The Proposal Heard ‘Round The Web - Disneyland Goes Viral
Today I had a good conversation with a journalist from the OCRegister discussing viral marketing for his blog post on Disney's Musical Marriage Proposal campaign. You can check the post here titled: Disneyland gets viral with elaborate fake marriage proposal.
Take a look at Disney's viral marketing creation.
A big part of our conversation was about the "value" of viral marketing. Does it generate sales? Is it measurable? My answer? Viral marketing can certainly be effective, depending on the overall campaign strategy the tactics are applied to. Viral marketing should be approached as an experiment.
It's also important for marketers to understand that there are many types of viral marketing, yet it can generally be distilled into two primary areas:
A. Viral branding or "buzz"
B. Viral "call to action"
Viral branding "buzz"
This type of viral campaign is designed to create buzz and awareness by creating something so awesome everyone will share it with friends. Its the most common type of "viral" marketing and typically what I find most people associate it with. In Disneyland's case, the tactic is not necessarily going to drive consumers to a theme park, but when done correctly can be very effective in deepening a brand's connection with consumers.
Viral "call to action"
The viral marketing here is simply about making something easy to share and is integrated within a product. This differentiates from mere word of mouth marketing because you need to be engaged in the product in order for anything to "go viral". In this case your efforts can be entirely measured as all customer conversions or acquisitions are tracked.
Bottom-line: viral marketing isn't a strategy alone, it can be a very effective tactic when done smart and authentic.
Gregg Witt, Partner
Lunch Today: Even Though That Was Hours Ago...Excellent Greek Dolmades at Avo's
