The spread of Microsoft?s Hotmail is one of the most oft-cited examples of intentional, commercial viral marketing. New internet users needed a free and easy way to use email, with very little commitment, Hotmail provided exactly that. And as people used Hotmail to send emails, a little signature line was attached with a link to join Hotmail.
I believe there are four major characteristics of successful viral efforts:
- Niche targeting
- Immediate user benefit or Hook
- Creator benefit/goal or Payload
- Element that ensures or promotes the spreading of the creative or Contagion
Hotmail chose a niche, new users, and found a foothold of need they could fill, this allowed them to present potential users with a desired and understood value proposition. This Hook is the mechanism that caused the users to spend their time getting into and setup with Hotmail, and building a user base is the goal of most any free web application project. Contagions can take many forms, but they very often possess two characteristics:
- Contagions are built into or are inherently part of either the Hook or Payload
- Contagions often take the form of some social functionality built into the creative?s interface
In this case the act of using Hotmail (the Payload) cause the user to spread the message to their friends, so Hotmail?s contagion has fit both of our assertions.
More case studies comin? at ya soon.
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April 22nd, 2006 at 3:58 pm
[...] ILoveBees (ILB) was an alternate reality game (ARG) commissioned by Microsoft to increase buzz and awareness of their upcoming Halo 2 game. Like other ARG?s ILB?s Hook was its immersive online experience and the novelty of the imposition of alternate reality on actual reality. ILB players were drawn in by a sense of curiosity to solve a series of mysteries in the game?s plot, but ILB distanced itself from traditional games by blurring the lines between real life and game life (sort of like the Lost, but more aggresive). Because of this juxtaposition the game pervaded its player?s lives and created a social experience. Not only did passer?s by witness the player?s odd behavior in public as they completed various tasks often surrounding pay phones (which are almost always in high traffic areas), but the players were driven by the urge of storytelling. Stories are powerful things and the desire to share them is what gives them their power, ILB created a rich and ever-deepening story that screamed to be passed along. The Payload in the ILB campaign was the brand awareness created by the fact that characters and situations presented in the ARG were from Halo 2 and at the end of ILB (which culminated on the same day as Halo 2?s release date) players were directed to the store to buy a copy of the game. As in the Hotmail example, the payload was enacted by the contagion, which was part of the hook. Posted by Administrator Filed in Marketing, Viral [...]