NBC's American Gladiators: Interactive and Viral Campaign

I recently fell into a viral campaign, which I feel is necessary to discuss here because it truly shows you how viral marketing works. Yesterday, I came across a friend's Myspace bulletin which contained a hilarious video relating to NBC's show, American Gladiators. After the video was viewed, the video linked you directly to their website. So, there are two positives in that because the video and website help to promote the show and allow viewers to become more aware of it. The link actually brought you to their games section of the website, which allowed people to interact with the brand in different ways such as creating the video. Hence, the show has used both viral and interactive marketing to further engage the viewer's attention. Both are positive ways to market the show. The video basically was a parody of the show and allowed you to put someone's face on someone else's body during the entire video. I thought it was a brilliant idea, which slightly reminded me of Office Max's viral campaign during the holiday season that allowed individuals to put their friends or family in elf costumes. I thought it was so hilarious that me and a fellow co-worker decided to try it out ourselves, so we placed our supervisor's headshot in the video. I must say the result was pretty funny and it gave us relevant experience on how a viral campaign starts. After posting the video on our company blog, the video started to spread virally. Now, it makes me wonder who else has tried putting someone else's face on these videos. Our experiment with the game gave us a great firsthand experience to see how viral campaigns can spread so quickly.

The Tasty Way To A Viral Campaign

Have you heard of the tasty new ways to launch a viral campaign? Well, Welch’s has come up with a different way to market their product. Some of their recent ads have featured a lickable insert that allows consumers to taste test the product before purchasing it. Good idea? I definitely think so! The campaign has garnered a lot of buzz and allowed the product and brand to get awareness. Welch’s worked with the company, First Flavor, to deliver the idea that would receive well-deserved attention. According to an article, “Everyone from Diane Sawyer to Al Roker was talking about it, making it seem like the latest fad.”

In my opinion, it deserves the attention it received because it is something different and fresh. I feel it could definitely be a new fad in the making. So, consumers beware…you may be seeing more taste strips in you future.

I was talking to a co-worker today about the idea and she thought it was absolutely brilliant. I mean, if you saw the ad would you tell the people you know? I would and I did. According to a study conducted by Starch Communications, a division of GfK Custom Research North America, the Peel 'n Taste flavor strips helped to raise awareness and increased purchase consideration with consumers, for those who are brave enough to try them.I think the best thing about this campaign is the viral aspect of it. Viral marketing helps to spread the word and can help produced result. A full 70% of people interviewed remembered seeing the ad. Of that group, 62% took some action, from mentioning it to others to actually purchasing the juice. Those results put the ad on par with an eight-page insert, as measured against Starch Adnorm figures. Those numbers are pretty incredible.

So, it makes me wonder what type of marketing is going to happen next? But, this is one of the most innovative things I’ve seen in awhile. Can you imagine seeing these taste strips in stores in the future? It could happen. I’m also looking forward to an upcoming campaign by the Anti-Smoking Florida Association, which will feature an advertisement with a taste strip that tastes like the bottom of an ashtray. The Anti-Smoking campaign is sure to get buzz and when it does, don’t forget that I told you so.

Disney's "Camp Rock": Viral Campaign Success?

Disney is at it, again! This time it isn’t High School Musical, but the up-and-coming movie, "Camp Rock". In my opinion, Disney has always done a great job with marketing their movies, but with the success of the "High School Musical" franchise they want to reach even more. Their new campaign for "Camp Rock" seems like it will be a very successful campaign that will spread virally. Through having younger siblings, I was able to see directly how word-of-mouth about a movie can spread among their demographic. I think the success of "High School Musical" had to do with the word-of-mouth catching everyone’s attention and curiosity. Everyone was like “What is High School Musical?” So, everyone was checking the movie out and seeing what the buzz was all about. I think "Camp Rock" has the potential to do the same. I am already hearing buzz about the movie from my younger siblings and others alike. The movie premiering June 20th on the Disney Channel stars the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato.



