The pure concept of what we now refer to as: 'Viral Marketing', is probably based on cognitive scientist William Calvin's Memetics: The study of folk lore, a research paper published in 1982, in which the terms 'viral contact' and 'memes' (cultural units of information that self replicate, using the human mind as a host), were coined.

Vance Packard's 'The Hidden Persuaders' (1957) first addressed the concept of 'dissatisfaction' as a persuasion tool.

Some twenty years later, Coor and Vladik, a couple of ex-ad-agency lads who in their declining years, became well-respected researchers and marketing lecturers around Berkeley and UCS, began discussing the potential of combining Calvin's memetic theories with Packard's dissatisfaction theories to create marketing strategies that had the capacity to not only subconsciously influence our purchasing choices but to convince us to support or defend these choices to our peers. They argued, that such strategies would benefit from a 'growth by subconscious viral contact' between consumers. Based in California, Coor and Vladik's work concentrated mainly on the marketing processes employed in multi-level pyramid scheme selling but they successfully predicted many of the dot.com marketing and distribution strategies that evolved another fifteen years later under the banner of 'viral marketing' (for consumer markets) and 'channel marketing' (for B2B markets.)

It's important to remember, that according to Coor and Vladik's research, a viral contact strategy is strongest, when the inducement to pass-on the message, forms an integral part of the product itself.

So from this definition, we can conclude that a marketing message that says: We'll pay you $10.00 to tell someone else about our product (the type of 'commission incentive' that is typically employed in Channel Marketing) is a less effective form of viral marketing, than say...a message that subconsciously tells the consumer: You won't obtain the full benefits of our product unless you convince someone else to purchase our product as well. In this latter version, (used by Microsoft, AOL and others), the inducement to pass-on the information is somehow built-in to the product itself...i.e. the viral inducement is integral to the product.

Early advertisers on radio and later television, were quick to realise that if their message could be news-worthy or extremely humorous, it was much more likely to benefit from the multiplication effect of word-of-mouth promotion by consumers who had heard or seen the original advertisement and then talked about it to friends or workmates the next day...thereby improving the reach and penetration of the original message.

The phrase: 'leveraging media' as used by Coor and Vladik, simply meant obtaining additional value out of what ever media investment an advertiser had made, by utilising some kind of 'viral contact' to multiply the media's promotional effect. The phrase is still used today, to mean virtually the same thing.

During the 60s, 70s and 80s, the explosion of Amway-style commission-based, multi-level selling schemes, applied the same basic principles of 'contact-borne viral growth' in the consumer market.

This viral use of natural contact between consumers to build brand awareness, etc, was the subject of Coor and Vladik's original studies and appears to be the basis on which all viral marketing has since been built.

Richard Brodie's book Virus of the Mind, (1996) sought to explain how memetic engineering and subliminal advertising processes worked on unsuspecting consumers, and introduced a Pandora's box called the 'Internet' into Packard, Calvin, Coor and Vladik's theories. Brodie, by the way, was one of the founders of Microsoft and I guess we could say that he knows a thing or two about marketing.

Computers and the Internet became a perfect environment to cultivate this viral approach to marketing, with Microsoft, AOL, hotmail.com and a plethora of others quickly capitalising on the Internet's capacity for low cost and scalable communication and distribution. (Hotmail provide a free email service, but every time you use it, there is a little message attached to the bottom of your email that suggests to the recipient: "Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com"  This message is seen by your family and friends, who click on the link to obtain their own free email account, who then send more emails...and on it goes. The whole process spawns like a virus in a warm, wet test tube and before you know it, Hotmail have 140 million users and that's a LOT of consumers to attract serious advertisers who finance the Hotmail/MSN juggernaut.)

Today, the Internet is still the fastest growing environment for viral marketers, but it is far from being the only environment conducive to the process...with radio, television, print, human multi-level networks, tele-marketing, direct mail, etc, all enjoying substantial growth in viral marketing usage.

Vladik passed away in 1987 and Coor joined him in 1991, so these kind old gentlemen of the advertising game, sadly never witnessed the dot.com phenomenon that verified their hypotheses.

• That an inducement of some kind is provided to the audience, to pass on the message
• That such an inducement should be integral to the message or the product or both
• That the message can easily be passed on to others (e.g. it's not a complicated message)
• That the method of passing on the message utilises existing communication systems
• That the method of passing on the message exploits the existing resources of those who pass the message on
• That any resistances to passing on the message, are removed or minimised
• That the motivation for passing on the message exploits common needs and behaviors
• That the message and/or product (or its distribution system) are instantly scalable
• That those who receive the message have been some how pre-qualified as being part of the 'target market' of the campaign...any marketing campaign that doesn't reach its target market is ill-conceived indeed.

Every business, product, environment, distribution system and market is unique, so an attempt to unilaterally apply the principles of viral marketing to a generic product would be futile here.

However, once you understand the basic principles of Viral Marketing (see above), you CAN begin to apply them to your own business case. To do so effectively however, will require the development of a clear business plan, with concise objectives, sustainable budgets and a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. If you need help with these types of processes, you should contact a marketing professional, but assuming you have established your business case, you might like to check out Viral Marketing Techniques the Typical Business Website Can Deploy Now (a very useful article from Dr. Ralph F. Wilson) which provides several simplistic examples of the use of these principles in relation to the Internet and eCommerce.

Alternatively, if you would like to contact AUS3 we would be happy to discuss your specific needs and objectives and help assess your potential for viral marketing.

In the meantime, here a few TIPS that might get you started::

• Do a SWOT ANALYSIS :: Taking stock of your current Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats is a good starting point. It will help you clarify your thoughts.
• Brainstorm :: Get a few of your brightest marketing, sales, production and distribution people together and remind them that 'anything is okay' here. We're just 'blue-skying' and the wierder it gets, the better. Start by thinking about WHO your market is, then who THEIR market is, etc. See if there is any 'benefit' you can offer someone who can reach YOUR market. What other non-competitors are ALSO communicating with your target market? Is there any benefit your products can offer them?
• Read DeBono's 'Lateral Thinking' :: This is an excellent old book to help you start thinking outside the square...thinking sideways and backwards, instead of the standard scientific, step-by-step 'forward' processes that you and your competors have already tried.
• Remember what the objective is :: If you can find a way to literally make your product MORE VALUABLE to those who recommend it, and ALSO, actually IMPROVE THE VALUE of your product for those who receive the recommendation - then you probably have the makings of an incredibly successful marketing strategy. 

Think about exploring your 'viral' options -- It's worth the effort.