The New Viral: effective, not just infective

Subservient chicken. Old Spice guy. Real beauty sketches. They’re the stuff of viral video and marketing legend.

But where does that leave viral marketing today? Surprisingly abandoned. Google Trends says that since 2004, search queries for “viral marketing” have decreased by 80%.

Meanwhile, efficacy has evolved into a central focus for marketers who were once simply concerned with view counts and eyeballs. 86% of marketing leaders admit that their content marketing is only somewhat effective at creating business value. It’s the dawn of the New Viral—a digital and content marketing approach focused more on being effective than simply infective, while still making the most of organic spread.