The marketing campaign for the movie includes a partnership with Target that will tie-in the movie with the retailer's latest "Hello, Good Buy" TV spots, featuring the Jonas Brothers singing the commercial’s song. Best Western and Ubisoft will pitch a "Camp Rock" sweepstakes. The Jonas Brothers will also have a customized issue of People magazine, hitting newsstands around the "Camp Rock" premiere. The magazine will also feature exclusive content about the movie. Promos will be aired in movie theaters via a new partnership with Screenvision, prior to movie trailers shown during family-friendly movies such as "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" and "Kung Fu Panda."

When the movie premieres, fans can also listen to an audio simulcast of the movie on Radio Disney's 42 stations and on RadioDisney.com. But rather than rerun the movie for the remainder of the weekend, "Camp Rock" will move to Disney's broadcast sibling ABC for an exclusive premiere during "The Wonderful World of Disney," hosted by the Jonas Brothers. The movie hops over to ABC Family on June 22, before it moves to Disney.com the following Monday for full-length, full-screen video streams.

Lastly, there will be ways to purchase your own “Camp Rock” souvenirs such as the "Camp Rock" soundtrack or the DVD, which will be released a few weeks after the TV premiere.

The movie being shown on many platforms will allow for different metrics helping Disney distinguish between all forms of movie viewing. Through these different methods of showing the movie, Disney can possibly capture different audiences and gain more viewers. "High School Musical 2" reached a record 17.1 million viewers during its August premiere on Disney Channel alone.



Disney has the ability to be innovative and find the next new star and franchise. What they’re trying to do with all the new media is to find the next way to interact with their viewers.

I feel these methods will be an effective way to market. Fans will spread the word to other people and they will have access to the movie during different times. I can already see the herd of smiling children in excitement of all this Disney goodness! Disney also hopes this move keeps parents excited as well! Only time will tell if Disney’s efforts will be successful, but I feel we have a possible TV movie phenomenon in the making.

The "Camp Rock" campaign is the largest for any Disney Channel original movie, stated Richard Loomis, Disney's senior VP-marketing and creative.

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.

What do Viral Marketing and Passing Gas Have in Common?

With the expansion of online social networking media, marketers now have another highly useful channel to utilize for spreading the word about their campaign. With the emergence of these channels, and now that the Internet is available to over 760 million people worldwide, viral marketing has had astonishing effects for pushing products, goods, services, and raise awareness. Recent studies show that 58% of the US population uses the Internet as a primary source to get information. This percentage is the highest among other traditional sources of information such as professional advisors, newspapers and magazines. Therefore, marketers have a great advantage when it comes to exploiting the Internet, because of its long reach. As far as viral marketing goes, the Internet is a gold mine for targeting specific niche audiences; even the fickle Gen-Yers, especially now with all the social networking sites available. With use of the Internet, viral marketing can take on many faces and use many themes to spread the word.
I was browsing through YouTube today and I came across what I thought was an excellent viral marketing commercial for Troegs Beer. Troegs Beer is a microbrewery from Harrisburg Pennsylvania that is run and crafted by two brothers. Considering that micro-breweries do not have the financial muscle or the audience to compete with behemoth breweries like Anhueser Busch or Coors, viral marketing is great way to go to reach the crowds that enjoy exclusivity as well as specialty products. This is nice, but what I really enjoyed about their commercial is that it was simple, and had a specific target: men or men who love beer. The commercial displayed a beautiful model in a yellow bikini describing the great taste and array of products; meanwhile she’s belching and farting. The use of potty humor has given this specific video on YouTube an excellent rating, over half a million views and many comments. After I watched that commercial, I started noticing that there were many food and drink commercials that utilized potty humor; and my best guess is that it’s entertaining, and in a gross way, authentic. There were several videos about girls passing gas in general; this must be a new trend.

What does all this mean? It means that with viral marketing, a marketer can maximize the use of that specific channel to an audience by being specific; and letting people with similar interests spread the word. With the expanding numbers of bloggers and the millions of members involved with social networks; the possibilities are endless, no matter how stinky.

