Easy Viral Marketing

According to Womnibus Weekly #2.09, Levi's jeans has begun a viral marketing campaign in which customers are encouraged to make their own customized advertisements by adding their own photos and text to a commercial on Levi's web site. This campaign, created by Personiva, has been done before with other companies, but the unique part of this one is that the customer is encouraged to email their customized ad to their friends. As an incentive for doing this, the customer is given free shipping on any purchase of $75 or more at Levi's e-commerce site, when their ad is viewed by three or more people.

This sounds like a great idea to me. Letting individuals add their own creativity to an ad is a way of getting the public involved, but adding the incentive to share their creation and the product sounds like marketing at its easiest. More companies should jump on this idea, I think.

Buzz about the fuzzy red doll........

Womnibus Weekly: Everything about Word of Mouth #2.08 has an article about the marketing genius used by Mattel for the promotion of the recently introduced Tickle Me Elmo doll, T.M. X. Apparently it was shrouded in secrecy, "leaks" to retailers and press created excitement and mystery, an "unveiling date" created a buzz and orders where placed for the toy "sight unseen." It is expected to be the hottest toy seller of the holiday season. All of this because of what was not said!

Ted Mininni in MarketingProfs:DailyFix questions why this kind of grassroots marketing and creating product excitement is not used more, " just by creating a little mystery, a date for an unveiling, a little press and buzz at retail..."

It's an interesting thought. I don't know if it would work for any product, after all, the fuzzy red doll is already well-known and created shopper pandemonium 10 years ago when the first Tickle Me Elmo was introduced. But, a sense of mystery about anything usually creates interest Could this work in marketing online music?