HW-4

Viral Marketing is defined as any strategy that encourages people to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth. Like viruses, these strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication, spreading the message to millions. A classic example is Hotmail, one of the first free web-based email services. Users told their friends, who told their friends, who recommended their friends to the site. Eventually, nearly everyone had a hotmail account. Viral marketing is effective because it allows friends to refer each other to a product. People are more likely to believe first-hand accounts from their friends than messages from advertisers. Word-of-mouth is cost-free, so advertisers are able to save alot of money. Here is a short film about viral marketing.

Guerilla Marketing is an unconventional system of promotions that is dependent upon time, energy, and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Tactics are typically unexpected and unconventional, which makes the idea being marketed memorable and likely to generate buzz. The goal is to get maximum results using minimal resources.

This ad for a South African charity, Feed SA, featured images of poor, starving children in the bottom of shopping carts. Any food placed in the cart appeared to be delivered right into the needy child’s hands. These effective ads brought on a marked increase in donations and a significant boost in website traffic.

Ambient Advertising refers to intrusive ads in public places. It refers to almost any kind of advertising that occurs in some non-standard medium outside the home. Nowadays, marketers are aggressively seeking out new advertising vehicles. Also known as place-based marketing, ambient marketing is advertising wherever customers happen to be. It is all about blending in with your surroundings. The whole concept of ambient marketing is that you aren’t trying to let the customer know you are marketing something. That is sometimes hard to do but if there is a group of people in one place there is no better way to get their attention than by being an ambient presence. This Volvo commercial demonstrates how ambient advertising works.