In the past decade, consumers have seen the rise of viral marketing. The term itself was established back in 1996 by Jeffrey Rayport, a Harvard professor. The idea behind viral marketing features an advertiser who sends a message, usually through a unique channel. Once a consumer picks up on this message, he or she will then spread the message to other consumers, and so on.
While they are a truly unique advertising form, viral campaigns often rely on the internet to gain attention. In some cases, such as Cadbury’s 2007 Gorilla advertisement, the campaign is strictly online. In others, the viral campaign occurs at physical locations, then the content is uploaded to the internet. In the case of the recent Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero, band leader Trent Reznor left flash drives with songs and cryptic messages in restrooms at his concerts. His fans would find these flash drives, upload the songs to the internet, and share the messages with the community. But, it didn’t end there. Reznor had setup websites which corresponded with the messages left on the flash drive, leading fans to clips from the album and insight into Year Zero’s story. An “alternate reality” game, which also corresponded with the album’s story was developed as well. While the campaign started with only one or two people, by the end it had attracted thousands through fan communities and media coverage. Perhaps the best aspect is that the campaign cost next to nothing and received widespread attention.
One other notable viral campaign is for the upcoming movie The Dark Knight. This campaign, which began in May 2007, is perhaps the most extensive viral campaign in history. It began with a simple website, I Believe in Harvey Dent, a character from the movie. Next, a vandalized version of the set was set up, presumably from the Joker’s perspective (highlight the text after the words “page not found”). From here, fans were able to uncover the Joker’s face for the first time. Similar websites sprung up in the following months, all with touches of the Joker character. One website left viewers the message “see you in November,” a hint at when the films first teaser trailer would be debuting in theaters. Many of these websites encouraged users to submit their own content, allowing them to play a role in the campaign. Recently, the I Believe in Harvey Dent website has been transformed into a site to promote Harvey Dent’s campaign for political office in Gotham city. Fans can submit their phone numbers and e-mail addresses to receive updates on the campaign. More so, there are even Harvey Dent campaign vans which are traveling through the country holding mock rallies for the character. I’ll be attending one of these today, and will try to update with pictures/information. The most interesting aspect of this campaign is the amount of detail used. Having created dozens of websites and other interactive events, the advertisers are effectively keeping this film in the spotlight, despite the fact that it does not come to theaters until July, 2008.
Most of the advertising we see today comes in the form of “top down,” or messages that come directly from the advertiser to the consumer. This is also known as push advertising. We all know the facts about how many ads an American sees in one day/month/year, which is why advertisers are moving in a different direction to get consumers attention. In today’s world of media saturation, viral marketing is a fresh and unique alternative. Instead of pushing consumers to buy a product, viral marketing allows advertisers to “pull” consumers into viewing their websites, and allow them to gain interest in their products in the process. Personally, I’m intrigued by viral marketing. There are products that I would have no interest in normally that I find myself attracted to, simply because of the unique advertising (The Nine Inch Nails Year Zero campaign, for instance). Having worked in the advertising industry, I found it interesting how these campaigns are not only thought-up and executed, but how successful they become.
Tags: Dark Knight, viral marketing
