THE ( UGLY ) TRUTH ABOUT VIRAL MARKETING

1. THE
(UGLY)
TRUTH
ABOUT
VIRAL
MARKETING.
LIKE, FOR REAL.

2. VIRUS
noun
1. AN INFECTION OR DISEASE CAUSED BY AN
INFECTIVE AGENT THAT IS TOO SMALL TO BE SEEN
BY LIGHT MICROSCOPE AND IS ABLE TO MULTIPLY
ONLY WITHIN THE LIVING CELLS OF A HOST.
2. A HARMFUL OR CORRUPTING INFLUENCE.
3. A PIECE OF CODE THAT IS CAPABLE OF COPYING
ITSELF AND TYPICALLY HAS A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT,
SUCH AS CORRUPTING THE SYSTEM OR DESTROYING
DATA.
2
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PHOTO BY M*RTEN ON FLICKR.COM

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PHOTO BY CHIM CHIM ON FLICKR.COM

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PHOTO BY BAHMAN ON FLICKR.COM

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PHOTO BY SARIHUELLA ON FLICKR.COM

8. PLEASE TELL US
YOU DON’T WANT
TO DO THIS TO
YOUR CUSTOMERS.
8

9. WHAT YOU ACTUALLY
WANT IS FOR YOUR MARKETING
TO SPREAD EXPONENTIALLY,
LIKE A VIRUS.
RIGHT?
9

10. CONSUMER-DRIVEN MARKETING
noun
A METHOD OF PROMOTION THAT RELIES ON CUSTOMERS HELPING
TO MARKET AN IDEA, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE BY CHOOSING TO SHARE
SOMETHING WITH THEIR FRIENDS.
10

11. FOR EXAMPLE…
11

12. FLIP VIDEO
CISCO’S LARGEST AD CAMPAIGN TO DATE ASKED REGULAR
FOLKS AS WELL AS CELEBRITIES LIKE STEPHEN COLBERT &
USHER TO SUBMIT VIDEOS OF THEIR EVERYDAY & UNIQUE
MOMENTS SHOT ON FLIP CAMERAS FOR USE IN UPCOMING TV
ADS. NOT ONLY DID FLIP’S CONSUMER-DRIVEN MARKETING
EFFORT HELP TO CREATE HOURS OF SHARE-WORTHY CONTENT,
BUT IT ALSO LED FLIP TO THE TOP CAMCORDER SPOT BY THE
END OF 2009, WITH A FIRM GRASP ON 36% OF THE U.S. MARKET.
12

13. MOUNTAIN DEW
MOUNTAIN DEW KICKED OFF THE
FIRST DEWMOCRACY CAMPAIGN BY
LETTING FANS DESIGN NEW DEW
FLAVORS AND PACKAGING. NOW,
WITH DEWMOCRACY 2, THE
CONSUMER-DRIVEN MARKETING
EFFORT HAS FANS SUBMITTING,
VOTING ON, & ULTIMATELY
SELECTING AND CREATING
MOUNTAIN DEW’S NEW TV ADS.
MORE THAN 1,000 VIDEOS WERE
SUBMITTED, AND DEW'S FACEBOOK
FRIENDS INCREASED 500% IN A
MATTER OF WEEKS.
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14. BURGER KING
BURGER KING’S WHOPPER SACRIFICE CAMPAIGN INVITED FANS TO DELETE
FACEBOOK FRIENDS IN EXCHANGE FOR FREE WHOPPERS. WITHIN 10 DAYS OF
THE CAMPAIGN’S DEBUT, THE WHOPPER SACRIFICE APP WAS INSTALLED 60,000
TIMES. TWO WEEKS LATER SOME 85,000 PEOPLE HAD DELETED OVER 230,000
FRIENDS, PROMPTING FACEBOOK TO SHUT THE APP DOWN—AND GARNERING
BURGER KING A WHOPPER-SIZE PORTION OF FREE MEDIA COVERAGE.
14

15. PEPSI REFRESH PROJECT
AFTER 23 YEARS OF BUYING HUGE ADS DURING THE SUPERBOWL, PEPSI PASSED
ON THE MOST-WATCHED TELEVISION EVENT OF ALL TIME, & ALLOCATED
1/3 OF ITS 2010 MARKETING BUDGET TO THE REFRESH PROJECT, A SOCIAL
MARKETING CAMPAIGN THAT REWARDS THOSE WITH BIG IDEAS FOR SOLUTIONS
TO LOCAL & GLOBAL PROBLEMS. SINCE ITS LAUNCH ON JANUARY 13, 2010,
THE PROGRAM HAS RECEIVED OVER 1 BILLION MEDIA IMPRESSIONS, INCLUDING
44 MILLION BLOG POSTS, 70 MILLION TWEETS, & AMASSING 300,000 NEW
FACEBOOK FANS.
15

16. PARANORMAL
ACTIVITY
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY PUT THE
POWER OF MOVIE DISTRIBUTION
INTO THE HANDS OF ITS FANS,
THROUGH A CAMPAIGN THAT
ENCOURAGED & ENABLED THEM
TO “DEMAND” THE MOVIE BE
BROUGHT TO THEIR CITY.
AND IT WORKED.
MORE THAN A MILLION DEMANDS
LATER, PARANORMAL GARNERED A
WORLDWIDE RELEASE & GROSSED
NEARLY A BILLION DOLLARS.
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17. BARACK OBAMA’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
BARACK OBAMA’S 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN USED THE POWER OF SOCIAL
& DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TO ACTIVATE, CONNECT, & EMPOWER MILLIONS OF
SUPPORTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN ISOLATED POCKETS
OF GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM BECAME A TIDAL WAVE OF SUPPORT THAT TURNED A
LITTLE-KNOWN AFRICAN AMERICAN SENATOR WITH A FUNNY-SOUNDING NAME
INTO THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
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PHOTO BY TONY THE MISFIT ON FLICKR.COM

