Network Marketing

A viral marketing model is simply a chain-reaction. It could have well been called “nuclear marketing,” since the same principles are in play. In an ideal chain-reaction – or social network – one person tells two friends, who tells two more, and so on. In theory, 2 to the 15th power – slightly less than 4.3 billion – people would receive the message, only 15 levels from the instigator. This is why a viral marketing campaign is unsustainable. There are only a finite number of people.

After creating the concept, it’s a simple matter of mechanics to sustain it. Yet it is neither requisite – nor necessary – to be a nuclear physicist or a quantum mechanic to take advantage of the established constructs. There are four elements required to form a viral marketing campaign.

It must:
Be high-concept
Have a hook
Be accessible
Have mass appeal

A high-concept idea – this may be apocryphal, yet makes the point – is the writer who pitched a movie in Hollywood with three words: “Schwarzenegger, DeVito, twins.” An elegant concept works.

The hook must appeal to a base emotion. Pencils distributed at a high school with only the words: “It’s coming!” Nothing else. No hint of what “it” was, but “it” generated a firestorm of buzz. A week before the event, “it” was revealed as being the prom. The base emotion was curiosity.

Accessibility is essential. Ideally, it’s free and easily passed on with little or no effort of the person spreading the message or the recipient.

Mass appeal the message gets the attention of the specific social group targeted. Any others drawn in are a bonus. The “Numa-Numa” video is a classic – and totally unintentional – viral phenomenon. The impression lasts long after the video is over.

That is the goal of viral marketing.

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