The Viral Grapevine

This post is a continuation of my exploration of Shakespeare as a product.  This particular post is part two of a series on viral marketing.  You can read my first post on viral marketing here.


Viral Day 2
I'm excited to continue my connections between viral marketing and the emergence and proliferation of Shakespeare. In the brief research that I've already conducted, I've learned that, for me, learning about viral marketing is almost viral itself. This type of marketing is trendy and unpredictable--it makes for interesting research across the expanse of the internet.

Rather than falling into the trap of internet searches (although I'm sure this will continue to be a main source for information regarding the topic), I decided to see if any relevant books had been written on the topic. I recognize that it takes much more effort to write a book than to throw up a blog post, and consequently determined that a book would have higher quality research and sources to draw from.  At the local public library, I was able to find what seems to be the perfect book: Grapevine: The New Art of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, by Dave Balter and John Butman.


Grapevine
In the next posts of this short series on viral marketing, I'll take time to connect Grapevine to Shakespeare (when I've had a chance to read more of the book).  For now, I'll offer a few of the book's key points and ask for your suggestions on how to approach it with the bard.  Here are some highlights:

1. Everybody talks about products and services. Your neighbors. Your friends. Your relatives. Not just "highly influential or well-connected people"--everyone.
2. Word-of-mouth is fundamentally different from other "alternative" forms of marketing. Marketing mediums are not the same as real word of mouth.  (This actually contradicts my connection to viral marketing somewhat, but I'll address the issue in my next post.)
3. Word-of-mouth proliferates in unpredictable ways.
4. There are limited word-of-mouth windows.
5. Word-of-mouth is product storytelling. It's not just about sharing "product" messages--it's about telling product stories.
6. Word-of-mouth does not have to be positive to be good.
7. Word-of-mouth is the basis for a new approach to marketing. 

Now, if you have ideas, suggestions, or questions that I could pursue as I connect this book to Shakespeare, I would appreciate your input. I'm excited to tackle this book in Shakespeare mode and I'd love to have your ideas in the comments below.