March 24, 2006

Seth Godin Emailed me Back

Seth Godin, an idol of my own, originaly posted the Blog about Googleidol and Pomme & Kelly's blog - PommeKelly

I reposted the link here and, I guess, so did a lot of other people. In the 2 days since the post, Pomme & Kelly's vote went from 8000 to 47,000 and climbing. I emailed him about the numbers and suprisingly he emailed me back promptly - twice!

Read the emails below.

Seth Godin, an idol of my own, originaly posted the Blog about Googleidol and Pomme & Kelly's blog - PommeKelly

I reposted the link here and, I guess, so did a lot of other people. In the 2 days since the post, Pomme & Kelly's vote went from 8000 to 47,000 and climbing. I emailed him about the numbers and suprisingly he emailed me back promptly - twice!

Read the emails below.
__________________________________________________________

thanks for asking

----------------------------------------------------------
seth godin <sethgodin@yahoo.com> wrote:

I never poked fun at Kelly. I adore her.

but yes, you are absolutely right about the numbers!

=============================


Seth Godin
Do You Zoom, Inc.
3 West Main Street, Suite 103
Irvington NY 10533

(914) 674 9666
fax 914 674 4387

http://www.sethgodin.com (click on my head!)

my lens: http://www.squidoo.com/seth

Subscribe to my blog: http://feeds.feedburner.com/typepad/sethsmainblog

This note is off the record (blogs, too) unless we agree otherwise.

Posted by Dane Troup at 12:34 PM | Comments (2)

January 10, 2006

Viral - Part 8 - Wrap Up

I have only touched upon the possibilities in Viral Marketing online. I focused more on the unusual and highly contagious viral marketing. There is a school of thought that a more controlled and conservative approach targeting existing client base and communities is more effective and easily tracked. I agree that in most cases that would be the smarter road to take and maybe by looking at some of these success and incorporating what works with a controlled delivery would result in a bottom line boosting result.

Some tactics are contrived viral approaches that users sniff out a mile away. Other approaches are just out right stupid. A stupid joke with a logo attached to the end is not enough of a concept to make something viral. The examples of a timely nature seem to be very successful as are those that are very clever.

The good news is that failed attempt are rarely noticed and not expensive so it is probably worth failing a couple times if it can get you closer to that golden idea. The truly viral is usually not planned and a matter of being in the right place at the right time but there are a lot of things to avoid to make an idea that much more appealing.
Resources

http://www.upyourbudget.com/
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2004/10/22/mazdas_blogviral_campaign_falls_flat/
http://www.marketleap.com/report/ml_report_23.htm
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,66960,00.html
http://www.beyondmadisonavenue.com/2005/11/bands-using-myspace-to-make-sweet.html
http://video.spreadfirefox.com/testimonials/
http://video.spreadfirefox.com/advertcontest/index.php
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/18/t-virus_hoax_spam/
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050614glaser/
http://www.onedegree.ca/2005/08/30/saw-the-viral-bought-the-tshirt
http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/sixtyminutes/stories/2002_03_03/story_519.asp
http://chiefmarketer.com/crm_loop/custom/e-zine-viral-052505/
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/get-the-bug-viral-marketing
http://www.clickz.com/experts/archives/mkt/onl_mkt_strat/article.php/837321

Posted by Dane Troup at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

January 09, 2006

Viral - Part 7 - Personalize

The Cyborg Name Generator and Wedding Crashers - Trailer Crashers are both good examples of how personalization of content can make something viral. I created my own personalized version at Wedding Crashers and found the results very effective. They both have a strong element of humor and the ability to save and share the end result. The Cyborg Name Generator even allows you to order a shirt with your robot and robot name printed on it.

The draw backs of these sites are the technical hurdles that must be overcome and the up front process and input that is required before you see the results. The Trailer Crashers site took a bit of effort and names and email address are asked for which might scare some people away.

It looks as though this type of material is richer and well suited to the interactive environment and may be where marketing trends may be headed. Its not as quick and easy as a forward but the results are impressive.

Posted by Dane Troup at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)

January 08, 2006

Viral - Part 6 - Huh?

Jonah Peretti at contagiousmedia.org did a study. "I was wondering ... how does something get e-mailed around the world and become a mass media story?" He set up a contest to see what sites could get the most traffic to there sites in a 30 day period without spending any money on the promotion. Over 60 sites entered the site and the front runners Forget-Me-Not Panties, Crying While Eating and Blogebrity all had something in common. I am going to call it the "Huh?" factor.

