VIRAL: The Viral One-Off Jumps The Shark

NYT Week in Review article uses the recent Consumers Union "Drugs I Need" cartoon to drag out Jib Jab and the Subservient Chicken and let us know about this exciting new trend called viral marketing.

The article says the "Drug" is piece getting pretty good pass-around, but the jury is still out on whether this was a successful effort. Typically an organization would do a piece like this to raise their brand profile, educate the public on an issue, or to harvest emails and grow their list. The Consumers Union piece, despite being intensely entertaining, was branded poorly, left me humming a happy tune instead of hopping mad at big pharm, and the userflow didn't direct me to the action in an effecient way. When the viral day is done it will be interesting to see if this effort -- like the Subersevient Chicken -- did an amazing job of selling the cartoon, but a bad job of selling the organization and its message.

For oganizations reading the NYT article and looking to recreate viral lightening, be aware. There is an intense amount of viral clutter on the web now. You need to come prepared to walk up to the line and stick a toe over it if you entertain any hope of rising above the clutter and getting attention. It's also important to remember the viral piece is not the ends, but a means. Don't send it out into the world without integrating it into a solid marketing strategy and a continuous user experience.