As the time passed I concentrated mostly on the blog entries and neglected the aesthetics of the overall blog page and pages. This project helped me become more familiar with such software as photoshop and iphoto. Each process in creating an image or photo took time since it was a process of getting comfortable with each interface.

The video production portion was indeed the most challenging. Being new to the world of video editing and not know many interfaces brought all new challenges to overcome. I originally began the project in Final Cut Pro, but having it being professional movie making software it was a little too overwhelming. I then proceeded entering the imovie environment to bring my documentary to reality. It indeed took some time, but once familiar with the interface and procedures of editing it started rolling a little more smoothly.

After the completion of this semester’s project I can definitely admit to the fact that Tackling Viral Marketing is the academic work that I have spent the most time on in my life. Despite all the hours put into this collective work of the blog and video project, I would do it every semester I have remaining in University. It has been a great experience roaming into an unfamiliar world of media creation.

Just a quick thought that touched based with the subject of viral marketing.

Good day all !

This site which is concentrated to reviews, marketing, web development, seo and software has chosen the top ten viral marketing campaigns. This is seopher.com’s top ten pics:

1)

To view the intriguing article please click on the link above the video.

This videos will incorporate well into the imaging portion of the documentary, and bring a smooth transition from slides and other video clips.

Now this collective piece of work in which held multiple studies to bring into several different theories and possibilities to understand the motives behind spreading the word on viral marketing campaigns. It did not however, show diversity in its many of medium. It focused on and only on emails. Thus, neglecting; youtube, facebook, myspace, tweeter and all other social networking mediums throughout the vast entities of the world wide web.

The reason behind the researchers at the University of Alabama stayed tunneled on emails, was because they sate emails being the aspect most used on the internet by human beings arround the world. Having that said, they [the researchers] then brought to surface the main reasons why people forward off emails that are indeed viral marketing attempts.

The study showed that people will more than likely pass along emails when it struck them with a personal emotional impact. Such emotions of happiness, humor, hart shattering/disturbing news. Also, the emails are more likely to be forwarded when received by individuals who are friends that have not been heard of in a while, and emails that bring self sentiment within delivery. The researchers make a comparison to receiving a letter in the mail, it makes someone feel great about themselves even before they no the content of the letter within the envelope.

Having brought all that to mind, these people from the University of Alabama want companies to emphasize on what makes people forward emails in order to succeed in their campaign. There is also a slice in the study that indicates the “no no’s” within emails, the ‘what makes people irritated’ when viewing or scanning emails.

So for all you future viral marketers out there, don’t label the email with an ideology or brand name. Got it.  ;)

This notion of comfort within internet social networking is what viral marketing aims to exploit. And it isn’t only social networking sites, it is reached within ‘personal’ email accounts, youtube channels and the list can go on. Basically anywhere that a person can read or view something and pass it along to make it known.

Relating the motives behind viral marketing to Mary Douglas’ normative debate theory lets us know who really is controlling advertising on the Internet.

Mary Douglas’ theory is that we have contenders that decide what should be of value for society. And it is these contenders who are shaped by the society and the available means of communication.

The theory emphasizes on the notion that it is societies “ELITE” class who determines what society should see as valuable. This is done through media ownership, then the media outputs material to shape society.

Thus having media shape society —->> that later brings society in shaping the contenders —-> then it is the contenders who bring the outcome of society, then we have a circular problem originating at the elite. A social class that is acting for their best interests.

The Internet brings different aspects to the table. The Internet has multiple modes of communication, it delivers democratization to knowledge and global distribution of that knowledge. It allows us ,the people, to have our collective opinion noticed. [such as Groups and events created on facebook to bring recognition in the media. ex parliament issue being recognized by the Globe and Mail.]

It is here where viral marketing is so dangerous and intrusive. Take viral video ads for example. If Internet users are viewing and spreading this ad like a virus to more and more people without knowing its source (being corporate mainstream). Then users are more and more vulnerable to its advertising.

In a place where people thought they had freedom from corporate dominance, the Internet even has corporations creating so called ‘amateur’ content knock-offs to advertise their goods and ideologies.

So before we buy tickets to the ‘boxing match’, we should really find out who it is that’s fighting.

The article brings to mind that giving the consumer an opportunity to win an award or prize is all the incentive you need to catapult a contest into a potential marketing project.

Take for instance the time during the 2007 season of the Apprentice. It teamed up with General Motors and created a viral marketing ad campaign that would incorporate the involvement of the viewers who wished to achieve a sense of accomplishment for their creativity.

The campaign would launch a promotional contest that gave internet users the opportunity to create a new chevy car commercial by editing footage given by GM. The contestants would have to utilize their creativity to apply music, wording, the right sequence of generated scenes to promote the new ‘eco-friendly’ full sized SUV, the Chevy Tahoe.

In regards to spreading the word, it would all be too easy. The contestants would most likely tell friends and family of his or hers involvement in the contest that would in the end spread to more ears then out more mouths. Since this was an internet contest the material generated and submitted would probably be forwarded to many others via email, and then so on so forth.

This in all generating a large load of website its for GM and NBC. Bringing to more website advertising demands and widen the doors of opportunity to making more money for the ‘big guys’.

