Viral marketing is viewed by many as the holy grail of internet marketing, although it is notoriously unpredictable and is not without its pitfalls.If a Viral Campaign is executed successfully, it can generate a huge amount of excitement for a brand and convert many consumers with minimal financial outlay. However, it relies on the campaign touching a social nerve, which is never guaranteed to happen.A recent example was the Guinness viral campaign related to its domino rally TV advert, where web users had to solve a series of puzzles. Its success can be seen by the number of comments left at the bottom of Direct Traffic's coverage.In fact, Los Angeles-based marketer Mark Deo believes that the viral approach "will eventually supplant traditional advertising for many businesses", Central Valley Business Times reports.However, Christian Robinson of online retailer Firebox warned that customers are very savvy, "and cynical about big brands attempts at viral marketing".
Speaking to Reuters he said: "It's one of these (areas) where you have to be incredibly careful. It's incredibly hard to engineer."
Viral Marketing
