When "viral" is a good thing….
From cnet at news.com.com, there is reference to a recent New York Times article entitled, “Viral ads ask consumers to spread the word“, published: February 17, 2005….
Finally the word “viral” takes on a more positive, rather than fearful, tone. Viral marketing or word-of-mouth or consumer evangelism or social marketing or any of the other terms that have been used to describe activities of bloggers actually goes beyond online blogging to include email and text messaging, too.
As viral marketing gains adherents, it is also gaining awards shows like this week’s Viral Awards in New York. The event, a North American version of the Viral Awards in Britain, primarily honored bizarre or risqué work like “Subservient Chicken” and an online campaign for Trojan condoms that portrayed seminude athletes vaulting into sexual positions.
“The sophomoric, shock-driven work is going to predominate for a while,” said Owen Plotkin, president at the Now Corporation in New York, an editing boutique for television commercials and viral productions that was host for the awards. “That’s the easiest way to ensure people pass something along.”
Well, “sophomoric, shock-driven work” is what will catch people’s attention. Not dangerous, not necessarily positive, but the intent is not to be malicious or dangerous. Let’s see how and when this viral marketing tactic can be used in a way to capture people’s attention for causes other than just selling products. I’ll just put that open-ended challenge out there for anyone to attempt…..
_________________________________________________
Sidebar: For anyone interested in a similar but related concept, check out this article on podcasts, entitled “Tired of TiVo? Beyond blogs? Podcasts are here” Published: February 19, 2005, 5:23 AM PST, same source as above “The New York Times on the Web” as referenced by cnet.
