Book Description
For the purpose of this review, viral marketing is explained as the application of five connected components: Web 2.0, social media, virality, memes and marketing itself. In essence, memes disseminate virally through social media networks on the internet in ways that marketers can harness to reach consumers. But viral marketing is much more than creating funny image macros and hoping they go viral. The relevant components and their roles in viral marketing will be defined and explained in subsequent sections. The second portion of this paper will be dedicated to two brands that utilize viral marketing in intelligent ways. While the two topics of the case studies, Fortnite and Overwatch League, are very different in their approaches to viral marketing, both harness the power of viral marketing’s five components. While Fortnite utilizes a far-reaching approach, Overwatch League focuses on building a community that, to the members, feels closely-knit. Both strategies are proving successful for the brands and provide ample, vivid examples for how each component of viral marketing can be enacted. For Fortnite, this includes embracing user-generated content and partnering with EDM artist Marshmello. For Overwatch League, this means closing the gap between players and fans. Both unique strategies have earned their place in this paper for their understanding and implementation of viral marketing. Ultimately, my goal is to show that viral marketing is a legitimate strategy for the future and that there are pioneers in this moment achieving incredible feats through the approach.