The Beginnings of Viral Marketing
by John R. Sedivy
Undoubtedly you have heard of viral marketing, or at a minimum something going “viral” especially in a social media context. The essence of viral marketing is that the right message hits the right target at precisely the right time and spreads at an unbelievably rapid rate. How does this occur? A little skill, good timing, and a whole lot of luck. But what makes a message, individual, product, service, or business go viral? If there was a definitive answer the same promoters of individuals, products, services, or businesses would produce hits time and time again. However this, more often than not, is not the case.
This is where luck comes in. But one’s luck certainly increases with skill. Knowledge, and the subsequent application of gained knowledge is power – and therefore educating oneself on viral marketing techniques may increase the likelihood of producing a viral hit, or at a bare minimum, recognizing a viral hit in the making. Increased knowledge increases the likelihood that one may hit the right timing and eventually skill, timing, and luck are all present and the stars are aligned.
But there are techniques for creating a viral hit which may be used to increase the likelihood of doing so. At a minimum one must understand the system and the processes the system uses. This is the subject of Media Virus! by Douglas Rushkoff.
Spreading The Virus
A virus injects itself into a cell and instructs the host cell – “spread me.” If the virus is executed properly the process continues over and over again until many, a majority, or even all the cells are infected with the virus. So it goes with a media virus.
A message originates from an individual or organization. It may die off at the first recipient – if indeed it does reach the intended recipient. It may spread to more individuals, it may spread to many individuals. It may spread to all individuals. One should be so lucky!
Viral marketing has been around since at least 1994 when Media Virus! was first published. So why the sudden interest in viral marketing? The Internet is coming into it’s own.
Sure the Internet has been around for some time – initially developed by The Rand Corporation in the late 1960’s for defense applications – however the masses are just now beginning to embrace this medium. And it isn’t even close to reaching it’s full potential. Something interesting I had learned when first starting my business – individuals and small businesses are slow, slow to move and slow to change. Surely this is not true of all individuals and small business, but certainly a large number. People stick with what they are comfortable with and therefore resist change.
The masses are becoming comfortable with the Internet. Research, reading, social networking, shopping – you name it. This comfort and subsequent embrace of the Internet is increasing the rate at which information is spread, and in my opinion this rate of information transfer only stands to increase exponentially over time.
This is a ripe environment for a virus to flourish.
Embracing Chaos
One of the most fascinating aspects of Media Virus! is the unique combination of systems thinking, chaos theory, and how the mass media works. Prior to reading this book I thought I had a reasonable understanding of how the media worked, I was mistaken.
According to Rushkoff the media is a living organism which continually evolves over time. Complex systems theory states that a system operates optimally when operating at the edge of chaos. The trade-off is that optimal operation is often unpredictable. As with any living organism it is impossible to predict with perfect accuracy the behavior of the organism (in this case the media), thus is impossible to launch a hit virus consistently over time. What can be predicted is the nature of the chaos and the need for feedback and iteration.
Feedback is simply a means of responding to received information. For example, initial forms of television did not possess information feedback – a viewer was static in their viewing of a television show and did not have a means to respond to the producers of the show, or at least if said feedback was present – it was rudimentary, say in the form of snail mail. Fast forward years later and viewers of a television show can vote instantly on content through such means as phone calls, texting, and even the Internet.
The Internet is the ultimate form of feedback. If a news agency or independent blogger reports a story that is relevant to the largest possible amount of people and that is different from the competition – they can end up on the front page of Digg or some similar website which continually pushes the awareness of stories higher and higher. Of course, like it may be viewed on Digg – a story can lose momentum just as quickly – just like a real virus. This is instant feedback.
The other component that must be present is iteration. This is simply a process continually repeated over time. Wash, rinse, repeat – that is iteration. Original television possessed iteration – producers would continue to churn out the same material over time – this worked because feedback mechanisms were limited. However, given the fast feedback of the Internet, future iterations can be greatly improved in amazingly short amounts of time. This is true process improvement.
