1. Viral Phenomena and Corporations:
Identification, Proliferation,
and Capitalization
By Trevor Robinson

2. As the Internet becomes the most popular form of
media for our generation, so to has it become the
most important medium for advertising.

3. As a result, corporations are increasingly turning to
the Internet as a means to promote new products or
increase brand awareness.

4. One popular
method of doing
so is through the
use of viral
advertising.

5. The goal of viral advertising is to facilitate:
1) Buzzmarketing: Through p2p communications
2) eWOM: Electronic word-of-mouth (Petrescu&Korgaonkar, 2011)

6. Some corporations have
been very successful in
creating original marketing
material that is innovative,
provocative, or humorous.
The refreshing nature of
these campaigns
contribute to their
virality.

7. However, other corporations have merely latched on
to the popularity of existing viral phenomena to boost
their own recognition.

8. So how do these
companies accomplish
this?
Two main branches
towards capitalization
can be identified.

9. The 1st branch is identifying the exact viral
phenomenon to capitalize on.

10. This can be done by recognizing when an existing
entity is “pre-viral”, meaning it is about to, or has
the potential to be very popular with the right
promotion, to a brand‘s benefit.

11. The record label for a little-known DJ named Baauer
noticed that hilarious fan videos using his song,
―Harlem Shake‖ could go viral if promoted.
When it did, all the royalties went to them, the song
rocketed to the top of iTunes, and Bauuer played the
Coachella Festival this year.

12. Or, a brand might
align themselves with
a concept that has
already gone viral, in
a formal partnership.
Chevrolet built on the popularity of the band OK
GO‘s unique music videos by funding a high-budget
video featuring a new model, the Sonic.

13. But some brands simply ride the coattails of a viral
phenomenon without adding to it creatively.
Wonderful Pistachios was criticized for an unoriginal
Super Bowl commercial featuring Psy.

14. The 2nd branch of
capitalization is
proliferation of the
phenomenon a brand
wishes to go viral.

15. To build initial popularity online, brands use new
mediaforms to spread pre-viral entities.
Baauer‘s record company used
their large and influential
Twitter following to spark
sharing of the ―Harlem Shake‖.

16. Corporations may also put out advertisements in
traditional media settings that have been scientifically
designedto get people talking about them, and
ultimately sharing online.

17. For some brands, a
campaign is simply
buying exposure by
affixing themselves to
web personality.
For example, in 2007, Dr Pepper sponsored the
TayZonday video ―Cherry Chocolate Rain‖.

18. The reality is that most online marketing campaigns
plan to ensure some virality, eg. purchasing a
promoted trend on Twitter.

19. So, what
is the overall
impact of these
developments in the
current web climate?

20. Regardless of whether the virality of phenomena are
always legitimate, people will still watch original,
entertaining content in large numbers.

21. And brands that are quick or misguided in their
attempt to ride viral coattails often feel backlash.
Recently, McDonald‘s was criticized for supporting
Charles Ramsey, the Cleveland kidnapping hero, when
his criminal history came to light.

22. Some viral entities on the Internet
still remain untouched by
corporate interests.

23. But we now know the viral spread
of every phenomenon is not
always so organic.

24. Image Credits
(All images licensed under Creative Commons license and sourced from flickr)
Slide and flickr user:
1. Koria.net
2. mrlerone
3. Mauryn Flynn-Burhoe
4. Robert Raines
5. Sharron Mollerus
6. AloneAlbatross
7. Alexander Becker
8. imjustcreative
9. Michael Bartlett
10. Marie. L.
11. Ian Muttoo
12. smaedli
13. sitemarca
14. Lifesupercharger
15. Scott Beale
16. ifmuth
17. The Bui Brothers
18. Christopher S. Penn
19. Stuck in Customs
20. Wellington City Council
21. Poster Boy NYC
22. MANIC! Photography
23. IIHd

25. References (1 of 2)
Clark, T. (2012, Sept 12). The Top 10 Viral Marketing Disasters – Part 1 (10-6). Retrieved
from http://www.lakestarmccann.com/blog/technology/the-top-10-viral-marketing-disasters-
part-1-10-6/
Clark, T. (2012, Sept 14). The Top 10 Viral Marketing Disasters – Part 2 (5-1). Retrieved
from http://www.lakestarmccann.com/blog/general-news/viral-marketing/top-10-viral-
marketing-disasters-part-2-5-1/
Guarino, M. (2013, May 14). What does McDonald's do now with Cleveland hero Charles
Ramsey? Alaska Dispatch. Retrieved from
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130514/what-does-mcdonalds-do-now-cleveland-
hero-charles-ramsey
Keath, J. (2010, Jul 21). Behind the Curtain of Old Spice's Viral Video Mega Hit. Social
Fresh. Retrieved from http://socialfresh.com/old-spice-viral-videos/
Luckerson, V. (2013, Feb 4). Wonderful Pistachios, PSY — Wonderful Pistachios Get
Crackin‘. Time. Retrieved from http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/04/the-best-and-worst-
super-bowl-commercials-of-2013/slide/wonderful-pistachios-psy-wonderful-pistachios-get-
crackin/

26. References (2 of 2)
Petrescu, M., &Korgaonkar, P. (2011). Viral advertising: Definitional review and
synthesis. Journal of Internet Commerce, 10(3), 208-226.
Sanburn, J. (2013, Feb 4). Testing the Science of Sharing at the Super Bowl: Can Viral Ads
Be Manufactured?. Time. Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2013/02/04/testing-the-
science-of-sharing-at-the-super-bowl-can-viral-ads-be-manufactured/
Tesseras, L. (2013, Apr 11). Gangnam Style marketing. Marketing Week. Retrieved from
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/trends/gangnam-style-marketing/4006173.article
Tuttle, B. (2013, May 08). The Charles Ramsey-McDonald‘s Episode: How a Viral
Marketing Opportunity Can Backfire. Time. Retrieved from
http://business.time.com/2013/05/08/the-charles-ramsey-mcdonalds-episode-how-a-viral-
marketing-opportunity-can-backfire/
Wiancko, R. (2010, Jul 15) And the ‗Oldspice Maneuver‘ is created, blows the doors off of
advertising. http://ryanwiancko.com/2010/07/15/and-the-oldspice-maneuver-is-created-
blows-the-doors-off-of-advertising/