Viral Marketing

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Viral marketing (also viral marketing or sometimes virus marketing ) is a form of marketing that uses social networks and media to draw attention to a brand, product or campaign with a mostly unusual or subtle message. The best known form of content that spreads virally on the Internet is viral video .

Characteristics

Although the epidemic spread is similar to word of mouth , viral marketing is not to be equated with this, since in word of mouth the initiation of the spread usually comes from neutral participants. The term "viral" means that information about a product or service is passed on from person to person within a very short time, similar to a biological virus.

However, viral marketing makes use of various methods to get the message out. B. postcards, film clips or simply posts in Internet forums and blogs. The methods specially prepared for the Internet are known as virals . Measured by the minimal financial outlay, success is disproportionately high if it is successful. In addition to qualitative results (mostly clippings ), technical means (e.g. tracking links, tracking the distribution of videos via codes, URL parameters, etc.) that use monitoring software , among other things, are used to measure success .

Forms of viral marketing

A distinction is made between different forms of viral marketing, depending on the activity of the distributor:

According to the activity of the distributor

Passive viral marketing

With passive viral marketing, the user spreads the message simply by using the product. Hotmail is often cited as an example in the literature. By adding two lines of advertising “PS Get your private, free email at Hotmail” at the end of every outgoing email, the recipients were made aware of the free service. In addition, it was stated that the e-mail service works because the sender of the e-mail uses it himself.

Active viral marketing

Active viral marketing requires action on the part of the distributor, who is often rewarded with a reward as a motivation for his act. For example, many mobile phone games offer the possibility of inviting other people to play via social networks, for which the player himself usually gains advantages within the game in return.

According to the scope of the marketing functions

Advertising approach

In the advertising-oriented approach, the focus of viral marketing is on communication policy, especially advertising. The focus is on a high degree of dissemination of the advertising message with various possible goals such as increasing awareness or branding.

For example the campaign for a blender that began in 2006 : the founder and managing director of the blender manufacturer demonstrates in front of the camera how to crush golf balls, cell phones, cameras, batteries and other stable objects of daily use in his blender to the point of powder fineness. The videos spread rapidly on social networks and online video sharing sites, and the company grew sales 700 percent on a marketing budget of just fifty US dollars. ( Viral video ) The entrepreneur was named Entrepreneur of the Year by a consulting firm .

Holistic approach

The holistic approach not only relates to the pure communication policy instruments, but viral marketing can also be used for the functions of market research, pricing, product design and others. The aim of this approach is to create an optimal breeding ground for viral marketing by involving the target group at an early stage. By integrating the consumer in the market research, production and advertising process, it is possible to establish an extremely high level of identification with the product in order to positively support the viral marketing process. If a company succeeds in activating opinion leaders in its target group in this marketing process, it can increase sales by between 10 and 30 percent.

Examples

  • The success of Blair Witch Project , a low-budget production from 1999, was largely based on a campaign on the Internet, which initially made it appear as if it were real events with mysterious and real-looking scenes from the film.
  • One of the most successful viral marketing campaigns in 2009 was the YouTube video JK Wedding Entrance Dance , which promoted the title Forever by Chris Brown . It is one of the most viewed YouTube videos of 2009.
  • The advertising specialist Dominik Kuhn became known in 2005 for his new dubbings (so-called fandubs ) in Swabian and sometimes other dialects, which were initially published on online video portals such as YouTube , Clipfish or MyVideo . The most successful film to date, Viral Marketing in the Stuttgart Death Star, parodies the advertising scene in an excerpt from Star Wars and is itself an example of successful viral marketing.
  • The Swiss mountaineering equipment supplier Mammut drew attention to itself in 2006 with the case of Mary Woodbridge. Overall, more than 200 media have reported the 85-year-old who with her dachshund on Mount Everest was about to get. It was only afterwards that it turned out that both Mary Woodbridge and her story had been brought to life by Mammut .
  • In autumn 2010 Union Car Insurance Slovakia carried out a guerrilla campaign with the aim of making the population aware of the dangerous or careless driving practices. A guerrilla troop, The Pink Squad, was put together for this purpose, which suddenly intervened in the event of violations of the driving regulations and alerted the driver using foam, flower pots, etc. This campaign is considered a prominent social media campaign in Slovakia, which went viral first in television coverage, then word of mouth and finally with a video.

distribution

Seeding refers to the strategic and target (group) -oriented placement and distribution of viral messages in a relevant online and interest environment. In addition to an effective creative idea, a sophisticated seeding strategy is now crucial for the success of a viral marketing campaign.

