According to Masterman (2011) viral media is closely related to the use of direct e-mail. But viral media is created through word of mouth campaigns over the web. Masterman (2011) stated that the concept of viral media or viral marketing as it is known is that the market or organisation will spread the information themselves if it is presented in the right way. An idea will be created by the organisation linked to the event which can be a graphic, text, website link, video or audio clip. The idea that is created must be able to grab the consumer's attention otherwise the viral media will be pointless as a form of communication and web presence. This will then be communicated to a small selected target audience which will generally include audiences within groups, websites or individual opinion leaders. Once this has happened based on the effectiveness of the viral media it will then be passed on by the initial audience and passed on and so forth. This is a fast and effective form of communication and an effective tool used by organisations. This is because each recipient that receives the viral media can then forward the media to many contacts through email at no cost.
An advantage of viral media is that when the media is received by a recipient from a friend or family member it is likely to be read and taken into consideration, rather than the mass of inbox clutter that gets sent through companies and organisations which is generally ignored and deleted unless there is a major relevance to a person life and interests. But there is a potential for the message to be lost among the inbox clutter and perceived by the recipient as spam mail, chain mail or an e-mail scan. This factor can be a great disadvantage to organisations if this is how the majority receive their viral media campaign. But overall this method of marketing communication can be extremely effective if done in the correct way by organisations.
London Fashion Weekend established within their marketing campaign that they will be using the method of viral media by accessing 150,000 records from their database to send their viral media to. This shows that they have selected their core audience for the viral media from within their own database which gives them a higher opportunity that the viral media will not be perceived as spam mail. As London Fashion Weekend are sending viral media to 150,000 consumers it gives them a greater chance of the viral media being spread faster and further with such a high number within their targeted audience for this marketing communication.
International Confex have stated within their market campaign that they will be sending emails regularly to over 200,000 events organisers. But as the emails will be regularly sent to their targeted audience it does not act as a form of viral media as it is direct marketing. Also these emails will not be sent on as a number of them are being received as a form of update rather than an attention grabbing statement.
As each of these events is different within their target audiences it effects whether viral media is an effective method of marketing communication to be used. As London Fashion Weekend is a business to consumer event and relies on the interest of consumers being generated in order to meet their objectives of generating awareness and selling tickets viral media is a method that they have used in order to gain exposure with as many consumers as possible. Whereas International Confex have a very specific target audience of professionals within the events industry that are communicated with more effectively via direct marketing which is why they chose this method over viral media. Overall the web presence of each of these events is effective within each market and target audience giving them an equal success within their web presence.
Social Media
Masterman (2011) stated that the creation of communities can be created when organisations have a more sophisticates and value laden focus use of the internet other than their website. This is where social media is introduced as a form of web presence for organisations and must be used effectively as Mintel (2011), have resulted in the information that 42% of the population use social media sites to keep up to date with the news. With Facebook being the most widely used social networking site in the UK. This is bound to increase as more of the population are becoming a part of social networking sites.
Social media is when people come together through social networking sites over similar interests and create discussion and constant updates on the interest through the networking sites. Social media allows organisations to spread their message further and faster due to the fast paced nature of social networking and media.
London Fashion Weekend
London Fashion Weekend have utilized specific areas within social media mainly Facebook and Twitter which are the two main social networking sites in the UK. With 9755 people being a part of their Facebook account which shows how many people can be joined together over a shared interest. All of the people on their Facebook are following what is happening with London Fashion Weekend with the updates that they give. It also allows London Fashion Weekend to keep in contact with all the people that have become part of that internet community and have the ability to see how many people are talking about the event currently with 177, which out of the 9755 isn't many and maybe indicates that the information and updates they have on Facebook are not enough to generate a mass discussion.
Their Facebook has many different things to offer from their wall which is filled with updates and notifications alongside info which has all the information about the event such as location, company overview and links to their website. A welcoming page is available to introduce people to London Fashion Weekend. Photos of the event and other photos that are linked to event such designers photos. YouTube and Twitter links along with links to their website and sponsors websites such as Compeed, ShopStyle and Elle. They also have an events calendar so that people are able to see what events are coming up and the final areas is questions which consists of a question which London Fashion Weekend have asked about the event in order to generate feedback from people that went to the event on what was their favourite part.
