March 4, 2008
Viral marketing is catching on with activists
Imagine a sneeze that changed the world. A cold that caused people to want to make a difference. A green flu.
It’s not that simple, or that cheap, but something like that is happening more and more with viral marketing campaigns for “social change messaging.” In the world of new media, these are both hot topics.
Activism through viral campaigns was the focus of a talk last week at the SOC’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking, which featured a speaker from Free Range Studios, creator of “The Meatrix,” “Store Wars,” and other social change messages that “went viral.”
The aim of a viral marketing campaign is to get people to pass on a message voluntarily, which is what happened with “The Meatrix,” the early flash film about factory farming by Free Range that established the studio’s reputation.
That sort of approach is appealing to nonprofits, who seldom have a big budget, couldn’t afford to buy advertising time for a campaign against factory farming on television, but want to have a big impact.
But it’s not so easy for something to go viral now, said speaker McArthur, a vice president of Free Range Studios (who goes by only one name). The amount of “noise” in the media world is just too extensive: YouTube, Facebook, blogs, print, TV, e-mail, and so on seemingly ad infinitum. Millions of Web sites and billions of users make for a lot of competition for attention.
A few years ago, “The Meatrix” was popularized by sending it initially to the large e-mail list of the environmental group that commissioned it. In essence, after Free Range developed it in the then-novel flash movie format, all they had to do was hit send, and sit back as it caught on.
It’s still possible to grab attention, she said, but not just from novelty. Free Range cultivates relations with bloggers and “opinion leaders” who will have a bigger impact when they publicize a message, she said.
In spite of all the noise in the online world, there is still a large niche for nonprofits and their messages for social change, she said, because most of what’s out there is fluff. People crave content, and if content can be put together in a creative way, it will still grab attention.
Most recently, the studio has focused on interactivity at the end of its pitches. Simply raising awareness isn’t enough, she said. “We can’t just whine about the big problems,” but have to provide a focus for action: a Web site to click on, an action that people can take to make a difference.
She advised students who are thinking of careers in media to be passionate, work for good, be ethical, and “have a good time.” Remember as well, she said, that “the world changes, but also, you change. And as you change, the talents and skills and abilities you bring to the table will change.”
McArthur delivered the talk “From Viral Videos to Creative Campaigns: Environmental Activism and New Media” as part of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking’s third annual spring film series.