Another Reason Why Viral is the Way To Go

When TiVo came on the scene not too long ago, it started the slow death of the 30 second ad spot. It was the catalyst that served to convince even the most conservative marketers that it was time to start thinking about Web advertising.

TV advertising went on for over 50 years without threat, but unfortunately, Web marketers have not been as lucky. Within the last year, an extension for Mozilla Firefox has become popular, and some advertisers are worried about it - and they should be. Pop-ups aren't going to be the only thing blocked by knowledgeable Web-surfers.

The add-on application is called Adblock Plus. The program integrates with a user's browser (only Firefox at this point) and identifies, then blocks, advertising messages. The program is able to identify banners and advertisements by size and location and through a maintained database. The application is completely open-source and also not for profit, so ad companies can't easily buy it up and shut it down. And even if they did, another iteration would surely and swiftly rise from the dust.


Although it poses quite a threat for that portion of internet advertising, it has only been adopted by a small portion of the public. The New York Times quoted the creator of Adblock Plus, citing that approximately 2.5 million downloads have taken place so far, and 300,000 to 400,000 downloads occur each month. If growth continues at that rate, it will surely be something for marketers to worry about.

What does any of this have to do with Viral marketing? Well, Adblock Plus isn't blocking YouTube videos. It's not MySpace profiles or emails. And when interesting content is passed on from a friend or co-worker, the recipient will often go out of their way to experience it.

To sum it up: banners out, viral in.

Bob Dylan's Subterranean Viral Blues

In order to promote his album due for release in October, Dylan: His Greatest Songs, Bob Dylan has gone viral.



Using content cut from the famous Subterranean Homesick Blues portion of his movie Don't Look Back, users are able to fill in ten cards with whatever content that they would like. Those cards are then injected into the video clip, followed by a message urging viewers to check out the new album. It is then able to be shared via email.

Potential abuses for this are obvious, as the possibilities are endless. Regardless, that will serve to make the campaign even more popular.

This piece is a prime example of what viral is all about - simple and effective.

My only criticism is that it doesn't appear that it can be shared in any way but email. A welcomed addition would be to generate code to put the created video on a blog or social networking page, or to be able to send the video to sharing sites such as YouTube or Google Video. But even though these options aren't readily available, surely resourceful fans will find ways to capture the video and share it beyond its intended means - which can only be a good thing for album sales.

Go Viral By Solving a Problem

As any [honest] marketer will tell you, there is no guarantee that a campaign, message or product will go viral. However, there are certain steps that can be taken to help it on its way.

What will be discussed today is something that may need to be addressed in the development stage of the product. Or rather, if the item to be promoted already exists, introspection may be necessary to see if this could be appropriate.

And what is this killer way to move something virally? Solve a problem.

How is that going to work? If something solves a problem for one person, they're likely to recommend it to another, and so forth. Additionally, there are other avenues for this to travel.

Let's look at a prime example here: Firefox. Do you know what Firefox is? How did you learn about it? If you use it, why?



It is very possible that you started because you had a need or had to resolve a problem. While helping others with their computer problems, I have not only recommended the product, but also installed and/or walked people through installation countless times. I've even given instruction.

Why? I like to think because I'm a nice person who likes to help. Although everyone is not that way, a large number of the population is, and they will help you go viral.

Another example of something that could work in this category which is more promotion-based would be a widget. Widgets can be installed to the computer and can resolve a number of issues. Just make sure that they resolve your goal as well.

When Word of Mouth Goes in the Wrong Direction

The goal of every viral campaign is to reach the largest amount of people and spread a message, feeling or awareness. So the more the merrier, right?

Well not always... Sure if you're a rockstar who can't make it in the US, it's a nice consolation to be "big in Japan". But there's really no use of your viral campaign going out of your target region (unless it can somehow make it back in).

So if you're advertising a US-only product and that makes it big overseas, what does that mean? Likely, that you're going to be wasting a lot of bandwidth!

Are there precautions that can be taken to make sure that this doesn't happen? First, you should make sure that you know where the traffic is coming from on sites which you plan to transmit your messages on. Anyone with access to Google Analytics can give you these numbers.