The advertising message is placed, for example, via video-sharing or picture-sharing portals (e.g. YouTube, Flickr and many others) as well as topic-relevant blogs, forums or websites. Specialized agencies, so-called seeding agencies, place and distribute viral content on the Internet. With their access to a multi-layered network of opinion leaders and trendsetters, they place the messages in a target group-specific manner and thus imply a certain popularity.

The most frequently used forms of dissemination of viral messages are “fast” media such as social media , chats, instant messengers or e-mail.

The following options for dissemination are common:

  • Tell-A-Friend functions: The content of the relevant page can be sent to e-mail addresses as a “recommendation” using forms on websites.
  • E-mail forwarding: a common type of distribution in which the consumer usually does not write the complete message himself, but sends it on.
  • Weblogs : The inclusion of a certain topic by several “bloggers” implies popularity.
  • Messages or contributions within communities: Via an entry on a pin board or in the guest book, users can point out specific content or actions in their social environment. In addition, viral messages can be discussed specifically for interests via contributions or posts in forums.
  • SMS: The integration of mobile devices and the distribution of viral content via SMS has also been used frequently.
  • Word of mouth: Extraordinary and spectacular content is also distributed in the form of “classic” word of mouth in personal conversations, e. B. at school, at parties or the like.
  • Petitions or collections of signatures.
  • Counter: a bonus program on Internet sites that encourages consumers to distribute the web address. A special, individual URL allows conclusions to be drawn about the person who distributed this address and, depending on the number of calls, ensures that the person is rewarded.
  • Communication with influencers : The opinion leaders and multipliers relevant for a certain topic are identified and provided with selected, "strategic" information. This should lead to these persons or institutions taking up the viral message and distributing it authentically on their own platforms (e.g. their own blogs or profiles in social networks ).

basic requirements

The campaign material used serves as “bait” and must therefore appeal to a large target group. Whether a game or a short film clip - the campaign must be entertaining, useful, surprising or unique and, above all, should be available free of charge. A factual or monetary reward (vouchers, bonuses, competitions) for active dissemination can also encourage the consumer to pass on his recommendation to other potential consumers.

"[...] I put an advertising message on the net, and if you like it and if it is well packaged, it is simply transported on without having to spend advertising money."

- Wulf-Peter Kemper, Marketing Consultant.

In his book The Tipping Point (2000), the author Malcolm Gladwell has also identified three “success factors” for the emergence of epidemics. Among other things, certain key people who are in different roles spreading the message are very important for the spread of epidemics . Gladwell also draws attention to apparently small things, for example the broken window theory , which can also be of great importance.

Problems

  1. If you forward an entertaining advertisement, you are far from recommending the corresponding product. The sales effect it has depends solely on how well it works in the classic sense as advertising, i.e. shows the advantages of a product or arouses a need.
  2. The sender of a message can give it their own tendency or point of view, which does not necessarily have to correspond to the originally intended message. The point of view can have a negative influence on the product or completely distract the view from the product. (see 1st example)
  3. In comparison to conventional advertising, it is hardly possible to measure success.
  4. Viral marketing is not necessarily free or inexpensive. Seeding measures can be used to attract the attention of the target group. Seeding stands for the targeted spreading of viral messages. The aim is to achieve a critical mass as quickly as possible so that the advertising message spreads by itself at some point. Advertising agencies often pay dearly for this seeding.
  5. Viral marketing via bogus recommendations or bought "likes" on Facebook or "followers" on Twitter can lead to competition law problems. A changed entry on Wikipedia can violate § 4 UWG.

criticism

An extreme form of viral marketing is the targeted misuse of media, for example online encyclopedias or lexicons. Existing entries are anonymously manipulated by agencies or by third parties in such a way that their neutrality is no longer guaranteed. In the past such. B. T-Mobile and Hornbach with the invented identities Chad Kroski and Ron Hammer attracted attention.

During the Hamburg citizenship election campaign in 2008, a media agency systematically sent e-mails to bloggers under a pseudonym in order to advertise an election commercial on YouTube. This meant that the Hamburg FDP regional association had to issue a declaration of cease and desist with criminal penalties .

The broadcaster Pro7 made a name for itself in March 2009 after a program announcement disguised as a news broadcast caused confusion among viewers. Here, too, the aim was to induce the consumer to disseminate it by means of an unusual, in this context frightening message (see the main article Newstime ).

Demarcation

The boundaries to subliminal advertising or product placement are very difficult to determine. Articles in magazines, on television or radio that create an editorial impression but want to draw attention to a product are prohibited, but have a similar effect.

