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directly related to the number of individuals it
attracts. Shirky (2000) suggests that soon viral
marketing will mean WOM advertising to most
people. But, more importantly, he adds that the
concept describes a way of acquiring new custom-
ers by encouraging honest communication among
consumers and thereby lending credibility to the
transfer of the message.
Irrespective of the definition, viral marketing
is instrumental in diffusing information among
participants - “members have the power of mil-
lions and can spread links faster than any television
network ever could” (Brier, 2005). This allows
for dynamic interaction between marketers and
consumers. Viral marketing is extremely popular
amongst marketers because of the ease associated
with executing the campaign, relatively low cost
(even when compared with direct mail) and the
high and rapid response rates (Sarah Manners,
Quirk E-Marketing). This is particularly welcom-
ing for companies that have modest marketing
budgets, yet still need to engage effectively with
a large audience.
It may be argued that the difference between
traditional and electronic WOM is due to exter-
nalities. These network externalities occur when
“the buyer of the last unit of a good has a higher
benefit than the buyer of the first because the sale
of the earlier units has created some benefits in
a related dimension” (Economides, 1991). For
example, when a social network begins it does not
seem as attractive to potential adopters due to the
small number of users. But as the number of users
grows, the utility a potential adopter can attain
by joining the network increases, until it reaches
a critical mass point which causes the majority
of potential adopters to become users. This can
have a significant effect on rates of adoption and
therefore diffusion of information and purchase
of goods (Vilpponen et al , 2006). As a result, viral
marketing within a network structure can be highly
successful in increasing awareness and adoption
of innovations, but the type of product or brand
being marketed plays a fundamental role in the
ease and efficiency of these rates (ibid).
Van Tonder points out that technical products
and online products are best suited for online net-
work marketing. More generally, Banks (Unilever)
believes that visible brands, especially contem-
porary youth brands such as the deodorant brand
Axe, are most suited to social network marketing.
This is because some product categories are more
“colourful” and interesting, making them more
conducive to viral marketing. Alcoholic bever-
ages, for example, are almost synonymous with
viral marketing due to the easy association of the
product with sexual, social and humorous cues.
WOM is acknowledged to be one of the stron-
gest drivers of market-place influence but suffers
the misfortune of remaining an enigma for some
marketers as the theories that drive WOM do
not connect with research methodologies which
allow for accountable planning, implementa-
tion and evaluation of strategies (Carson, 2005).
Furthermore, in a world where consumers feel
that they are being bombarded with information,
commercial-oriented communication may not
always be welcomed in social networking circles.
Research by Carroll et al (2006) underlines the
tendency of consumers to want control over the
amount of information received. Calvert (Instant
Grass) supports this notion, expressing that con-
sumers, in an online environment particularly,
do not want their space invaded and have a large
degree of control as to what information they
are exposed to. To this end, Sicilia et al (2006)
emphasise that the manner in which the message
is received is beyond the control of the sender.
According to Calvert, one of the most predominant
trends in marketing over the last couple of years
is that marketers have increasingly less control
over the message delivered.
In such a scenario, fraught with risk, the
promoter of the message needs to ensure that
the correct media approach is utilised, the target
audience is properly identified and that it applies
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