It also can be possible to block traffic from overseas to your servers. But be careful, it is possible that things can go awry and block those that should be viewing and passing on your messages!

Points Can Make Viral Marketing Work

We all have friends who have (or we have ourselves) collected points or UPCs or something of that sort to earn prizes... even though often the prizes weren't worth the effort. But regardless, we like to collect our points! It's a phenomenon like Pokémon - Gotta Catch 'em All! - except maybe a little more acceptable for adults.

The Washington Post has decided to make use of this phonemon in a very smart way. They will soon be giving points for reading articles or submitting content to the website. Additionally, to earn points, users do not have to be subscribers of the publication. This allows them to learn about consumers outside of their subscriber base, but in their market.

This type of integration can be very effective, as these types of activities can become addictive. And even if they do not actively attempt to spread the word, their time spent will surely be noticed and brought into discussion. Plus, if and when they recievie their prizes, they will be flaunted at the office (or wherever appropriate) and discussion of the system is bound to come up.

Unfortunately, a traditional method could mean a lot of work. Aside from setting up a point system, swag needs to be designed, purchased, and eventually delivered to consumers. For that reason, in smaller cases where that type of setup may not be possible, other prizes must be found. Free premium memberships for a period of time can work in sites that have this integrated already. This could also serve as a trial, bringing in others that might not have considered a premium membership before. Otherwise, discounts on products that the reader might not have considered purchasing can work as well.

There are many ways in which this type of system can be worked into a site in order to help spread the word!

One Reason Why Social Networks are Prime for Viral Transmission

A 52-week average of industry search terms by Hitwise produced the Top Ten Most-Searched-For Brands of 2006, with MySpace topping the list.

We all knew that MySpace and Social Networking in general was hugely popular, but this data can serve to put into perspective just how grand this revolution is. MySpace has beaten several prominent Web brands - some of which have been players since the start of the Web revolution.

In comparing the other brands in this top ten, there is an important similarity between them that serves to highlight the prominence of Social Networking sites as optimal hosts for viral content. If you take a look at the rest of the top ten, you see brands that deal mainly, or at least in a large part with, utility. Sure, some of the sites feed a recreational need as well, but only MySpace does this exclusively.

And why is this important? Because when a user is on MySpace, they are less purpose-driven and therefore less likely to pass by these ads. Additionally, they already in a capacity to easily pass on the viral message. Not needing to launch another application or page also makes them that much more likely to take the valuable step of passing on the viral message.

And you don't have to put it up on MySpace. As MediaPost points out, the smaller communities actually make up for their smaller number of users by providing more valuable ones with higher engagement levels.

Is Internet Viral Marketing a Fad?

According to a survey of Mediapost readers, half of the respondents think that viral is a fad.

While things tend not to be concrete in marketing, and less so when it comes to viral, one thing is for sure - half of these readers are wrong about whether online viral marketing is a fad. The question is... which half?

For hundreds, or even thousands of years, people have enjoyed each others company, sharing news, stories, jokes and other forms of personal entertainment. As the world globalizes, the Internet continues to facilitate relationships between those far apart, and the desire to communicate and entertain remains.

Viral has been a part of the Internet since the very beginning of its widespread adoption. Who doesn't remember getting scores of forwarded chain letters and jokes from anyone who had you in their address book in the 90's? Viral and word-of-mouth exists in other media as well. How do you think My Big Fat Greek Wedding got off the ground? The recent boom only reflects the fact that marketers have harnessed the viral's power and put it to use.

Are marketers going to lose their grip? Are Web surfers going to stop to pass on entertaining content? Is the Internet just a fad itself? It is unlikely that any of those scenarios will come to pass. At least there is no evidence that has come to light to support any of those notions.

Using Viral Video to Capture a Passionate Audience

As MediaPost, points out, it is more valuable to market to engaged consumers. Many corporations found success marketing using Web video during March Madness.

