I was responding to Steph's blog - the one about the woman who got her phone stolen - when I found myself constantly being reminded of viral marketing. As I mentioned in my response to her post, viral marketing has become an inexpensive, yet powerful, tool for individuals and companies, in which they use pre-existing social networks to produce an increase in brand/individual awareness. Through channels such as word of mouth and the internet, the message or brand (whether it be personal or physical), is delivered. With 2/3 of the worlds internet users using social media sites, viral marketing can be a powerful way in spreading messages, both intentionally and not.
One example - that I can't get enough of - is by Atomic Tom, a band who wanted to get their name out there, but didn't have rich parents to pay for their music videos (coughRebeccaBlackcough). The band came up with a clever idea to tape a live performance on the NYC Subway, using only their iphone apps for instrments because their instruments were "stolen."
ATOMIC TOM - Take Me Out Tonight (Live on NYC Subway)
Viral marketing can have extremely positve results, but I think it's also important to demonstrate that it can also have negative connotations. For example, celebrity culture. Much of our discussions over the past few weeks have been in regards to celebrity culture, particularly pertaining to consumption and distractions from greater underlying issues. One celebrities mess-up or embarassing moment can spiral into the next day's topic of discussion; viral marketing is not always intentional. Anyone have any good examples?
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