Viral marketing

 

When it comes to viral marketing, there are a lot of definition out there and some of them sound as if they are mutually exclusive. Who are you supposed to believe in this case? I will try to explain the different points of view, but I would definitely say that you, my dear reader, can use the term loosely. On the web, it seems, viral marketing is believed to be a type of marketing, in which consumers are encouraged to share content on the web. Nevertheless, Jenkins, Ford & Green (2013) believe that viral marketing is considered self-enforcing, which is an unrealistic assumption. Therefore – watch it now, it is getting complicated – what they talk about in their book “Why media spreads”, but don’t give a name, is exactly the same thing as what the web-based explanation of viral marketing is. Did I blow your mind? Basically, whatever it is called, it is powerful and makes people share and share, taking the main job of the company’s marketers. Therefore, throughout this post I will be using the viral marketing with a positive connotation which takes into consideration the impact from the different consumers.

 

Another interesting, and quite extensively explained concept in the book of Jenkins, Ford & Green (2013) is the notion of spreadability which is contrasted to stickiness. Spreadable model “emphasizes the activity of consumers in shaping the circulation of media content, often expensing potential meaning and opening up brands to unanticipated new markets” (Jenkins, Li & Domb, 2008). If you think about it, this looks a lot like the definition of viral marketing, and it also makes sense. Viral comes from the word virus, because it spreads like virus (mind blown, right?). Leaving my perfect humor alone, the truth is that the viral marketing concept is called that way for a reason – because of the way it finds its way through the web, when one person has it and shares it, it contaminates the others.

The internet and the marketing world is full of potential examples of viral marketing. It can be based either on product/services, but viral marketing can be part of political campaign, TV shows, etc. The example, which I would like to show you today, is the #likeagirl by Always, which initially started in 2014 but even until now new commercials come up, new girls appear and empower each other. On the web, there are dozens of case studies, analyses and opinions on the campaign. What I will do in this post is to examine why I believe it can be considered viral marketing and why it was (and still is) so successful. Also, I will give you some insights in how exactly the web reacted to this message, which – at least for me – was not expected. If you have a look at the advertising campaigns coming in the previous years, this concept is not something new: you can see it commercials of Dove, Nike, L’Oréal, etc. And that is important because it means there is a problem there – I will do my best not to get into the topic of feminism, but just so you know where it comes from. Because of this feminism movement, all of those commercials appeared; because there is something to be said and because there is somebody who wants to hear it. Because of those reasons, I believe that this campaign had all the prerequisites of becoming viral. And viral it did become. The official commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs) has almost 65 million views on the day I am writing this piece. Always saw an opportunity and used it to its best advantage. Women started sharing the commercial, they started talking and started using the hashtag provided by the company. Nobody talked about tampons, pads, or any other ladylike products. All of the people touched by the ad started talking about the empowerment that Always provided. Personally believe that this is the most successful way of marketing – of course, you can disagree with me, but in the digital world we are living in and the social problems that continue appearing, a brand needs to have a stance on a problem and it need to be able to make people talk about the problem. That is what Always is doing – it says no to making girls feel back for the mere fact of being born a girl. They don’t talk about their innovative technology; they don’t try to make you believe in their product. What they do is to have influence on your values, touch the way you think and then say, we are Always and have the same value as you. Believe me when I say, you are going to be much more likely to buy their product instead of somebody’s else. It became viral because women related to it; because, from one hand side, with this 2-minute clip they found their voice and wanted to be heard, and from the other, they wanted to empower other girls and women, which need the arm. In fact, my favorite ad from the campaign is not the original one, but  is this one à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N433aXwj59E. This commercial again touches a really important note in marketing: it makes it you feel positive emotional connection to the product, and that, my friend, is what matters the most. The moment you are able to make advocate for your brand, that is the moment you know you can flourish.

 

Bibliography and reference:

Jenkins, H., Li, X., & Domb, A.
(2008). If it doesn’t spread, it’s dead. Creating Value in a Spreadable Marketplace. Retrieved from: http://www.convergenceculture.org/weblog/2010/04/conver gence_culture_consortium.php

Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J.
(2013). Introduction: Why Media Spread. In Spreadable media: creating value and meaning in a networked culture (pp. 1-46). New York; London: New York University Press. Retrieved from http://nyupress.org/webchapters/jenkins_intro.pdf.

Rushkoff, D.
(1994). Introduction (pp. 3 -16). In: Media virus! Hidden agendas in popular culture (1st ed.). New York: Ballantine Books.

 

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