When coming to these sites you click around and you don't know what is driving the content, if it is for real or what. It takes awhile to sift through it and realize what it is. It is along the lines of a joke that is being told within the body of the site and the punch line is discovered by engaging the interactive elements and reading the copy. The creators of Forget-Me-Not Panties put it well -"(we are) committed to blurring reality and fiction, challenging ideas and preconceptions, provoking emotional responses and the distortion of mass communication."

These sites all contain elements of humor, the question of "Is this real?" and a controversial element that inspires buzz and attracts media coverage.

NIKE SWEATSHOP EMAILS

Jonah Peretti's global email forward chronicling Nike's refusal to print the word "sweatshop" on a pair of shoes reaches an estimated 10 million people and culminates in a live debate on the Today Show about Nike's notorious labor practices.
Selected Press:
The Today Show, The Villiage Voice, ABC News, Adbusters, The Guardian, The Independent

Posted by Dane Troup at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)

January 07, 2006

Viral - Part 5 - Branded

We are beginning to see a number of contagious media initiatives that are successfully becoming viral even while branding a company. The pieces themselves seem to spoof commercials but are at the same time commercials themselves. Some have high production values and others look like home movies but most all have one thing in common, they make us laugh.

Viralmeister.com is a whole site dedicated to showcasing this type of viral content. Many other sites have become portals to this type of content and there is a big push to seed your campaign into these sites as part of your marketing plan. Fark.com is another seeding ground for all types of content that your "mainstream" channels would find undesirable.

The successful pieces in this bunch are not just one liners. There is a lever of sophistication in the way they are crafted. The VW example, starts off as a tense moment that prays on society's fear of terrorism and then ends with the terrorists plot blowing up in his face. This like the whassup! example, uses a current news item to play off the timing factor. These should not be expected to be timeless. In fact the trends seem to show the opposite. The more it relates to today's headlines and pop culture, the more pressure there is on the receiver to pass it along before the window of relevance closes.

What is the effectiveness of these campaigns? The messages are not necessarily promoting the brands. The buzz generated is not about how great their product is. Its more of a sponsored joke or social commentary. The old school tried and true supporters are taken aback by the almost silliness in thinking that such a tactic would have any success. It has always been easy to sit back and criticize the early stages of a new idea. The medium is still in a early stage and there are still discoveries yet to be made. The internet net is mimicking print, radio and TV at this stage. When it comes into its own is when it will really get the recognition it deserves.

"A formula of dollars spent to get people to talk, plus those people not buying enough of your product to recoup the costs of what it takes to get those people to talk equals bankruptcy."

Bird Flu Viral Marketing: Cluck, Cluck, Goose
By Jim Meskauskas
Thursday April 22, 2004

Posted by Dane Troup at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

January 06, 2006

Viral - Part 4 - The Kid

A lone, overweight teenager fighting a mock battle with a broomstick light saber. The teenager twirls the broomstick ever more energetically while generating his own light saber sound effects. This is the video that a 15 year old high school student made in the AV lab. He could never imagine that his fellow students would discover the video and post it to the internet using a peer to peer network, Kazaa.

It took two weeks for the video to spread around the world. A week later an edited version of the video, which added music, video and sound effects, was created by Raven Software's Bryan Dube. Both videos were soon posted on web sites worldwide and millions of people were downloading the files.

Now a whole site and many more are dedicated to the videos and the 100+ remixes that have been created. A petition was even organized to try to ge the young man into one of the Star Wars movies.

This piece thrives on the publics desire to see people in embarrassing situations. The uniqueness of this piece is that there is a fondness for the boy that a lot of people have. I think a lot of us have been in embarrassing situations during our awkward teens and can directly relate to the mind set of The Star Wars Kid. The amazing aspect is the way the video has evolved and been remixed into so many versions. The list continues to grow. The time and expertise that goes into these clips is very impressive.

The Star Wars Kid as a 15-year-old French Canadian named Ghyslain. Ghyslain couldn't be reached for comment.

Posted by Dane Troup at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)

January 05, 2006

Viral - Part 3 - Wassup!

