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Jim Calhoun is the CEO/Founder of Popular Media and a Silicon Valley veteran. Before founding PopularMedia, Jim was a co-founder of CustomerClick LLC, a multi-million dollar direct marketing firm whose clients include Yahoo!, UnitedHealthGroup, and ABC Television. Previously, Jim served as Vice President of Products at NetObjects, Inc. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

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Art Versus Science in Viral Marketing

Written on
August 9th 2006
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by Jim Calhoun  |
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Like the rest of the interactive marketing sector, it appears that viral marketing may have finally exorcised the ghost of the sock puppet. It’s now a valid, valuable, and growing interactive marketing discipline.

But, with growth come growing pains. Not the least of which is confusion among about what “Viral Marketing” really is. Is it art, or science that makes viral marketing tick?

Viral marketing is a broad term that means many things to many people. Like any other form of media, you can use viral techniques to create buzz, build awareness, or engage an audience. You can also use viral marketing to build sales, generate leads, or drive subscriptions.

Depending on your objectives, you’re likely to approach your viral marketing programs from one of two perspectives. If buzz is your endgame, you’re likely to approach viral marketing as an art form. If you’re after leads and sales, science will likely guide your creative process.

So is viral marketing an art, or is it a science? While most marketers would instinctively consider viral marketing more of a creative art than hard science, science is the essential component. Ignoring one element in favor of the other diminishes your chances of success, no matter what your campaign objective — awareness or action.

When considering your next viral campaign, think of a slider with “art” on one endpoint and “science” on the other. Now consider your concept and objective. Where on that slider does your program fall? Is it weighted heavily to one side or another? Are you putting all your eggs in one oh-so-cheeky creative basket you’re just certain the world will love? Or are you asking yourself “why in the world would someone share this with their friends?”

In either case, you need to think of ways to move your viral program more to the center. Here’s why. At its most fundamental, viral marketing is a direct response medium, and this is where the science part comes in. Every viral program has an implicit call-to-action: share this with your friends. Without this fundamental element, your campaign by definition cannot be viral.

Motivating people to move your message out to their social circle is where the art comes into play. The experience you’re offering must be instantaneously compelling and motivating. For this reason, you’ll find that clear trumps clever time after time. This isn’t to say strong creative isn’t of critical importance — nobody can make a pig fly — but the clear-trumps-clever maxim is a great tool to help you temper your creative back toward the center of your imaginary slider.

You’re counting on your audience to share an experience (or an offer) you’ve created with friends, who in turn will share the experience with their friends. In the ideal case, each generation spawns a new generation of participants, and the best viral campaigns run many generations deep before reaching a point of saturation.

Keep in mind that every person who comes in contact with your pitch is not just a member of the audience, but a critical part of your distribution strategy. Recognizing the nature of your audience’s dual role demands a carefully crafted balance of art and science.



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Reader Comments.

“Every viral program has an implicit call-to-action: share this with your friends. Without this fundamental element, your campaign by definition cannot be viral.”

Right, and you can’t tell people to share it, they just have to want to.

Posted by Jim Kukral | 10:57 pm on August 9, 2006.

agency.com’s subway vid posted on youtube made the viral buzz meter tip a bit…it was widely viewed and commented on within the advertising agency world (adsthatsuck, adrants, etc) and made the official leap to viral when adage.com earlier this week rana headline using the word viral in referencing the agency video. Viral, well the fever was localized so it was really closer to Big Buzz than a true viral success, no? Buzz success, yes.
Truely, viral? Hmm, Among the top virals this year would have to be Smirnoff’s Ice Tea video with over 350,000 consumers having viewed it in the past two weeks. Flame on!

Posted by Goose | 8:53 am on August 10, 2006.

On a far less serious note, a reader recently introduced me to what has to be one of the most unintentionally funny “send to a friend” features I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot!

tell-a-friend feature at TheraBreath.com allows you to send anonymous messages to friends and colleagues who are need a nudge in the oral hygiene department…

And I agree with Jim — people need to be inspired and motivated to share something. You can lead a horse to water, as they say, but you can’t make her drink.

Posted by Jim Calhoun | 11:52 am on August 10, 2006.

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