Watts feels that viral marketing’s hit and miss ratio dominantly favors the MISS portion of the equation. Watts’ view strongly brings to surface that issues of hundred of thousands or even millions of viral marketing campaigns that are left to failure.

The fact that viral marketing seems to be leading markers in believing that it is a quick and cheap way to have advertising done well, is truly unfortunate. Viral Marketing’s “Ultimate Free Launch” is simply an illusion according to Watts.

The potential funding a company can put into a viral campaign can be endless if it has a repetition of failure that persists. It can relate to playing the lottery game. In terms that – who knows how many marketing campaigns you can put together before you finally get that golden arrow to the bull’s eye.

With these issues in mind, Watts introduces a new direction in which he believes marketing will follow, “Big Seed Marketing”.

This method of “Big Seed Marketing” incorporates the methods of good old traditional marketing with viral’s effect of infection word of mouth.

Personally I do not agree that marketing campaigns will turn to “Big Seed Marketing” for the reason that the consumers will not indulge to its manner. The reason for viral marketing’s explosion is that it always has this “implicit” feel to it all. So if people know what the so-called implicit ad is trying to promote then it will come across as just an other commercial. The general public will know that it is a marketing campaign and not want to transmit it to all their ‘facebook’ friends for instance.

In a study conducted by Augsburg University, it was found that word-of-mouth is the most powerful component in marketing and promoting. The study also pertains to the success of viral marketing in the field of mobile communications.

The success of viral marketing is at an outstanding level because of the power of the messengers. The people interconnecting within social sphere and not realizing that they [the people] are promoting the actual product or ideology. For example: if I saw a Ray Ban commercial on Television it may make me feel the urge to go out and acquire a new pair of sunglasses, or it may not. But if a multiple number of my friends send me a link to this video,

I feel emotionally charged in watching that experience. Making me want either a tattoo or come to the idea that Ray Ban’s are sooooo cool! Reason for it, I just saw a guy go through a lot of pain just to have the privilege to have Ray Ban eye frames on his face. I would choose buying Ray Ban’s over the tattoo idea, it seemed painful and uncomfortable. Sunglasses are a much better and pleasant solution in my opinion.

Adding to this video, people might never come to realizing that it is actually an ad. But that is the factor of infecting individuals. By thinking it is a regular camcorder shot in a tattoo parlor, we take in the enjoyment and the influence from peers to hype the video. It helps make the ad greater than it seems, and obviously, have a much greater impact.

We can relate it to when leaving a movie theatre with several friends who rave and speak nothing but glory about the film. it influence your overall judgement of the movie, if your opinion was “so so” at first you rethink it. Even if you don’t change your mind in regards to liking or disliking, it’s the fact that you pondered about your opinion thats the issue.

While I know I am still new to the analysis of viral video marketing, I found it important to share six simple principles of viral marketing. According to Dr. Ralph Wilson, an Internet marketing expert, tributes its [viral marketing] success to the fact it functions just like a virus. “A virus don’t even have to mate – he just replicates, again and again with geometrically increasing power, doubling with each creation:

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Dr. Wilson has put a series of elements in which can be found in the strategies of a viral ad campaign.

1) “GIVES AWAY VALUABLE PRODUCTS or SERVICES”: indeed free is the easiest to grab somebody’s attention when they pass on through the Internet, and ‘free’ is surely a powerful tool for any marketer. The ‘free’ consumer trap method is mainly to attract the eye, to later have the eye see other interesting eye grabbers and so on so forth. In the end to have the consumer clicking on exactly what the maker wants.

2) “PROVIDES FOR EFFORTLESS TRANSFER TO OTHERS”: think of it in terms of the common cold, people who stand next or who aren’t careful around those with colds will more than likely be infected. Viral marketing works magnificiantly on the Internet because of how quickly and easily people can forward it to others. With email, youtube, facebook, Twitter and many other communication and information collaboration sites out there the possibilities of spreading word of the new ‘man who slips on sidewalk ice patch’ are endless.

3) “SCALES EASILY FROM SMALL TO LARGE”: Youtube is probably the main source of scaling all videos to very large. Making something easily available to everyone is HUGE in the marketing department. Youtube helps make the consumer do all the nitty gritty work to promote and advertise the product through making these videos available and famous by uploading and viewing.

4) “EXPLOITS COMMON MOTIVATIONS AND BEHAVIORS”: the really great and clever viral campaigns take advantage of the common motivations people have. For example, you can play with emotions like love and hate to manipulate a reaction from the audience. Shocking or hilarious seems to be the winners lately.

5) “UTILIZING EXISTING COMMUNICATION NETWORKS”: today having inter-communication domains such as facebook, society are so much more connected to each other. Now being able to see what a friend of a friends friend posts, than clicking on that video post that later brings you to a different link and so forth… It all can take a viral ad from unknown to famous in just a matter of hours. Utilizing these networks are definitely key for a successful campaign.

6) “TAKES ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS’ RESOURCES”: capitalizing on other websites by having links inserted, and graphics posted and even text placed into already established websites is also a successful tool in having a successful viral ad campaign.

So there we have it, Dr. Wilson’s six principles we find in successful viral marketing ads.

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