Trend for 2008/2009: Viral marketing for young consumers is increasingly a favoured medium for organizations and companies tapping into Green and Political issues.
We've already blogged about the trend in companies needing to become more social conscious to attract young consumers and given election week is just around the corner, time to revisit the latest trends and given that some pundits consider mobile to become the most prominent form of marketing by 2013, is this a marriage made in heaven?
Community and political "outreach" (eg Rock The Vote) is itself a trend among marketers who are finding it increasingly difficult to access young cosnumers. Following Wal-Mart's lead, Best Buy is trying to launch its own social network for young consumers (@15 - source tipped in Ypulse) but will it work?
Young consumers await on social networks according to one source. Politically speaking, you can't move on Facebook without bumping into your local politician. MySpace rather than Facebook, however, is perhaps the more fertile ground for viral marketing efforts according to this blogger.
You've probably all seen the rather excellent Barack Obama viral video already.
If you're stuck for viral ideas, check out this blog which gives you 10 off the bat. But does it always have to involve spitting into a cup, falling out of a tree or graffiti on an airplane? Not according to Jay Ehret, viral marketing can also work without the sillies.
However, don't get stuck in the Meatball Sundae trap - ie using viral marketing as a topping for the rather defunct and unsavoury main dish (old fashioned marketing). Here's an example pointed out by the Playlist of how Fox hasn't quite got it right. Here's another example highlighted by Brand Identity Guru (original from Adfreak) - word of mouth and viral marketing work but if you simply use it to push untrusted messages then it's just meatballs again.
Yes, mobile can create a buzz, and digital will change how we do the marketing (Imedia), but as Influx Insights points out it's not just about the technology - Great Ideas matter more than Fast Ideas (well put).
And as with every new technology trend, it's neither good nor bad - it simply gives people the ability to do what they would normally do, but perhaps better. There are negative examples of viral marketing out there as pointed out by Speak Media Blog, Inside Facebook (this example talks of Affiliate spammers overrunning the joint) and one I picked up myself telling us that there is yet another Salesforce-to-Facebook bridge available to marketers out there.
When it comes to Green trends, we can expect youth to be at the forefront, especially with the rise of interest in the green collar economy (source). Coke, P&G and Unilever are old hands at this game, so although big is not necessarily best in youth marketing game don't expect all the innovation to come from the little guys.
Youth are keen on green (see also Emarketer and this excellent post) but if you simply say you're green in your viral marketing without proving it, you'll get caught out... (check out this Walmart example highlighted by Ged Carroll from Waggener Edstrom in our video interview). As one youth says in the Teen Lab research:
The challenge with word of mouth is the measurement, as pointed out in the Emarketer Summit by this post. There are plenty of metrics but which ones do we use? I'm dubious of the claims of companies such as BzzAgent that state that the “profit” on an eight-minute brand conversation is 38 cents. bravo bzzAgent for having a go, but I believe we're still barking up the cost-per tree.
I suggest looking at mobileYouth's 3 key loyalty metrics:
Which are important for measuring campaign progress.
Technorati Tags: green youth, youth trends, rock the vote, political youth, political outreach, viral marketing, trends
We've already blogged about the trend in companies needing to become more social conscious to attract young consumers and given election week is just around the corner, time to revisit the latest trends and given that some pundits consider mobile to become the most prominent form of marketing by 2013, is this a marriage made in heaven?
Community and political "outreach" (eg Rock The Vote) is itself a trend among marketers who are finding it increasingly difficult to access young cosnumers. Following Wal-Mart's lead, Best Buy is trying to launch its own social network for young consumers (@15 - source tipped in Ypulse) but will it work?
Young consumers await on social networks according to one source. Politically speaking, you can't move on Facebook without bumping into your local politician. MySpace rather than Facebook, however, is perhaps the more fertile ground for viral marketing efforts according to this blogger.
You've probably all seen the rather excellent Barack Obama viral video already.
If you're stuck for viral ideas, check out this blog which gives you 10 off the bat. But does it always have to involve spitting into a cup, falling out of a tree or graffiti on an airplane? Not according to Jay Ehret, viral marketing can also work without the sillies.
However, don't get stuck in the Meatball Sundae trap - ie using viral marketing as a topping for the rather defunct and unsavoury main dish (old fashioned marketing). Here's an example pointed out by the Playlist of how Fox hasn't quite got it right. Here's another example highlighted by Brand Identity Guru (original from Adfreak) - word of mouth and viral marketing work but if you simply use it to push untrusted messages then it's just meatballs again.
Yes, mobile can create a buzz, and digital will change how we do the marketing (Imedia), but as Influx Insights points out it's not just about the technology - Great Ideas matter more than Fast Ideas (well put).
And as with every new technology trend, it's neither good nor bad - it simply gives people the ability to do what they would normally do, but perhaps better. There are negative examples of viral marketing out there as pointed out by Speak Media Blog, Inside Facebook (this example talks of Affiliate spammers overrunning the joint) and one I picked up myself telling us that there is yet another Salesforce-to-Facebook bridge available to marketers out there.
When it comes to Green trends, we can expect youth to be at the forefront, especially with the rise of interest in the green collar economy (source). Coke, P&G and Unilever are old hands at this game, so although big is not necessarily best in youth marketing game don't expect all the innovation to come from the little guys.
Youth are keen on green (see also Emarketer and this excellent post) but if you simply say you're green in your viral marketing without proving it, you'll get caught out... (check out this Walmart example highlighted by Ged Carroll from Waggener Edstrom in our video interview). As one youth says in the Teen Lab research:
"The best way for a company to convince me they care about the environment is through actions, not words. Using cleaner energies, recycled materials, anything that they would do to make the product and/or the company more earth friendly." - Michelle, 14, CanadaI recommend that all budding viral marketers involved in green & political issues take a look at how it's done with passion rather than to fulfil the needs of their latest brief. Check out my thoughts on Grameen and Muhammad Yunus for some insights.
The challenge with word of mouth is the measurement, as pointed out in the Emarketer Summit by this post. There are plenty of metrics but which ones do we use? I'm dubious of the claims of companies such as BzzAgent that state that the “profit” on an eight-minute brand conversation is 38 cents. bravo bzzAgent for having a go, but I believe we're still barking up the cost-per tree.
I suggest looking at mobileYouth's 3 key loyalty metrics:
Which are important for measuring campaign progress.
Technorati Tags: green youth, youth trends, rock the vote, political youth, political outreach, viral marketing, trends
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