. If this turns out to be successful, it will be a false success, bought for,
rather than cleverly earned. It will certainly not have had the branding effect that it could have.
From the start they get the gaming front very wrong, forcing kids to fill in a 10 point form
before they can even start. If that wasn't bad enough, they are then met by a stupid car
navigation test (car doesn't really work), before they can get to level 1 proper, which in itself is
far from spectacular, borrowing heavily off a 12 year old Nintendo game. The whole process
leaks, giving users far too many opportunities/reasons to leave before they get properly
involved.
Looking at this campaign, what I see is traditional marketers not quite getting the web. They
clearly don't trust viral marketing, and have therefore invested the lions share of the budget in
firing people at the brand, rather than making the viral object potent enough to cause its own
epidemic. I find this frustrating - this campaign could so easily have been very good - yet all it
really amounts to now is an expensive attempt at collecting contact details.
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Source Power
• How is the source (commercial, channel)
power of Coke likely to influence the
success of its viral marketing?
• Do you think viral marketing might work as
well, better, or worse, for a company with
weak source power?
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Source Attractiveness & Credibility
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Why is viral marketing, if done well, so successful?
Evaluate the attractiveness & credibility of the Coke ads aimed at sports fans,
among others: http://www.coke.com/usa/tvcommercials/index.html
– Are any of these ads good enough to become viral?
Attractiveness: Similarity & Familiarity
– What is the connection between similarity and attractiveness?
– Does attractiveness just mean “good looking”?
Credibility
– Expertise (knowledge, experience or skills of source)
– Trustworthy (honesty, integrity, believability; non-manipulative)
– Status/prestige (best, highest-ranking)
– Profile (matching demographics or characteristics of source or event with
target audience)
• Do any of the ads produce a boomerang effect? Can you think of some
that do?
• How might Coke’s “Alive” game campaign have a boomerang effect?
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Message & Medium
“Misunderstood messages are often ignored or ridiculed by
the receiver.”
Compare the viral marketing campaigns of Coke & Lifeway.
Which of these factors explains (possible) success or
failure?
• Personal relevance: makes sense, has meaning and
personal relevance; avoids source amnesia
• Active discussion among users
• Closure: What did we learn? What did I get from this?
Why is effective viral marketing such a good learning tool
for a firm’s consumers to get beyond just awareness?
(Does Coke need more people to be aware of Coke?)
• Visual (see)
• Auditory (hear/talk)
• Kinesthetic (do/touch)
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Medium
Evaluate Coke’s media placements
– 4-months promoting ALIVE game: multi-level online
game, new level every 2 weeks
– MTV & Nickelodeon
– E-invites & e-cards
Awareness:
Advertising
Interest:
Publicity
Desire:
Sales promotion (incentives)
Action:
Selling
What will be the key
to whether or not this
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campaign is successful?