What makes this different than other marketing avenues? These users are not only actively, but passionately seeking out information. When they watch a video or click on a link, they are already in a frame of mind that is useful to marketers, and will be more likely to pass that enthusiasm onto the product or service.

So when deciding where to market your product, take it beyond demographics. Think passion! What do people love? What do people feel strongly about? For instance, there are those of us who feel strongly about their classic gaming roots and go ga-ga for Nintendo or even PONG. And then there are those who can't read enough about their developing infants, from names to feeding methods to... products which can help them develop - a logical expansion.

However, there are certain things that people are passionate about that you want to stay away from. Don't alienate yourself by advertising on a site that ardently promotes a certain view that others may be offended by. Just use common sense here and you'll be fine.

A Safer Way to Proliferate Viral Videos?

YuMe Networks, a new advertising body, launched last week. They promise "access to a premier network of online video publishers and a catalog of brand safe, contextually relevant and targeted advertising solutions."

What does all of that really mean?

Have you ever caught an ad for a company on a site that is completely inappropriate? It's likely that you have. Many buy banner advertising with no guarantee of what type of content will be present on the site that the banner appears on. These incidents can range from awkward, to embarrassing, to downright hilarious. Sure, that's not video, but you get the idea.

One example that comes to mind is a forum that does not allow talk about online gambling sites, yet would routinely have banner ads for them. Another example is of a major manufacturer of digital cameras who often has ads on sites that promote the pirating of digital content - unlikely their intention. I'll stay away from specifics here.

So this service just may help in certain circumstances, especially for the more brand-image conscious, which often consists of large multi-national corporations.

However, is it right for a viral campaign? Maybe not. It will be unlikely for the content to be able to be transmitted outside of the intended page(s). Therefore, it will probably not make it to YouTube (unless you put it there as well - maybe a consideration to make if going this route) and then not posted on numerous blogs or social networking sites.

It is an interesting concept that will be surely be of use to some, but it might not be the easiest way for your video to go viral.

Making Blog Marketing Easy - Give Them the Code

So, you want people to blog about your product, but you have no idea about how to get them to do it.


Why not make it easy for them? A perfect example of this is IFILM's Academy Awards Blogger Toolkit.



This site not only provided the content including movie trailers and awards speeches as old as 1935 for bloggers to post, but also instructions on how to do so. They even included code for embedded movie players for various award categories.

Many bloggers love interactive content that will draw and keep readers on their site, so this type of high-quality content is sure to be welcomed by many.

Remember, the easier content is for the bloggers to post, and the more valuable they find it to entice readers, the more likely it will be posted.

Naming Your Blog for Effective Viral Marketing

Chris Garrett over at chrisg.com has made some great points about the importance of naming your blog.

In naming your blog or viral medium, you are creating a brand. Sure, you probably already have a brand, and it even is likely in the URL. However, the unique characteristics of URLs mean that the small differences between the it and the original brand can mean that it will have characteristics of its own, sometimes with only a partial relation to the original brand.

There are certain jobs that the name of the site fill in the diffusion process - as it is passed from one user to another - and all of them need to be fulfilled within the selection process - with as little as one word.

To start with, it needs to be unique. It needs to be able to catch the attention of the person who is expected to pass it on - it needs to be memorable. If a user can remember the content, but cannot remember the name, how can they be expected to pass it on? An unoriginal or unmemorable name can potentially kill a viral effect in its tracks.

It also needs to describe the content of the site. The sender may give little or no description along with the transmitted URL, or the receiver may not care to read it. If the URL can communicate what should be expected, the receiver may be more likely to visit the site.

Additionally, it needs to portray the correct image. Misspelling words or certain connotations may not portray the brand in the correct light (as ChrisG pointed out, a site for grammarians would not be well received if it used a creative misspelling), or carry other consequences.

The URL also needs to be able to be spelled easily. If one cannot simply rattle off the name, and instead needs to spend a moment explaining the spelling, or take the time to find a pencil to write it down, the extra effort may be enough to stop the potential transmitter from sending the message on. Viral messages are still often communicated by word-of-mouth the old fashioned way... which actually involves using the mouth!

