I am very often in discussion about so-called “viral-campaign”-projects in my job with marketing-colleagues and agencies.

“Viral” has been a quite popular term for a long time in marketing - it’s not new, but everyone is fascinated by this “Viral Marketing”. Everyone wants to do it. But no one understands it.

Most of the time, when marketing and agencies are talking and discussing about Viral Marketing, they are talking about a website and a video: “Cool, lets make a video and bring it on youtube.com and other platforms. And of corse… our users will then share this automatically, send it around, and talk about this only online-driven thing, etc….”

Guys… I am sorry… this is not viral… This is simply an old-school-campaign. Let’s call it “Video Campaign” and this has also got nothing to do with 2.0. Bringing a video online, connecting it with a webpage has nothing to do with Viral Marketing. Although it is www.youtube.com, www.myvideo.at, www.flickr.com, www.facebook.com and so on…

Old linear thinking

I know, that agencies are having their “old” but good competencies in making TV-spots, in making nice folders, nice designs which all are having a “linear thinking and linear approach”, which means: Concepting -> Texting -> Designing -> (Shooting) -> Implementing -> Pushing Online -> Customer pays -> STOP, that’s it.

This is an old thinking… Nothing new… Sad… No innovation… Boring… Absolutly boring… No innovation…. No quality… Waste of time, money and ressources.

So it’s the easiest way creating a fancy a spot and bringing it on the web and calling it “Viral Campaign”.

Viral can be everything!

In my understanding, a viral campaign can be everything: A folder, a video, a podcast, a poster, a directmailing, a present, a person, a claim, a color, a view, a taste, a song, a melody… viral can be everything, as long as it’s innovative, bring user to a mindshift. Something, which has not been there before.

It’s simply a message, independent on their medium and platform, where people start talking and thinking about, Finally - in best case - making their own copies, creatives, pictures, videos and ideas out of it. Then it became viral. And online can be a catalysator for it. Where things can be discussed, shared and published. But viral is happening in the real-world. And only because it’s a video, there is no guarantee, that this is a cool “Viral Campaign”.

At the end, Viral is nothing else than a innovative, well planned, very creative and maybe very simple on- or offline-campaign, which simply surprises the clients and which is simply accepted by them.

Guys, lets play with the Web!

Online is not Offline and Online starts, where Offline ends: As soon as an online-project has started, the real work begins. Online does not end, when the bill is sent out to the customer. And especially not in case of a “planned Viral Campaign”. Analyzing the traffic. Pushing the user. Working with social forums and networks in a way of generating a dialogue. Offering widgets. Offering social applications. Working together: Offline AND Online. Finding the corresponding mix, as Online is only just-another-more-or-less-important-part-in-the-marketing-mix. Analyzing metrics and expecially playing with the web. Setting targets…

And tuning, tuning, tuning.

Playing, playing, playing.

Guys, we have never had so many cool possibilities and ideas. Online is the real playground and there are so many cool things, which can get viral, which can support sale, which can drive business. Let’s make something new and innovative out with it. Let’s find the best mix of all media. And lets make a Digital Mindshift.