Such systems (for example the media) are chaotic in that they are difficult to predict as a result of their rapid evolution. Feedback and iteration make them chaotic, which in turn reduces predictability over time, yet makes them optimal for their stated function – the spread of information.
Playing The Media
Media Virus! contains many examples of individuals learning the system and manipulating it to their advantage. For the reasons discussed above past performance is not a predictor of future success, however some have come incredibly close to doing so. Sometimes this was unintentional (at least initially), but may also be intentional. Another fascinating aspect is that I noticed that the individuals who had become aware of the working of the media (and similar chaotic systems) were not particularly well funded. They were grassroots organizations – therefore there did not appear to be a correlation between money and results.
There are some interesting examples of individuals and organizations playing the media – essentially trapping them into reacting the way in which they predicted. Sometimes – due to the nature of feedback and iteration – the results were completely unexpected – a smashing success or a fizzling dud. Again, this is where the luck part comes into play.
There were several events that the author used as an example which occurred during the past 15 years which were viral hits – many of which I had no idea of at the time. Actually, I was unaware until after reading the book!
Striking Contradictions
One example of this sort of manipulation of the media was the creation of the term “smart drugs.” This phrase was purposeful in design. Simple and memorable due to it’s contradictory nature.
Society dictates that - Smart is good. Drugs are bad. So how can there be such a thing as smart drugs?
Even if you don’t buy in to the whole smart drugs way of thinking the simple yet strikingly contradictory nature of the phrase would likely make an individual pause and take notice. You might consider the statement. The seed has been planted. Next you may debate the subject, argue with the originator. Discuss it with your friends.
To the originator of a media virus, all press is good press.
Lessons Learned
I had taken away quite a bit from this book. As I mentioned the book was originally published in 1994 – Douglas Rushkoff was well ahead of his time! In my opinion much of the thinking continues to be ahead of it’s time, although definitely relevant.
I feel that I have walked away from this book with a much better understanding of how the media works and how viral messages originate and are passed along. At a minimum, it has increased my scrutiny of received messages. As I discussed earlier, it is near impossible to consistently orchestrate viral marketing campaigns over time – consider why there are so many one hit wonders! However, the knowledge I have received from this book increases my understanding of what it would take to do so, and how to increase my chances. At a minimum I am much better prepared to recognize a viral marketing message in the making!
Who Should Read This Book?
Anyone with an interest in systems thinking, viral marketing, and chaos theory. Given my background in systems engineering and business I really enjoyed this book as it appealed to both aspects. However, one need not possess this background to take away some solid information. Although this book was written 15 years ago – the information continues to be relevant, and in my opinion will be for some time to come.
Viral marketing is a complex process – continuous feedback and iteration are required!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
BrandDigital Book Review
by John R. Sedivy
In my article BrandSimple Book Review I had discussed how Allen Adamson lays out in great technical detail the ins and outs of branding. As I discussed in that article that book was a great read for anyone wishing to develop a great brand thoroughly over time.
Having just finished Allen Adamson’s follow-up book BrandDigital I can assuredly say it is more of the same – which isn’t a bad thing. Actually it’s a great thing.
A Chance Encounter
I had first encountered BrandDigital as a Google Adsense advertisement. It wasn’t any old advertisement – it was the first ad for this blog. If you have ever used AdSense you will realize that the ads are random and based on the published content. I was intrigued by the simple style of the book so it prompted me to read BrandSimple and then BrandDigital. My only regret is that I had waited months to do so when I could have easily benefited from the information within way back then when we first started out.
BrandDigital is much like BrandSimple except that it focuses on the Internet aspect of marketing as one might have guessed by the title. As the author proves that branding is more than simply logo and package creation in BrandSimple, Adamson focuses on the digital aspect of brand creation – the Internet in general, social media, search engine, optimization, etc. and sets out to prove that branding is more than the digital tools employed to amplify the brand.