These considerations are just a start of the what must be taken into account when naming a blog or viral campaign. Let it be known that the name is a very important part in lifting a campaign off of the ground and supplying the wind to keep it flying.

Internet Viral Marketing for the Love of Lists & Surveys

As the internet evolved, email was often one of the first places that people started their experience. Before long, sending personally created emails was not enough, and forwards started shooting from outbox to inbox.

Jokes were often a topic of these forwards, but eventually they weren't enough. Surveys and lists have since come to be popular, and they remain as such currently. Only now, users are not just forwarding them to their email address lists, but rather posting them to their blogs and profiles on social networking sites such as the hugely popular MySpace and Facebook. Many members even post them on their main page, which allow them to be seen each time another member enters their profile.

Why are they so popular? Users of these sites often want to express themselves, and surveys of these types allow them to do so and easily communicate it to their audience.

This can be accomplished by creating the interface and survey with an easy to pass-on URL. The users fill out the information and submit, and then they are provided with HTML code that can be posted on their site. This code can categorize them into desirable groups or classify them as relating to a known character. The code itself can also create a link to take the quiz if someone clicks on the result that has been posted... and so goes the cycle.

As for lists, Matt Coddington of netbusinessblog.com explains primal reasons why they are so appealing to the masses (ironically, using a list). Go ahead and read it, you know you can't stop yourself!

So why not think about including surveys or lists for your viral campaign, or at least include them as a component?

Avoiding Simple Mistakes that can Hinder Viral Marketing

A blogger, Guy Kawasaki, has come up with a top ten list (although there are actually fourteen, but we won't hold it against him) of simple mistakes that can hinder adoption of new products and services. All of these points are relevant, however, some of the simpler and more damaging mistakes that hold the power to strangle a viral campaign will be discussed here.

First, let's examine the issue of registration. One quality of a piece that is on track to go viral is its ease of access. If a person finds something humorous or relevant and forwards it to another party, the reciever needs to be able to access enough content to spark their interest before they are required to register or, for that matter, make any real effort beyond a few mouse clicks.

Even after they have passed that point, the interested party then needs to be able to complete the registration process quickly and painlessly. The less information that they need to enter, the more likely they will be to fill out and submit the form. If there are fields that are really not necessary, and you do not wish to remove them, why not consider making them optional?

Additionally, complicated authentication schemes to prove the validity of a user, such as displaying garbled text for that user to re-enter, can be just enough of an obstacle to cause that person to leave the site - and likely not return!

Next, or rather before, the sender needs to be able to transmit the link, and the reciever needs to be able make use of that link easily. As Guy points out in his blog, long URLs can be troublesome. Some email clients will cause them to jump to a second line and break the link. Many will not (or might not know how) to resolve this and will never view the content. And as for URLs that are not able to be copied and pasted to reproduce the same conent... well, they're just not a good idea to use here.

This issue can be resolved by offering a link to refer friends, however, this can have its disadvantages as well. The referral links usually include places to leave a personalized message, but they are often left blank. In that state, the sent message is not too much better than an unsolicited email. The personal aspect of a direct email from the sender (generally requiring some sort of textual input) is an important thing to consider when devising your referral link. Why not make a hybrid of the two? To make it easy, and also personal, why not require that the sender pick from a list of relevant, yet humorous subjects and/or texts? Why not challenge the sender to create something that will be included in the email to the receiving party?

Finally, be mindful with restrictions on users. If they are required to create usernames, why make unnecessary limits? As Guy points out, why not let them use the @ symbol and therefore be able to let their ID match their email address? Why make it case sensitive and impose password restrictions? These requirements change the commitment of the user from being able to recycle a username and password that they use elsewhere to having to be able to create a new identity. Many already have multiple logins that frustrate them, is it really logical to make them create another and put your site in that category in their minds? The key here is ease of use.

