Differences between viral advertising and standard methods of product promotion
Since the well-known motto "advertising is the engine of trade" is the main principle of increasing the sales of a product, ways to popularize brands every day acquire new implementation options. The ubiquitous development of the Internet is the most applicable and effective field for applying creative ways to inform the appearance of services or products on the market. To date, the most effective and effective type of product promotion is viral advertising.
Advertising that is not distributed using standard paid static ads, banners or templates, but by transmission from one person to another, by analogy with an infection, is called viral.
This type of promotion is carried out on the basis of the personal desire of the Internet user to share the advertising episode they like with friends. In addition to being tagged on social media, it could be a link to a website or a verbal endorsement of an impressive video or shocking photo.
The peculiarities of such presentation of information are the originality of the plot of the video, the unhackneyedness of the director’s presentation, the appearance of certain characters who, by their appearance, attract the audience.
Viral advertising can be presented in many ways. Along with well-known popular videos, product announcements can be submitted in the form of text, audio and photographic material, or a computer game.
All these types of product promotion are united by a common sign – they contain a link or the name of the advertised brand. Often advertising is veiled, only indirectly, at the right time, involving an actor participating in a film that was preparing to appear on the big screen, or influencing the subconscious by constantly showing the advertised object as an accessory for the protagonist.
All types of the most vivid emotional impact on the consumer of products are classified depending on the name of the participants in the storyline. These can be the following characters, who can significantly increase the rating of the plot by their presence:
- famous personalities – showmen, models, actors;
- babies and animals;
- beautiful girls in bathing suits or half-naked buff male athletes;
- cartoon characters and humorous characters.
Story line
In order for viral advertising to become most effective and gain a high rating, professionals advise using fight scenes for the script, a plot that implies sexual overtones, non-standard humor, or involving cute animals – kittens or puppies in the shooting process.
All these images are aimed at different consumer audiences, so the success of stories depends not only on the talent of the advertising author, but also on the target audience that the manufacturer is targeting. But still, the main indicator of product promotion is not the number of views, but changes in the sales figures of the advertised product in the period from the start of the promotion campaign.