Marketing has caught the VIRUS!

Think of the latest video you watched on the Internet. Did you like it so much that you forwarded it to your friends? Did your friends then forward the video to more friends? This is how videos become viral.

In our Media & Culture class we recently talked about Viral Marketing which is a form of online marketing that encourages the receiver of a message to pass it along to others to generate additional exposure. But sometimes the message doesn’t have to specifically come from the marketers and advertisers themselves…

This is Lilly and this Youtube video shows her reaction when her mom tells her that they are going to Disneyland for her birthday.

                                      

Now didn’t that video just give you the warm and fuzzy feeling to want to take your children or little siblings to Disneyland?



Click to see Lily and Mickey Mouse

The video may not have been specifically made to promote Disneyland but it does have a big Emotional Appeal to its viewers. You form an emotional attachment to Lilly and her “brand loyalty” towards Disneyland and its services. Even if it wasn’t intentional Disneyland is still going to benefit on all the “buzz” created from videos like this.

I like to think of viral videos being very similar to testimonial advertisements. Everyday consumers are viewed positively experiencing a company’s brand(s). Rather then spending millions on celebrity endorsements  like Proactive, companies should be searching for viral videos and trying to benefit from them.

With your consumers just thinking they watched a really funny or adorable video they wont realize that in the back of their mind is the company or product(s) responsible for such reactions. Almost like a new 007 of product placement?