The case of unnecessary restrictions does not end at the login page. Other arbitrary restrictions, such as how many friends or address book entries can also frustrate users. This is especially relevant when a comparison can be made to a similar service or medium. For instance, take the case of the Yahoo!/Flickr migration. Users were required to move from one service to another, and were furious when certain restrictions were found. One person (obviously a heavy user who likely has invited countless others to enjoy the service) was outraged when they found a limit to the number of contacts he could then have. What possible sense could there be in restricting social networking on a social networking site?

There are other other important considerations to be made, such as what Internet browsers to work hard to guarantee support for, and none of them hold simple answers. Beta testing or trial-runs can prove useful, but only if done in an effective manner. The testers must be motivated to find and destroy these problems - but you'll have to figure out how to put a fire in their belly. To ensure a fumble-free delivery, your team must think like the audience - and be able to test that way too.

WiiPress: Enabling a New Landscape for Viral Marketing

Cell phones and mobile are the newest landscape for viral marketing… or are they?

As has been seen over the last year, the most sought after devices have been video game systems. And of those systems, the one that everyone is taking about (and experimenting with) is the Nintendo Wii. They still continue to be sold out across the US, and lines still continue to form each Sunday as retailers hoard their shipments for the Sunday rush.



The Wii is unique in many ways – which drive its popularity. One of the many innovations included in the system is the Wii-customized Opera browser. What makes it so great and unique? Well… with one hand, and from the comfort of one’s couch, the Internet is within reach.

The Opera browser is still in beta mode (meaning they are still working on it, but the final product is not finalized). However, it is fully available to anyone who owns a Wii and would like to give it a try.

There are limitations with the browser, and many are being ironed out through this open-beta process. However, there is one limiting factor that no software update on the Opera browser would be able to surmount – the relatively low resolution of the system.

The resolution refers to the amount of detail that the unit is able to display. The Wii is able to display a maximum of 480 lines of resolution, whereas even the most basic of computers today are able to resolve an equivalent of 768, and most 1024 or more.

Therefore, when the same page is displayed on the Wii, less detail is provided. The portions of Web pages that suffer the most are text, as they can become hard to read when text scales to be displayed by the Wii. This means that text-heavy pages (such as blogs) are not well suited for the medium, and are likely to be ignored by casual Wii-surfers.

What can this mean for your viral campaign? It could mean that the reach of your campaign may be artificially restricted, as you are unable to reach this key video game-playing demographic.

Enter the WordPress Wii Edition Plug-in (a.k.a. WiiPress). The plug-in is integrated into a blog, and it detects whether or not your blog visitor is using a normal computer or viewing the site with a Wii. If found to be doing the latter, it will automatically render an optimized version of the Web site that will enlarge the text and perform other functions to make it easier to read for the Wii-browsing audience. A demonstration of the before and after affects can be viewed here.

This technology allows viral marketers to not miss out on a key demographic. Maybe the benefits don’t have to stop there. The possibility of being able to detect if a user is browsing with a Wii, and then taking action if finding that it is the case could also allow more targeted marketing.

For instance, what if a video game production company wants to promote a game virally? Information could then be presented about the key benefits of owning this game for the Wii over other systems. The writer may otherwise not want to promote these features if the site also expects visitors from PS3 and or Xbox360 owners. Cross-promotions could also exist, urging audiences to “see it on the Wii” for an enhanced experience. The doors really are open wide with this unique spin on an established medium.

Viral Marketing in Hot Deals Forums - Leveraging Word of Mouth Advertising

Everyone is out to find the lowest price, but it is becoming less common for buyers to drive from store to store to find the hottest deals. Instead, many are searching the Web to find the hottest deals.

In the realm of Consumer Electronics devices, a study has found that 73 percent of consumers found it easy to compare prices online. Other studies have found similar results on a range of products. Price search engines such as Froogle have become popular, but consumers often want to find out more about a product than the canned information that these Websites can provide - or they want coupons or other incentives to sweeten the deal.

