The mystery that is viral marketing

I love it when people who have no idea what they’re talking about in the first place, spout off about something they heard somwhere because they think it makes a good soundbite. They yak and yak while saying nothing of true substance. This behavior is found everywhere; it even comes from (shock) CEOs and journalists. For a case in point, check out this New York Times article about how JWT, the oldest ad agency in the United States, bought up a week’s worth of ads on a highly trafficked website called The Huffington Post. The agency was trying to obtain what the article calls “that elusive phenomenon: a viral marketing sensation, in which consumers spread marketing messages to each other over the Internet.” This was the agency’s attempt to “show that it is hip and modern enough to compete in the nontraditional category that has obsessed the advertising industry.” And it only gets worse:

To achieve their goal, the ad agency selected its best tv commercials and put them on the site. Then they slapped on “links so that visitors can send the spots via e-mail or instant message.” Genius! Just slap up commercials and have people share them because that’s what we all love to do, look at and share commercials! This is the best and most super effective plan ever!

But what really gets me is the amazing bargain the agency got:

While a typical one-month ad on The Huffington Post home page ranges from $120,000 to $145,000, the one-week deal has cost JWT a sum in the low six figures.

Don’t get me wrong, there are great commercials that might inspire people to share them with friends. But why not put these commercials on YouTube and spread the word to blogs that talk about advertising all day long? This doesn’t cost anything and can be highly effective. Why not design a microsite where people can vote on the best commercials? You could even serve them from YouTube to save on hosting costs. These ideas are very cheap to implement and would probably be much more effective than the would-be viral campaign the aforemenioned ad agency implemented. Disclaimer: this NYT article was written in June and I haven’t heard a peep about how well this “viral” campaign did. My guess is they wouldn’t be quiet about success.

I just find it hilarious that an ad agency was trying to show how relevant it is by only paying in the low six figures to run re-purposed tv ads on a website for a week. One thing they are getting right is that online video can be fun and engaging. They may have gotten some traffic, but they payed for it through the nose, and that was entirely unnecessary. The other thing it might appear they got right is PR; they did get the New York Times to run this story after all, even though there wasn’t a story here to write about. Unfortunately, not only did they overpay for their “viral” campaign, but they also came across (at least to me) as generally clueless in the article.

The CEO of the ad agency in question was quoted as saying “Lacking traditional measurement tactics, what you really want to do is get the brand talked about. Viral marketing is all about engagement with the brand.” First of all, measurement tracking on the web can be far more precise than for traditional mass media (although it is true that the effect of a viral campaign can go far beyond what the traffic numbers tell you). Secondly, it feels like his statement came from a manual. So how did he miss the chapter about not having to spend massive amounts of money for an effective viral marketing campaign?

I think anyone getting into viral marketing should always try to spend as little as possible. If you are spending $100k on ad placement, you are mis-spending your funds. You can build your own microsite for far less money. Think of an innovative way to set yourself apart and prove you are relevant. For the agency in this article, why not be unique among the major ad agencies and make fun of your own ability to change with the times? A good self skewering in video form may just be something that could turn viral. Just don’t do what Agency.com did here and refer to the fact that you are trying to make something go viral; viral videos will almost never feature the word “viral” inside them. Another thing that fails: trying to be funny when you just aren’t.

And to dispell the mystery of viral marketing, at least one person quoted in the article said it right:

People often ask me, ‘how do you make something viral?’ The truth is, you just make something good. That doesn’t make something viral, but some of them will strike a nerve.

It’s not easy to create something good, but at least it’s no longer a mystery that that’s all you have to do. And the truth is, more money won’t necessarily something good make. It all comes down to creativity, and that can’t always be bought. Ever heard of the Star Wars kid? He was huge way before YouTube existed, and as you can see here, even his YouTube video has been viewed over 300,000 times. Guess how much he spent? That’s right, nothing. That’s the power and promise of true viral marketing.