What Makes A Viral Campaign Interesting?

I read an older article (2006) today on O’Reilly Radar about Web 2.0. If you’ve kept up with the online trends, then you know that this isn’t news, but there was an idea in particular that stood out and still seems to be key when it comes to using Web 2.0 for your company’s advantage. Consumers now not only want to get product or service information from a company’s website, but they also want to be able to discuss it among themselves, and get information from others who have experienced that product or service.

So, with all this said, the key to Web 2.0 success for companies is to get people talking about the product more than the company does. By starting forums, blogs, and social networking, companies can achieve that state of popularity or new age of advertising. For example, Audi recently engaged in an “alternate reality branding” campaign for its new A3 by staging a car theft scene from a dealership in New York. People were very intrigued by these events and started talking about it, blogging about it, posting videos, and other user-generated media. Turned out, that Audi managed to attract campaign zealous followers who would even show up at the dealership and post up flyers to help recover the stolen car and waited eagerly for updates on the thickening plot.

How do companies garner consumer interest in their campaign? Through relevancy. People are tired of irrelevant ads being bombarded at them from every direction; instead, now, with the availability of viral media, companies need to think of creative ways to position themselves in this new culture of online communities and retain interest while building communities. Check out Clickz.com, Suite101.com, and Goecart.com to get some ideas on how to keep a viral marketing campaign relevant and interesting.