And this is where the Hot Deals Forums step in. This is not a new concept, as they have been going strong since the turn of the century (you know, for the last seven or eight years). These forums are a place where users post the best deals that they have found. Others reply and comment, often finding ways to enhance the savings. Successful deals are, as a rule, beyond the lowest search engine price and often involve other work besides following a link to buy. Coupons are often involved, frequently with special tactics. Two of the largest players in the US arena are Fatwallet and SlickDeals.

The visitors of these sites are generally willing to work a little bit to save a buck. They will do more than the average consumer - some will even take risks just to say that they purchased something below the normal price. You won't need to make them take any risks, but making them do a little work for a deal just might be a good idea. If it appears too easy, it might not appear as worthwhile.

Too often are coupon codes generic, allowing them to be stripped from promotions and given to others who would have paid full price, but just happened to find the coupon and get the benefit without seeing the promotional materials from which they came. For this reason, code generators are usually a better idea.

Now let's speak about how they are going to get the code. Why not tie it into a flash game or other viral interactive material that would require them to be entertained. At first, they might wish that they didn't have to take the extra step, but with engaging content, and a meaningful reward, they will be glad that they did. These cost-conscious individuals are also very likely to pass the content on, as they tend to be important players in the diffusion process. They are often what Malcom Gladwell, in his book The Tipping Point, refers to as market mavens. Mavens are the type of people who gather information intently and go out of their way to ensure that this information is put to use. In this domain, a market maven may go as far as to guide the other party through the process, or in some cases even sign them up or do the shopping for them.

Another consideration that must be made is how this coupon (assuming a coupon is to be used) going to be paid for? Will money be lost in the search of new revenue? Maybe it doesn't have to happen. If the product is sold at retailers, and direct sale is available, why not promote the direct purchase? Money saved by eliminating the middle man may more than make up for the coupon discount. Also, if making a coupon with a value that may drop it low enough to be successful isn't plausible, why not highlight other cost savings methods? For instance, Fatwallet provides a percent of cashback on each purchase (FatCash), as does the Discover Card and many other Websites and credit cards. A cross promotion may even be appropriate.

A hot enough deal with an appropriate process will allow your content to go viral in no time. Sites like Fatwallet are known to bring servers to a crawl with traffic - this is affectionately (or to some, frustratingly) known as the Fatwallet Effect. So another consideration would be to make sure that your servers can handle the traffic that this type of delivery can create. Companies offer extra coverage for this type of event, supplying mirrors of your site to handle the demand. You might want the site to slow a little - so they can see how popular the deal is, ie how good of a deal it really is. However, it could be disastrous if it were rendered inaccessible.

Now, how will it get posted to the site in the first place? Posting it directly is often a big no-no, as is outlined in most forums' rules. There are options to pay the sites to run the post as an AD, but these tend not to be hot deals at all and are usually ignored, sometimes even heckled. Rather, it needs to be contributed by a deal-hunting member, as user-generated content is the heart of the site (most real deal-hunters consider the rest of the sites as fluff and rarely view it, if at all) and it will be taken more seriously that way.

So how does it get to that member? That really is a discussion for another day, but let's discuss a few relevant tips. First, it cannot be too easy to be found, because if it is, then you're probably spending too much time promoting it in that way. The deal will not be percieved of as special or worthy of a hot deals forum post. And obviously, it cannot be too hard to find either, because it MUST be found and posted in a timely manner. Browse the site(s) that you want to see it posted at. Use the search function and find highly rated posts or posts about related products and see how they were found. This will give insight on good options. Or maybe even consider contacting top member(s) directly? Be mindful of possible consequences though - maybe even read up on their post history.

These posts are especially effective for multiple reasons. One is the offline aspect. In many offices and between many groups of friends, there is a ritualistic discussion of these types of deals, allowing them to transcend the Web. For instance, those in IT departments are known to start off the day by discussing the deal of the day on woot or late evening, early morning and overnight posts on Fatwallet. Speaking about products and deals were already a staple of conversation, in the same way as the prior evening's TV shows are. Other media that saw birth on the web are still catching up in the word of mouth domain. If done effectively, Hot Deals Forums posts can effectively drive diffusion of a campaign on multiple fronts.