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Come On In

Colin Reeves of Viralfever provides an introduction to what he believes is the golden age of internet advertising.

Colin Reeves of Viralfever provides an introduction to what he believes is the golden age of internet advertising.

INTRODUCTION

An adman's fantasy…or a dream come true? Definitely the latter. The Internet has come of age.

Never before has a communication / information medium had the potential to reach so many people, so quickly. TV and radio were once the mainstay of marketing media - but not anymore. On one hand, the Internet delivers an immense encyclopaedia of knowledge, up-to-date news streams, location maps and images. But it also carries a warning. With absolutely no censorship or moderation, the quality and accuracy of information on the Internet can never be guaranteed.

PROGRESSION

Worldwide, there are an estimated one billion people (1) using the Internet. Compared to the population of the world (6.6 billion in 2006), there is still a long way to go.

Predictably, it's a mixed blessing. It is now threatening the development of social skills - especially face-to-face communication. This is especially obvious with younger people, and contributes to the 'dysfunctionality' of much youth culture and its isolation from wider society.

More and more people seem to find fulfilment and self-expression in virtual worlds - like 'Second Life', a $multi million enterprise in which people play out their fantasies and social networking through 3D avatars of themselves. And businesses are backing the trend with investment in the growing Second Life economy - from Reuters to Nike (2).

The music industry was quick to seize the power of these sites, providing focal points for fans with minimal investment in new bands. Now brands have the opportunity to create 'friends', rather than simply customers.

THE NEXT PHASE

Web 2.0 has arrived. The phrase, coined by Tim O'Reilly (3) in 2004, refers to a second generation of Internet-based services, from social networking sites to wikis, which evolve through an online collaboration among users. 'Blogs' and 'viral' sites have appeared where words and images, moving and still, can be viewed by any passer-by.

Embracing this new phase, Condé Nast are soon to launch their next generation website Flip.com (4), which embraces the culture, even to the point of introducing self-selected advertising content. YouTube, Ziddio and MySpace are just a few examples of sites that have gained enormous momentum during 2006.

THE ADMAN'S PARADISE

Marketers can harness this power using viral marketing. Where before, tens of millions of pounds were spent on TV and billboards, reaching an audience of 5-10 million, tens of thousands of pounds spent can now possibly influence an audience of more than a billion people - and growing!

Viewed more than 900 million times (5), the Star Wars Kid became a superhero in his own right. More imagery was added and the original video was changed by remix after remix, as others wanted their input to be better than anyone else's. These video mash-ups have become staples of YouTube, where users take bits of videos and add effects or combine them with music to create their own compilations. A brand owner must be prepared to see their brand changed and modified as their consumers interact with it.

So the key is to develop a highly creative video, which target users will want to share and interact with. Then, it is all about the seeding. Just as with traditional brand campaigns, targeting and reaching key opinion formers is essential. In viral seeding, these people will not only be part of the brand's aspirational target market, but will also be likely to forward mails quickly and to other potential consumers.

To get your viral execution onto the Internet and into the email inbox, seeding must be done in a naturalistic way for the environment, tailored to dynamics of the users' social networks. Coupled with an integrated PR campaign to highlight an Internet trend or phenomenon and seed it into the media, viral marketing can be an unstoppable force. It is without doubt the new media of the future and a dynamic power that can bring astonishing results.

WHERE TO START

Examine how the consumers for your brand are spending their leisure and working time, and where they are looking to find advice or opinions. If your existing customers and potential target market are turning to the Internet to compare prices, bank, make reservations or chat, viral marketing could make a significant impact on your sales.

A good viral marketing outfit will be brand experts, wanting to consult with you to hone and enhance your proposition, as well as possessing the creative, technical and analytical skills required to successfully develop and execute an engaging and interactive campaign.

The right agency's consultation fees will reflect the quality of the creative and strategic input they provide, as they will employ the best creative minds and computer technicians and provide a significant return on investment.

Now it's probably time to choose your viral partner. Choose an agency that already has a thorough understanding of marketing communications, psychology and sociology - and you won't regret it.
.

COLIN REEVES, VIRALFEVER, 2007

This is an abridged version of the full paper, available from www.viralfever.co.uk.

Sources:
1 Internet World Stats, January 2007. Usage published by Nielsen//NetRatings and the International Telecommunications Union.
2 http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/10/17/secondlife.feature/index.html
3 http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
4 http://www.adweek.com/aw/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003535297
5 Estimated by the Viral Factory, 27 November 2006