Viral Phenomena and Corporations:Identification,

Proliferation, and Capitalization

By Trevor Robinson

As the Internet becomes the most popular form of media for our generation, so to has it

become the most important medium for advertising.

As a result, corporations are increasingly turning to the Internet as a means to promote new products or increase brand awareness.

One popular method of doing so is through the use of viral advertising.

The goal of viral advertising is to facilitate:1) Buzzmarketing: Through p2p communications2) eWOM: Electronic word-of-mouth (Petrescu & Korgaonkar, 2011)

Some corporations have been very successful in

creating original marketing material that

is innovative, provocative, or

humorous.

The refreshing nature of these campaigns contribute to their

virality.

However, other corporations have merely latched on to the popularity of existing viral phenomena to boost their own recognition.

So how do these companies

accomplish this?

Two main branches towards

capitalization can be identified.

The 1st branch is identifying the exact viral phenomenon to capitalize on.

This can be done by recognizing when an existing entity is “pre-viral”, meaning it is

about to, or has the potential to be very popular with the right promotion, to a brand’s

benefit.

The record label for a little-known DJ named Baauer noticed that hilarious fan videos using

his song, “Harlem Shake” could go viral if promoted.

When it did, all the royalties went to them, the song rocketed to the top of iTunes, and Bauuer

played the Coachella Festival this year.

Or, a brand might align themselves with a concept

that has already gone viral, in a

formal partnership.Chevrolet built on the popularity of the band

OK GO’s unique music videos by funding a high-budget video featuring a new model, the

Sonic.

But some brands simply ride the coattails of a viral phenomenon without adding to it

creatively.

Wonderful Pistachios was criticized for an unoriginal Super Bowl commercial featuring

Psy.

The 2nd branch of capitalization is

proliferation of the phenomenon a brand

wishes to go viral.

To build initial popularity online, brands use new media forms to spread pre-viral entities.

Baauer’s record company used their large and influential Twitter

following to spark sharing of the “Harlem Shake”.

Corporations may also put out advertisements in traditional media settings that have been scientifically designed to get people talking about them, and ultimately sharing online.

For some brands, a campaign is simply buying exposure by affixing themselves to web personality.

For example, in 2007, Dr Pepper sponsored the Tay Zonday video “Cherry Chocolate Rain”.

The reality is that most online marketing campaigns plan to ensure some virality, eg.

purchasing a promoted trend on Twitter.

So, what is the overall

impact of these developments in the

current web climate?

Regardless of whether the virality of phenomena are always legitimate, people will

still watch original, entertaining content in large numbers.

And brands that are quick or misguided in their attempt to ride viral coattails often feel

backlash.

Recently, McDonald’s was criticized for supporting Charles Ramsey, the Cleveland

kidnapping hero, when his criminal history came to light.

Some viral entities on the Internet still remain untouched by corporate interests.

But we now know the viral spread of every phenomenon

is not always so organic.

Image Credits (All images licensed under Creative Commons license and sourced from flickr)

Slide and flickr user:1. Koria.net2. mrlerone 3. Mauryn Flynn-Burhoe 4. Robert Raines 5. Sharron Mollerus6. AloneAlbatross7. Alexander Becker8. imjustcreative9. Michael Bartlett10. Marie. L.11. Ian Muttoo12. smaedli13. sitemarca14. Lifesupercharger15. Scott Beale16. ifmuth17. The Bui Brothers18. Christopher S. Penn19. Stuck in Customs20. Wellington City Council21. Poster Boy NYC22. MANIC! Photography23. IIHd

References (1 of 2)Clark, T. (2012, Sept 12). The Top 10 Viral Marketing Disasters – Part 1 (10-6). Retrieved from http://www.lakestarmccann.com/blog/technology/the-top-10-viral-marketing-disasters-part-1-10-6/

Clark, T. (2012, Sept 14). The Top 10 Viral Marketing Disasters – Part 2 (5-1). Retrieved from http://www.lakestarmccann.com/blog/general-news/viral-marketing/top-10-viral-marketing-disasters-part-2-5-1/

Guarino, M. (2013, May 14). What does McDonald's do now with Cleveland hero Charles Ramsey? Alaska Dispatch. Retrieved from http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130514/what-does-mcdonalds-do-now-cleveland-hero-charles-ramsey

Keath, J. (2010, Jul 21). Behind the Curtain of Old Spice's Viral Video Mega Hit. Social Fresh. Retrieved from http://socialfresh.com/old-spice-viral-videos/

Luckerson, V. (2013, Feb 4). Wonderful Pistachios, PSY — Wonderful Pistachios Get Crackin’. Time. Retrieved from http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/04/the-best-and-worst-super-bowl-commercials-of-2013/slide/wonderful-pistachios-psy-wonderful-pistachios-get-crackin/

References (2 of 2)Petrescu, M., & Korgaonkar, P. (2011). Viral advertising: Definitional review and synthesis. Journal of Internet Commerce, 10(3), 208-226.

Sanburn, J. (2013, Feb 4). Testing the Science of Sharing at the Super Bowl: Can Viral Ads Be Manufactured?. Time. Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2013/02/04/testing-the-science-of-sharing-at-the-super-bowl-can-viral-ads-be-manufactured/

Tesseras, L. (2013, Apr 11). Gangnam Style marketing. Marketing Week. Retrieved from http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/trends/gangnam-style-marketing/4006173.article

Tuttle, B. (2013, May 08). The Charles Ramsey-McDonald’s Episode: How a Viral Marketing Opportunity Can Backfire. Time. Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2013/05/08/the-charles-ramsey-mcdonalds-episode-how-a-viral-marketing-opportunity-can-backfire/

Wiancko, R. (2010, Jul 15) And the ‘Oldspice Maneuver’ is created, blows the doors off of advertising. http://ryanwiancko.com/2010/07/15/and-the-oldspice-maneuver-is-created-blows-the-doors-off-of-advertising/