This is a video documenting Sony’s attempt at viral marketing for the PlayStation. The evidence shows how they tried to create a “real” fan site: alliwantforxmasisapsp.com (which for some reason, now goes to a Haagen Dazs site). Unfortunately for them, someone saw right through their manipulation. Mazda tried the same stunt as well…they had the same horrible results.
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Whether it’s out of complete bordom or just a need to pull a fast one on “the man”, programmers sometimes hide little things in programs called easter eggs. For example, try this in Windows XP:
Open Windows XP and go to Start, then run.
Type in or copy “telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl” without the quotations.
Sit back and watch the ASCII movie
I recently got an email from a friend about a funny little thing within Google Maps. It’s not exactly an easter egg but it got me thinking. Read the rest of this entry »
One thing that a lot of marketers forget to do when designing a viral campaign is to provide the public a way to share. Sometimes it can be as simple as a “Tell a Friend” button. However, if you have a robust piece that allows your visitors to create something visual, there is so much more that could be done.
For example, give them a way to share it with other visitors. Build a place that they can post their creation and show it off to the world. Let other visitors vote on their creation. And most importantly, give people the power to email other visitors’ creations to their friends. I’m surprized how many viral marketing campaigns don’t have an easy way for visitors to share. Let them share it!
The results of MarketingSherpa’s 2007 viral marketing awards are in. For anyone interested in viral marketing, this is a must read. They don’t just award praise, but also do mini case studies about each winning campaign. Check out the top 10 viral campaigns.
The Project Offset team has put together a simple little viral marketing campaign to promote an upcoming video game. This viral piece requires people to visit a particular page so that their I.P. address can be recorded. Supposedly, after enough unique visitors see this page, the “secret” will be revealed. The buzz in their forum is already building.
Will Ferrell’s production company has partnered up with Sequoia Capital to produce yet another video hosting website. It’s called FunnyOrDie.com. This website is a little different than it’s competitors. It does something that I’m sure a lot of people wish YouTube did. They actually get rid of the bad videos. The website’s members can vote videos off the website. How great is that! Just the good stuff…kind of.
I have to admit there is some gratification in knowing that I can personally help kill a lame video.
Is your viral video strong enough to survive FunnyOrDie.com?
It seems that Marvel is currently trying to create a viral buzz around a picture from the upcoming Iron Man movie. Supposedly an unauthorized photo from the movie set has surfaces. The Marvel website says that “with filming underway, it could be the real deal, but no confirmation has been given.” Oh please! Do they actually think we’re that dumb?
First of all, if this is supposed to be an unauthorized picture don’t put your logo on it and don’t put it on the Marvel website. Are we supposed to believe that Marvel doesn’t know what it’s movie looks like? And, if an employee actually leaked this, shouldn’t Marvel at least pretend to be mad?
Maybe their strategy is to get marketing blogs to talk about how lame their attempt at viral marketing really is. Hmmm. Very clever Marvel, you got me to talk about it!
It seems that there is always a group of people looking for a more gental name then viral marketing. A while back, John Audette asked his newsletter readers to suggest alternatives. Here are some of their sugguestions:
For the past week I’ve been talking a lot about Web 2.0 and social networking sites. Part of the reason is that I’ve recently joined a very talented team of individual to help promote a great new product called Kinzin.
Kinzin is a website where families can share stories, photos, recipes, and plan special events - all in a private setting. If you have a geographically dispersed family, this product could be the answer to your prayers. Just think of all the money you’ll save on long distance!
The site is currently in public beta. So feel free to sign up, try it out and let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions for new features or improvements, I’d love to hear about them.
And hey, if you know someone that could use this site…pass it on.
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April 30th, 2007 by 
Edward Dron
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