18. VIRAL MARKETING VS.
CONSUMER-DRIVEN
MARKETING
• ASSUMES PEOPLE ARE ACTIVE
PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROMOTION
PROCESS; MORE “FANS” THAN
CONSUMERS.
• ASSUMES PEOPLE ARE PASSIVE
“HOSTS” WHO HAVE NO CHOICE
• ASSUMES CONTENT MUST NOT
BUT TO PASS ON YOUR MARKETING
ONLY BE SHARE-ABLE, BUT ALSO
ONCE CONTAMINATED.
HIGHLY SHARE-WORTHY.
• ASSUMES THE MARKETING ITSELF
• REQUIRES A DEEP UNDERSTANDING
IS SELF-REPLICATING.
OF HOW AND WHY PEOPLE SHARE
STUFF (AND A WILLINGNESS TO PUT
• REQUIRES THE USE OF TALKING
THOSE MOTIVATIONS FRONT AND
BABIES, CUTE BABY ANIMALS,
CENTER).
HALF-NAKED HOTTIES, &/OR
MAGIC PIXIE DUST TO SUCCEED…
BUT MOSTLY MAGIC PIXIE DUST.
18

19. YOU ARE MORE LIKELY
TO WAKE UP WITH
YOUR HEAD SEWN
TO THE CARPET THAN
TO SEE YOUR NEXT
MARKETING CAMPAIGN
“GO VIRAL.”
19

20. UNLESS, OF COURSE,
YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE
A STASH OF MAGICAL
PIXIE DUST.
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21. CONSUMER-DRIVEN MARKETING
RELIES ON PEOPLE
SHARING STUFF
 ABOUT YOUR BRAND
WITH THEIR FRIENDS.
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22. CONSUMER-DRIVEN MARKETING
RELIES ON PEOPLE
SHARING STUFF
 ABOUT YOUR BRAND
WITH THEIR FRIENDS.
WHY IN THE WORLD
WOULD THEY
DO THAT?
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23. 1 A DESIRE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES.
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24. 2 A DESIRE TO BELONG.
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25. 3
A DESIRE
TO DO GOOD. 25

26. 4
A DESIRE TO BE NAUGHTY.
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27. 5 A DESIRE
TO BE
RECOGNIZED.
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28. 6 A DESIRE
TO BUILD
RELATIONSHIPS.
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29. THE DEGREE TO WHICH PEOPLE SHARE
YOUR STUFF BOILS DOWN TO ONE
SIMPLE QUESTION:
DOES THE BENEFIT
OF SHARING
OUTWEIGH THE RISK?
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30. WELL, DOES IT?
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31. IN SUMMARY,
HERE’S OUR VERY SIMPLE FORMULA
FOR CONSUMER-DRIVEN MARKETING SUCCESS.
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32. 1 STOP TRYING TO
SPREAD VIRUSES.
IN FACT,
GO WASH
YOUR HANDS
RIGHT NOW.
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33. 2 CREATE STUFF THAT PEOPLE
WILL WANT TO SHARE.
NOT BECAUSE YOU THINK IT’S SUPER CLEVER,
BUT BECAUSE IT CATERS TO ONE OF THE
SIX REASONS PEOPLE SHARE STUFF ONLINE.
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34. 3 THINK OF YOUR TARGET
AUDIENCE AS “FANS,”
NOT “CONSUMERS.”
TREAT THEM ACCORDINGLY.
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PHOTO BY ANIRUDH KOUL ON FLICKR.COM

35. 4 ENABLE, ENCOURAGE,
& REWARD SHARING.
MAKE IT INSANELY EASY. MAKE IT ABSURDLY FUN.
LET PEOPLE COLLABORATE, TINKER, EXPERIMENT,
REMIX, REPURPOSE, RECYCLE, AND REINVENT.
GIVE YOUR FANS (& FUTURE FANS) A WAY TO GET
SOME SKIN IN THE GAME.
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PHOTO BY JCBEHM ON FLICKR.COM

36. IF YOU CAN’T FIND ANY
MAGIC PIXIE DUST, GIVE US A CALL.
Hi, we’re Espresso. Nice to meet you. In case we haven’t made it obvious, we’re
a bunch that firmly believes it’s time to stop wasting precious marketing dollars
creating ads that people ignore, and focus instead on creating experiences your
customers (and prospects) will love. We’re super-committed to doing just that in
the most cost-effective way possible—while never losing sight of our relentless
pursuit of being Amazing at Life™.
SAY HELLO,
WHY DON’T YOU?
TORONTO
Jacquelyn Cyr
Chief Executive Officer
416 620 6773
jacquelyn@brandinfiltration.com
twitter.com/infiltrators
BOSTON
Marta Kagan
Managing Director, US
617 477 5811
marta@brandinfiltration.com
twitter.com/mzkagan
brandinfiltration.com

37. Infiltrate Now!
www.brandinfiltration.com