Often, posts are also offered free of charge by agencies and then placed in the context of editorially managed posts in a medium. There is a risk that the medium will no longer be viewed as objective or that the impression of surreptitious advertising can arise if the advertising is not identified as such. An example of this can be the mentioning of the new publication of a music album (a special music label ) in the context of a news broadcast if this directly or indirectly results in a monetary benefit for the news medium.

literature

  • Hans H. Bauer, Dirk Große-Leege, Jürgen Rösger: Interactive Marketing in Web 2.0+ - Concepts and Applications for Successful Marketing Management on the Internet. 1st edition. Verlag Vahlen Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8006-3406-4 .
  • Edwin A. Biedermann: Recommendation marketing - consumer networks , MSB-Verlag, Springe, 2015 (7th edition), ISBN 978-398176100-9
  • Esther Düweke and Stefan Rabsch: Successful websites - SEO, SEM, online marketing, usability. Galileo Computing, Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-8362-1871-9 .
  • Franz-Rudolf Esch , Kai Harald Krieger and Kristina Strödter: "Breaking through the familiar through below-the-line communication" in: Manfred Bruhn, Franz-Rudolf Esch, and Tobias Langner (eds.): Handbook Communication: Basics, innovative approaches , practical implementations. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden 2009, pp. 85-106, ISBN 978-3-8349-0377-8 .
  • Franz-Rudolf Esch , Kai Harald Krieger and Daniel Stenger: Viral brand communication - effective interaction instead of "trial and error" , in: Marketing Review St. Gallen, issue 1/2009, pp. 11-16.
  • Seth Godin : Unleashing the Ideavirus. 2001, ISBN 978-0-7868-8717-0 .
  • Felix Holzapfel: "Chapter: 15. Viral Marketing - Sekt or Selters" from the book Guerilla Marketing - Online, Mobile & Crossmedia. Cologne 2006.
  • Justin Kirby and Paul Marsden: Connected Marketing: The Viral, Buzz and Word of Mouth Revolution. New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-7506-6634-3 .
  • Sascha Langner: Viral Marketing - How you can trigger word of mouth in a targeted manner and use it profitably. 2nd Edition. Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-8349-0595-6 .
  • Stephan Leitgeb: Viral Marketing - Legal Environment for Advertising Films on Internet Portals such as YouTube. In: Journal for Copyright and Media Law. (ZUM) 2009, p. 39 ff.
  • Emanuel Rosen: The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing. New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-3854-9668-1 .
  • Daniel Stenger: Viral brand communication: Attitude and behavioral effects of viral videos. Springer Gabler Research, Wiesbaden 2012, ISBN 978-3-8349-3901-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon online , accessed on October 8, 2012.
  2. ^ Sascha Langner: Viral Marketing. How you can specifically trigger word of mouth and use it profitably. Gabler, 2nd ed., 2007, p. 27, ISBN 978-38349-059-56
  3. ↑ Norman Egli: Viral Marketing - Without Money and With Word of mouth for success Norderstedt, 2009 ISBN 978-38370-838-11
  4. ↑ Online Marketing ( Memento of the original from November 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / wifimaku.com
  5. ↑ Düweke Esther, Rabsch Stefan: Successful websites - SEO, SEM, online marketing, usability , Galileo-Press, page 222
  6. ↑ [1] Blendtec Viral Video Case Study, PDF file, accessed on Oct. 4, 2011
  7. ↑ Shoot a viral video (but a real one), Manager Magazin online v. May 8, 2009
  8. ↑ This mixer gets the iPhone small . Mirror online. July 11, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  9. ↑ Patrick Spinner, Viral Marketing: Paradigm Shift or Another Trend in Marketing? A critical analysis. Hamburg, 2009 ISBN 978-3-8366-7670-0
  10. ↑ NZZ Online: Vife free riders. How Viral Ads Enter the Media , accessed December 1, 2009
  11. ↑ Welt am Draht - Social Networks , SWR online September 24, 2009
  12. ^ Christian Wollscheid: Guerilla Marketing - Basics, Instruments and Examples , GRIN Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-640-66095-7 .
  13. ↑ http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/2011/01/union-car-insurance-the-pink-squad/
  14. ↑ foerderland.de : Ingo Leipner: Viral marketing - advertising with Stealth. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  15. ↑ Malcolm Gladwell: The Tipping Point. How small things can make a big difference. Burlington, 2002 ISBN 978-3442-1278-01
  16. ↑ Daniel Gaßmair: The Truth About Viral Marketing , August 3, 2009 ( Memento of the original from October 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.viralandbuzzmarketing.de
  17. ↑ Peter Kaumanns / Ines Wießner, Marketing by the fictitious consumer - ingenious marketing strategy or violation of competition law? K&R 2013, 145.
  18. ↑ Munich Higher Regional Court, judgment of May 10, 2012, Az. 29 U 515/12
  19. ↑ cf. For example Torsten Kleinz: FDP Hamburg receives a warning in the viral election campaign , February 18, 2008