That is the main premise here – the Internet and digital tools in general, amplify the effects of a brand, not create it. If you have a strong brand, the Internet and supporting tools will make your brand even stronger, for example by amplifying the effect of word of mouth by your message going viral on social media. Conversely, if you have a weak brand without much of a foundation, these tools will do little to help you.
Serious Inquiries Only
As with BrandSimple, BrandDigital provides loads of technical information for those wanting to know every aspect of branding in the digital arena. There are plenty of solid examples, some of which are expanded from the first book. Actually there seemed to be a couple of items that were reiterated from BrandSimple, however I may have been more attuned to this as I had read both books in the same week.
In closing I highly recommend BrandSimple and BrandDigital as a set. You can read one without the other, however I believe both titles compliment one another well and are both worth reading and will be useful as a desktop reference for some time to come. Not simply a flash in the pan, BrandDigital provides solid foundational advice for use on the Web or physical environments.
As with BrandSimple, this book may not be for everyone. It is more serious than other marketing books, however there is excellent attention to detail, solid advice, and many professional interviews which serve as the foundation for this book. For those interested in branding and marketing, especially on the Internet and are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and take the time to read the book and employ it’s techniques – this is the book for you!
The Internet and digital tools are a great way to amplify a strong brand!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
BrandSimple Book Review
by John R. Sedivy
Do you think that branding is simply developing a cute logo, a professional website, and setting up a Facebook page?
If so, you are sadly mistaken.
BrandSimple by Allen P. Adamson blows that theory out of the water. In fact, the author provides everything that you ever want to know about the fundamentals of branding. He actually nails it to a science of sorts. I thought I had known nearly all there is to know about branding, this book has proven me wrong.
Branding – An Art And A Science
Are you interested in learning more of the technical details behind branding? Then you seriously need to read this book. This book is much more serious and technical in nature than most, so it will take some time to read. However, it is worthwhile, and when you do finish, you will walk away with a solid grasp of brands, branding, and how to build a solid brand from the ground up – all while keeping it simple.
The author is clear in distinguishing the commonly misused terms and focuses on the following ten ideas taken directly from BrandSimple:
1. Understand that brand and branding are different concepts.
2. Establish a differentiated meaning for your brand that the consumers you want to reach care about –find relevant–before you begin to try branding.
3. Know exactly who you want to talk to –that is, know your audience.
4. To find a different and relevant brand idea, look for the obvious.
5. Make sure your brand idea aligns with your business strategy.
6. Capture the essence of your brand idea in a brand driver–a simple statement of what your brand stands for.
7. Draw a map of the customer’s journey with your brand.
8. Pick your battles.
9. Remember, only the paranoid survive.
10. Remember that brand building is a marathon event.
The second point is something that I found really important – your brand, whether you are talking about yourself as an individual, a business, or just a message you are attempting to communicate – must be both different and relevant. This is critical, especially given the growing level of noise brought about by the growing popularity of the Internet.
So Simple, Yet So Difficult
Many of the key points appear simple in nature, however it’s worth noting that the most simple things are the most oft overlooked. The author has strong credibility for the subject matter having been employed by leading branding firms and worked many global accounts. He also appeared in leading television news shows and publications. This credibility shines through with the technical discussions.
Some great examples are also provided. Some have appeared in other marketing type books, however the author even treats these examples in a unique manner. Digital tools are not really addressed here – that is the subject of his follow on book titled BrandDigital, which I am currently reading.
Although the material can be dry at times, and may be difficult for the layman, I believe it provides some great food for thought. At a minimum it will make you consider your brand – either as a company or an individual. It will also make for a great desktop reference for some time to come. For more information related to BrandSimple, check out the blog of the same title by visiting the BrandSimple Blog. I have also added it to our blogroll.
The most successful brands are different yet relevant – while communicating a simple message!
-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding
