Why dedicate time to in-house ads when it could be sold to actual advertisers for big bucks? I’m thinking that must have been the question on the minds of the string-pullers at NBC when thinking about the promotional strategy for the Jamie Foxx Unpredictable special that aired last week. Instead of airing promotional, some crafty individual sent out a mass email encouraging all African Americans to neglect American Idol for a night and tune in. In this email, said mastermind divulged that “NBC is not doing any marketing & publicity on Jamie's Music Special on NBC because he stood his ground and wouldn't have any white guest as they requested.” As an African-American, I know that there’s no better way to mobilize my community than to say someone has wronged another member for “standing by his own.” And if this email is true, a few people have some serious ‘splaining to do. However, as a publicist, I also realize that emotion is one of the strongest promotional tools and that propaganda comes in all forms. Therefore, if this email was a publicist’s ploy, I applaud him or her for using the growing medium of Viral Marketing to combat Idol Fever.
Viral Marketing is the process by which one person receives information via email and then shares it with members of his or her e-address book. Brandweek recently published an article on the growth and popularity of the tool. It’s like word-of-mouth marketing on acid. Once used only by spammers and Viagra salespeople, it has now become a venue for all types of marketing and publicity. True, most forwards are still jokes or cartoons, but according to the article, a growing amount of those shared messages are now also tips on personal finance and other important matters. Therefore, many interactive marketing agencies are finding a way to integrate the tool into their arsenals.
Posted by Nafi Saboor on January 27, 2006 6:50 PM
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