In 1999 a Cuban woman and her son cross the Florida Straights in an inner tube. Tragically the mother drowned but the boy, Elian Gonzalez, managed to survive. A fisherman picked him up on Thanksgiving Day and took him to Miami. There he was taken in by relatives. His father came over from Cuba and a big fight broke out as to whether the boy should be returned to his native land. The country was divided, the press was having a field day and Janet Reno decides to send in a swat team to "rescue" the boy.

At the same time Budweiser tickled America's funny bone with a group of guys drinking beer and screaming WASSUP! at each other.

What would happen if these two media darlings collided. Well we didn't have to wait. Thanks to the quick thinking of Sean Bonner. Sean created a flash file that instantly became viral. It popped up on sites all over the internet.

This is a very effective example of something that goes viral. It was simply taking two popular subjects in modern culture and bringing them together. The humor derives from the unexpectedness of it and the fact that it is also very unsettling. Its has a "That's just wrong!" quality to it that seems to do well in a networked society.

The Associated Press, released the infamous image and after it was used by Sean Bonner in his spoof, they threatened legal action.

Posted by Dane Troup at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

January 04, 2006

Viral - Part 2 - The Witch

Hollywood has deceived us. The Blair Witch Project was an early buzz creator. The product was a faux documentary that created an online buzz of "What is this? Did this really happen?" There is a lot of speculation that the so called "fan sites" that sprung up around the movie were actually planted by the filmmakers and the studio as a guerilla marketing tactic. In July of 1999, Salon.com published "Did 'The Blair Witch Project' fake its online fan base?" The article is outing studios for faking online fan sites in order to create buzz around their new releases. I find it amazing that it was not that long ago that people had so much trust in online content and that there was almost shock in the fact that something like this could happen.

Before it was released, the BWP had a number of fan sites, a web ring, a mailing list and more. The sites created faux content that investigated the scene, interviewed towns people about the event, search party stories and even missing signs. The buzz was moving all over the Internet and media outlets started to pick up the story. MTV ran a story on it giving it the stamp of approval that the desired demographic needed. A one-hour special had regular time on the sci-fi channel until the release. All of these actions resulted in the BWP breaking box office records and created a whole new era in internet marketing. Or did they? Five years later and another movie has yet to come close to the same success.

Here is some incite from Harry Knowles, proprietor of the Ain't-It-Cool Website. Asked whether Hollywood's post-Blair Web epiphany meant that history would soon repeat itself, Knowles noted the Web happened to be a perfect match for the subject matter and style of the Blair Witch Project. "That," he said simply, "was a one-off."

BLAIR WITCH NUMBERS
Released in US - July 14, 1999
Total US Gross - $140,539,099
Production Budget - $35,000
Prints and Advertising Budget - $6,500,000
Worldwide Gross - $248,300,000
MPAA Rating - R
Franchises - Blair Witch Project
Distributed by - Artisan
Major Genre - Horror

Posted by Dane Troup at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)

January 03, 2006

Viral - Part 1 - The What

Viral can be used in describing buzz around a popular product or service, special promotions or "Free Prize" marketing initiatives, a joke, bizarre piece of content, referral incentives and more. Networked communications allows for this buzz to be spread at a rate never seen before. When something online creates this buzz it is considered to have "gone viral".

These users have become independent distribution channels that when networked together can create a very loud voice. It has come to people's attention that the right content, properly seeded, can use this powerful voice to promote ideas, products and services, entertainment and social commentary. The person to person distribution of the information is highly effective because of the indirect endorsement that goes along with it. The receiver of the information will be more inclined to review the material if it is coming from a trusted source. Because of the immediacy of the communication, that receiver will be more inclined to pass the information along to all of their associates, friends and family members who may have interest in the material.

Companies have been trying to harness contagious advertising and they measure of its success is whether is has 'gone viral' or not. What are the characteristics of something viral and why do so many contagious campaigns never even get off the ground. Can one create a contagious campaign and be able to successfully anticipate how viral it will get?

I take a look at a hand full of viral pieces and see what about them appealed to so many people. Some have been seeded and others have taken on a life of there own. I will also take a look at a few examples that fell flat on their face and what they missed in their quest for glory.

Surprisingly enough, "Viral Marketing" has been around since 1997. The term was coined by Draper Fisher Jurvetson in a Netscape newsletter talking about Hotmail's tactic of adding a blurb at the bottom of every email promoting free email. As a result Hotmail grew its subscriber base from zero to 12 million users in 18 months.

Posted by Dane Troup at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)