VIRAL MARKETING IN NEWCASTLE.

It's ironic really. Even the term "viral marketing" itself is viral. It started off as a youthful buzzword fritting about the offices of the trendiest marketing and web design agencies, before settling in the minds of the wider public as "those 30 second video clips with an advert tacked on the end" or worse - "yet another poorly branded clone of Space Invaders".

We kid, but then, don't they say that never a truer word was spoken in jest. Seems to us, that in the process of moving from the opulent, glass-and-steel bedecked meeting-rooms of the agencies down to the people on the street, something has gone terribly awry in the creation and execution of viral marketing. So perhaps it's best if we rewind a little bit and investigate the original concept.

IT'S ALL ABOUT MEME.

The actual term "viral marketing" was popularized by Jeffrey Rayport in his 1996 Fast Company article The Virus of Marketing. But the real idea behind it was first proposed by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene. Dawkins talked about memes, or self-replicating units of thought. Ideas that just sort of stick in your head and that have an inherent ability to remain in the public consciousness - normally because they seem so right that you want them to be true, or because they're so catchy that they become pop-culture nuggets wedged in your mind. Historically these memes have drifted gently about the innocent minds of men, giving rise to urban myths and old-wives tales; to conspiracy theories and religious fervour. But the best bit, for a marketeer at least, is that it takes only a handful of people to seed these ideas. If the meme is strong enough, then everyone else that comes into contact with it will become carriers too and thus its spread is exponential.

Viral marketing then, seeks to replicate this effect but to a thoroughly devious end - namely the imposition of a brand onto your brain-stem. Traditional advertising had to work with catchphrases and jingles, but in more recent times that palette has broadened considerably.

SO MANY OPTIONS.

Nowadays a viral marketing campaign could take any number of forms. It could be a series of mysterious fly-postings along city streets or a strange object positioned strategically in a town centre; an actual car bursting from a billboard or an advert blasted into the dirt on a busy pavement. Ultimately, the goal is to get people talking. If your campaign is interesting enough, and you can pique the interest of passers-by, then your message will spread like wildfire.

MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE WEB.

Moving back to the world of web design then, back in the days when the web was young, people noticed that there were certain emails, often with images and attachments being sent from inbox to inbox. There were the (fake) emails promising a $1 donation to a charity for every person that added their name to a list and forwarded it on. There were the emails with risque jokes or weird clips that had to be seen to be believed. But in every one, there was the compulsion to forward it on. For reward, for laughs or for charity - the need to share was there.

Simple then, But don't be fooled, the obvious just won't cut it anymore. The denizens of the net are a sniffy bunch, they've seen it all before, so if you're going to get them excited, your viral marketing idea had better be inventive, and it had better be quirky. The aforementioned saucy video clip, or Space Invaders clone with an advert at the end is unlikely to cut it. Absolutely not. What you need is an expert in the ways of the web, an expert who has been around the block a few times and who knows what makes a great viral marketing campaign. And oh my, what luck! There's one right here in Newcastle! It's +GOOD!