Viral Marketing… what is it? Viral (or social media) marketing/advertising is the promotion of information or products that other people are forced to give to other friends, colleagues and family members. By definition, viral marketing is a way to promote a service or product exponentially… you tell ten friends… and they tell ten friends… and you get the picture.
When executed correctly, marketers across all industries are finding that viral marketing/advertising is highly successful in gaining both brand awareness and media coverage for their products. Skin care marketing and advertising is no exception.
On the wings of a dove
Take Dove’s “Evolution” video campaign, for example. By posting this video (which gives viewers a time-lapse look at a woman being “made up” and then transformed using PhotoShop)
on YouTube, the company has enjoyed more than four million views. The ad (and the entire “Campaign for Real Beauty”) is also winning some of the most prestigious advertising awards in the world. The viral marketing ad had increased traffic to Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” website dramatically, even three times what they received from their previous Super Bowl commercial!
And the best part of this? It was done without a penny of paid media…brilliant! As of now, Dove’s “Evolution” video is the biggest buzz generator online in the beauty and skincare market. But the campaign isn’t just generating “buzz” among skincare marketing and advertising professionals; they’re getting praise from real consumers for representing something different from the typical skincare marketing they’ve come to expect. By focusing on the “real” aspect of beauty vs. the distorted perception of beauty, Dove has succeeded in differentiating its brand from the competition.
Will Viral Marketing Work For You?
Sure, viral marketing is working great for this skincare giant, but will it work for the average skincare salesperson? Viral marketing can be complex, sure…and no one really understands how it works so well online. The success of the bigger skincare companies (like Dove) makes it harder for lesser-known brands to catch up.
“Word of mouth/mouse” campaigns can work well… very well. But they can also come back in a bad way to damage your brand, as most of them do. Skin care marketers are advised to simply avoid the common mistakes, turn the animal loose, and pray.
A break for the cause
Another contributing factor to the success of Dove’s “Evolution” campaign is that it raises money for a good cause: Dove’s “Self-Esteem Fund”. This program is designed to educate and inspire girls on a broader vision of beauty. A skincare marketing promotion that also supports a good cause only helps broaden your reach to potential customers.
This is also the case for the Estee Lauder Company, which announced the launch of an online marketing/advertising campaign to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The campaign content is created around the theme “Share a Survivor Story, Inspire the World.” To help in their efforts to get the word out, Estee Lauder has teamed up with other giants in the skin care arena and will be launching their campaign on Facebook and MySpace to begin with.
We’ve come a long way, baby!
First it was the pony express, then the telegraph and then the telephone… now the computer has led us to viral marketing… or “social media”. And it’s quickly becoming an integral part of many skincare marketing and advertising campaigns. As the Internet continues to push the boundaries of how quickly and widely we can deliver multimedia (photos, videos, etc.), more continues to become a part of everyone’s lives. So skin care marketers… beware… get on board or be left behind!
