More on the future of viral marketing courtesy of Adland.
There's more to the story from the original article in the LA Times (unfortunately, subscription required, but worth it).
I wouldn't be concerned over your lack of a viral campaign just yet. But in five to ten years, when today's teens become specifiers and buyers in your industry, will you be prepared? What are you doing now to gain a better understanding of the youngest in your audience? Anything resembling tactics like these:
"Stealth" strategies are essential to disarm our cynicism, advertisers say. So teenagers are hired to study trends among their peers and develop ways to reach them — known as "peer-to-peer" or "viral" marketing. Actors are hired to shill product while posing as consumers in Internet chat rooms or on city streets — in the name of creating "organic" brand awareness. Logos and slogans are "seamlessly" integrated into the story lines of films, video games, even textbooks.
I expect the electronic gaming shows and conferences will be the first place to watch for innovations in the use of viral marketing. But that might be the only category where this works in the short term. I would anticipate telecom events would follow eventually. Whether viral spreads from there to more generic shows will be subject more to an faster rate of adoption of personal technology than any other factor. But I could be wrong. When I was in Sofia, we were using SMS to promote the Sofia Auto Show.
On the product placement front, if I remember correctly, MacWorld was an integral part of the storyline of that otherwise forgettable Sandra Bullock flick, "The Net". That example and the use of Comdex in some cartoons are the only two instance I recall of a trade show going mainstream in terms of product placement. If you can think of others, let's hear about them.
I'm working with one of my clients shows to get an HGTV show to do a location shoot. However, I wouldn't suggest that necessarily qualifies as going mainstream. But it's a start.
If you think of our medium as a "three-dimensional magazine", what can we learn from magazines?
Advertisers are hiring companies that do nothing but "outsource the influencer," which means finding the hippest person on every block and sending "street teams" to "seed product" to them, creating "organic" buzz. Magazines are hosting branding events — celebrity parties, concerts and fashion shows — paid for by their advertisers, whose products end up in the hands of the "cultural influencers" attending.
Certainly seems there's a possibility for doing something with exhibitors' products at networking events. We tend to compartmentalize these as sponsorships and sell logo'd napkins and cups for attendees to use at receptions. But if we bend that definition a little, how can we help our customers market themselves better?
How many times have you used booth shots of a particular exhibitor without giving thought of the benefit to them? Is there value in swapping their exposure on your brochures for something of value to you?
Do you know what brands of products are used by your conference speakers? Can you connect those dots into a marketing message?
Is there a material produced by an exhibitor that you can print on or use for art or a conversation piece at a reception?
Extending into the more consumer aspects of viral - does your show have an official cell phone, internet provider, soft drink, sanitary cleanser, automobile or breath mint?
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