The Importance of Viral Marketing in Tough Times
I was just doing my usual of scanning my favorite places on the internet in order to take an overall pulse of “online” in general. Traveling at this time of year is less for vacation purposes and more just to bring families together for the holidays. Many families will be missing a member or two because of the recession and lack of a timeline for when the country will bounce back.
The news reporting sites are abuzz with reports of company troubles like vultures over a battlefield. TheAlarmClock for example is reporting that classmates.com is undergoing massive downsizing of its staff in this article which means even online entities of the shrinking but still significant variety are digging in for prolonged tough times. So what does that mean for everyone else? It’s simple really…
That’s an easy statement to make isn’t it? Focusing on the now sounds like a statement you’d hear at a fashion show, not on wall street or in your living room at Christmas. You don’t have to look very hard to spot the brilliant executive decisions over the questionable ones, tough times are what can make or break a company and it’s leader’s careers. Simply closing the purse strings isn’t enough, especially if the company relies on advertising to draw customers.
I mentioned travel, while checking out the prices of last minute flights before Christmas I came across this Americans in Paris video. The video itself is great, funny without being obvious and hey, the Eiffel Tower tips over creating a need for this companies service. If I had to buy a ticket today I would definitely remember the name “last minute travel” after seeing the video.
Travel companies rely on a solid economy to thrive but they survive by being remembered when the time comes and the perfect example of that is found within that video. Other airline companies could spend a fortune on an ad campaign right now, a fortune they likely don’t have, and they wouldn’t be on my mind if I needed their services. Paris and last minute travel would be.
Viral marketing is the art of creating a stir and sending ripples through the various online methods people communicate. Does seeing the Eiffel Tower falling over send ripples of laughter through you for a moment? In tough times the art of marketing through viral means becomes even more important because there are less potential customers and more companies willing to to go the extra mile to offer them services. How important is viral marketing?
Well, if my email didn’t contain a link to that video I would have never known about the company and if I needed to plan a trip right now that doesn’t do last minute travel any good now does it. The thing is other airline companies are advertising right now in every place they have been for a very long time so why is it that I have no set preference? I’m likely to return to the last company I bought a ticket from just to be safe much like anyone else without new options being on their mind.
Traditional advertising mediums are well known and have a high degree of ad blindness since they are always there, just like the ads I see in my email in-box and ignore daily. The caveat of those ad locations is that they are also the most expensive since they are well known. In tough times it may not be a bad idea to send your ad company a note requesting a 30% discount because of tough times. Force the advertising agency to decide if they want to keep your business at a discount or not.
If they do, great, if they don’t that’s your queue to shake and bake and forge a new path in non-traditional waters. Viral marketing is the most sought after type of marketing as well as being the least attainable. Traditional approaches don’t work miracles, in tough times your company may not only survive but prosper if you break free from the traditional. It’s a big risk, sure, but spending a weeks advertising funds on a new approach has a much higher potential financial reward.
In tough times that reward is simply surviving so if you’re in a management position I strongly suggest you search long and hard for a good reason to keep paying your ad agency the big bucks and start scanning for opportunities that aren’t being promoted to you. If it doesn’t generate buzz it’s an expensive anchor during market downturns like the one we’re in now. Decide to DO IT or prepare to follow the pack wherever that leads.
Oh, and if you’re near the Eiffel Tower any time soon, check the bolts!