Viral Marketing is Old School

I bought and read this book years ago and have given it as a present to so many people that I don’t remember - and they all loved it. Well maybe except one cynical type character. Quite a few of them also gave it to their friends who gave it to their friends - etc. My girlfriend is reading it now and the other day, when we were having lunch, a friend came by who she recommended it to and they ended up talking about it for quite a while.

I guess this is a good metaphor for this thing we call Viral Marketing - a ‘Thing’ that is so good, that people start talking about it, and refer to it, for the longest possible time - and that can be everything. I really don’t think Viral Marketing is purely a web-thing. It could be, but its basically about Good Ideas That Go Around. And not about whacking your latest crap commercial on Youtube.

So I guess ‘Viral Marketing’ has sort of become a very hip and fancy Web 2.0 way of saying ‘Word of Mouth’. Which is nothing new, sorry folks.

By the way, the book is called Shantaram.

April 24, 2007 | Tagged Advertising 

Comments

2 Responses to “Viral Marketing is Old School”

  1. sean on April 24th, 2007 11:36 am

    That’s a WOMBOM!

  2. nathan on April 25th, 2007 8:46 am

    i agree. viral is a much used term that just means good.

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