The Beauty of Cheap
After working at McDonalds many years ago, I promised myself that I would not eat there again. My negative feelings about the food won't be swayed by TV commercials. Assuming they want my business, this leaves McDonalds in a quandary. Aside from the obvious (making better burgers), what can they do to reach people like me? McDonalds has to get people that I trust to recommend their restaurants. This is a purer recommendation than one coming from the company itself, and the purer the better. There are a few methods that institutions can use to deliver pure recommendations, but for my first posts on U Marketing Guru, I’ll focus on “viral marketing.”
Rather than assume you know the definition of viral marketing, I’ll explain it briefly. It’s called viral due to the way the marketing message spreads, mimicking the growth of a virus. It starts with one person who sends it to their friends, each friend doing the same, until countable thousands (or millions) have received it. Viral videos are effective because of the purer method of distribution and the recommendation it implies.
Virals spread a marketing message faster, to a wider audience, and for must less money than ever before. Virals are working for Ford, Subaru, Nike, Burger King, et al. The beauty of viral campaigns is that you don’t have to a Coca-Cola-sized budget or get 1,000,000 views for it to be successful. Colleges and universities can launch viral campaigns with a very small investment.
Next time: Pure (and free) is better.
posted by Mark Lambertson @ 7:27 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Is viral distribution a happy accident, or something that can be planned? How can you predict what will capture the imagination of your target audience? Evian's rollerskating babies were a sure bet, and "United Breaks Guitars" became a pop phenom because it embodied the pent-up frustrations of all air travelers. But are there principles that can be applied to college marketing?
You're right, there is no way to predict with certainty the success of any campaign. Evian's "skating babies" viral currently has more than 8 million views on YouTube and its ROI is incredible. Consider this info regarding Evian's sales after the viral launch: "88 percent lift in sales and 18 percent lift in sales volume" and "90 percent agree it [the viral] has a positive impact on their shopping experience." (from http://blog.adcentricity.com/2009/07/evian-roller-babies-digitally-skate-all-the-way-to-the-point-of-purchase/ )
These numbers are staggering and I doubt that the folks at Evian dared to dream of that kind of success.
Higher ed virals, as part of a larger promotional plan, only need to reach potential students and get them interested enough to ask the school for more information. Good virals should either inspire the connection or bolster an existing link.
My next post will offer an interesting suggestion for developing a cost-effective viral campaign. I'll save the principles for another day.
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