Going Viral For The Sake Of Going Viral Not Such A Good Idea
from the think-this-through-a-bit dept
Last month at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association summit, I was struck by how many people seemed to be interested in word of mouth marketing campaigns because it was "the thing to do" rather than something actually useful for the business. It seems that others are noticing this as well. There's a good column in Ad Age exploring the trend of big companies to launch really, really bad viral marketing campaigns that don't serve any purpose other than to be annoying. It's as if some marketing folks have determined that "viral" and "word of mouth" just means putting something weird online and expecting people to flock to it. Except that it also probably involves lots of marketing people who are tinkering with the idea until it loses any sense of anything interesting, and comes off as just a bizarre marketing ploy that no one is interested in. Word of mouth marketing and viral campaigns work if there's actually a reason for people to talk about them and pass them on. That means the product being discussed or the viral content actually is good and interesting. Just making it weird or different is a recipe for failure -- but it's not stopping plenty of companies from going down that path.
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Marketers are stupid or ignorant ...
A case-in-point ... I think it's fairly well established within the "listening" public that radio ads that YELL AT YOU THAT BUYING FROM SO-AND-SO-CAR-DEALER only turn people off. In my local area there is one car dealer that tries to "suck you in" by starting his commercial very quietly then YELLING INCESSANTLY!
My emails objecting to the demeaning treatment of their listeners to the radio station have gone unanswered. As a result I have turned to my XM radio for my music and news. I wonder if they will notice.
My point, to get back to the subject, is that marketers truly believe that we are sheep. They have no knowledge of "OFF" buttons, MUTE buttons, or anything else that might allow us to actually choose what we are subjected to. Until they understand that we have CHOICE they will never realize their own arrogance.
Thanks for listening!
Bill
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Re: Marketers are stupid or ignorant ...
I am a full-fledged marketer and I view logs, pull up our master revenue reports, write and read blogs on a daily basis - I pay attention to what folks out in the real world like and want. And I bulldoze my way through the corporate baloney to get it out there the way I KNOW it should be. I don't bend over and take it up the you-know-what just because somebody told me to. Now, I realize that not every marketing professional out there in the world has this freedom (or the balls, for that matter) to go ahead and "execute now, ask for forgiveness later" but I am determined to. And 99.9% of the time - it WORKS. And if more people were like that - then we'd not be having to chase down people calling us stupid and ignorant out here.
I work for an internet marketing company, carry a full marketing title, and I would like to think that I'm not stupid OR ignorant.
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oh, don't i know...
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Re: oh, don't i know...
Nothing destroys a good idea like someone out to justify their job by messing up yours.
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M, we all go through it
Mike, here's my experience: Every client wants to do "viral" without knowing what that really is or the risks associated with trying to create their own "viral". The conversation usually turns to something more tangible when they ask for the ROI on it.
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sheep??
In too many cases they're correct. Just look at some of the products that people buy, their reasons for doing so, and the prices they pay.
I'm happy we have the freedom to buy whatever we want though - I wouldn't have it any other way.
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Re: Re: oh, don't i know...
Same story if you've ever worked on a corporate website.
Clueless Corporate Drone: "Put this board member's photo on there."
Me: "Why?"
CCD: "Because."
Me: "I just checked the log files, and no one is looking to see who's on our board. Literally. 0 page views for the year."
CCD: "Just do it, Ok?"
It's the "check it off my list" mentality that kills sites (and campaigns).
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Buzz Analytics Tells it as it is at the CES
The interesting thing is that some of their clients set contracts with advertising firms where an incentive fee is calculated based on measured Internet Buzz.
Quite refreshing and no bull.
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Social Sites, Blogs & Link Bait
Pehaps in the Glamour & Entertainmenet industries, coaxing people - now means applying psycological pressure or social pressure or seduction or sensationalism - because so many options are available.
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A bad idea indeed...
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car ads
Actually, those ads work (and work well) for people that are in the market to buy a car. That is why they continue. Although, if you aren't in the market for a car, then they are very annoying.
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