Re: Viral Marketing

From: Rob Frankel <rob_at_robfrankel.com>
Date: Wed 15 Dec 1999 09:53:28 -0800

RICHARD PESTES WROTE:
> Can anyone offer examples or case studies of viral
> marketing campaigns that have worked, or even not
> worked?


You'll probably get a zillion posts on this, lots of
them having to do with affiliate programs and the
like. So let me get really small for a moment and
tell you about my own personal experience with the
FrankelBiz list:

I make it a point to not spend a dime promoting
FrankelBiz. All I do is provide a branded service
that puts people together to do legitimate business
and grow those businesses over the web. Because it is
so strongly branded, the list has grown from few
hundred readers to a couple thousand.

We don't discuss anything, we only offer leads,
discounts and high ethics. Occasionally, I write a
newsletter.

The reason I point this out is because this is a
perfect example of viral marketing. There are other
lists that offer stuff of a comparative nature, but
ask anyone on the list and you'll find a special
camaraderie that exists only for this brand. More than
simple word of mouth, I believe that true viral
marketing -- well-branded with culture and values --
provide the impetus for transforming plain awareness
among users into a sales force of evangelists.

In the first 12 months of the list's existence, we
generated over $500,000 in real cash business for our
members. Generated bucks for our sponsors. And that
doesn't even count the barter and discounts, which we
estimate at over $1 million.

That's the bottom line of viral marketing.

Rob Frankel

"Branding is not about getting your prospect to choose
you over your competition; it's about getting your
prospect to see you as the only solution." (sm) -- Rob
Frankel, columnist, consultant, author
Big Time Branding (SM) http://www.robfrankel.com
Subscribe to FrankelBiz for FREE at:
http://www.robfrankel.com/frankelbiz/form.html




Received on Wed Dec 15 1999 - 11:53:28 CST