When looking into London Fashion Weekend through Twitter it can be seen that they have reached less people through Twitter with 3389 followers, but with Twitter it allows London Fashion Weekend to receive feedback from their followers directly and instantly. London Fashion Weekend have made 535 tweets which shows that they have kept their followers continuously up to date on everything that is happening and has happened with the event. It also allows followers to upload photos and give opinions on the event which is vital for developing relationships with consumers.
They also have a YouTube account that has 4 videos that have been uploaded one official London Fashion Weekend which is a look into the event and what it has to offer with interviews, which has had 206 views, 2 of the other videos are videos that have been uploaded by attendees of the events which show the Vesta collection and a selection of clips from London Fashion Weekend. The final video id fro Elle UK TV which shows a beauty breakthrough. Their account has 1 subscriber. Overall they have not used YouTube effectively or utilized the potential it has to draw in many viewers by having a poor selection of videos available for viewers to watch.
London Fashion Weekend have used different forms of social media which allows them to access a variety of different consumers and their target audience in different ways. Facebook and Twitter appear to be the most successful forms of social media that London Fashion Weekend have created due to the number of followers, information and the relationships developed between consumers. This really highlights web presence that is aimed at their target audience as TGI (2008) states that women of the ages between 25 to 34 with an income bracket of £43,000 - £46,999 and £50,000 and over use social networking sites.
International Confex
International Confex has also used different forms of social media like London Fashion Weekend. But each of these forms of social media will be used differently by International Confex compared London Fashion Weekend as they both have different target audiences that will be reached in different ways due to different tendencies and behaviours in media consumption which will show an indication in the differences in web presence between the two events. They have created a Facebook account, Twitter account and Linkedin. All of these different in what they have to offer.
Their Facebook account has 1537 people a part of it with 70 people discussing the International Confex which is a dramatically lower number than London Fashion Weekend has especially when the show is on an international scale. In having lower numbers this may show that this stems from the target audiences behaviour with social media networking sites such as Facebook. The Facebook account has a wall available with exhibitors and International Confex able to post updates on the event. The wall also acts as a form of feedback with some attendees giving their opinion on the event. They also have an info section which has a company overview, mission, products and website link which is all the core information about the event. Photos of the exhibitions at the event alongside images and videos that are also relevant to International Confex. But there is not many photos available. They also provide an events calendar the same as London Fashion Weekend with any event that is up and coming. The final area they have to offer is a poll they wish people part of their Facebook account will take part in. The poll is in about deciding which political party will be best for the events industry.
International Confex have become a part of Twitter and the art of tweeting, which they have become very effective at doing with 1040 tweets being published which is a far greater number of tweets compared to London Fashion Weekend's 535. This show that they have really utilized the impact that Twitter has within social media and the ability to remain constantly update and vigilant with the news, changes and factors of the event with their 2777 followers which is an increase compared to the number of people on their Facebook account but is yet again still a lower number than London Fashion Weekend. International Confex has utilized Twitter massively as a form of instant communication and interaction between their followers in order to gain feedback, opinions and suggestions on the event along with other factors. They have also used it to continuously keep their followers up to date on all the information around the event and as a way to continuously gain exposure on the event and all the activities involved.
Linkedin is one of the world largest professional networks and consists of over 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories. This form of social media is aimed at their target audience of professionals within the events industry and will gain a mass of exposure through the amount of members and countries that it covers. This is also links in with the event being internationally spread so will therefore link together consumers from around the world under one social media site to discuss, receive and give information. As well as to generate professional networking across countries and develop relationships and contacts through this form of social media. It also allows professional statements, reports, ideas and concepts to be posted and shared across the community of International Confex within Linkedin. Information that is given is more sophisticated and industry related due to the nature of the site. This is a significant form of social media that has been utilized by International Confex in order to generate a higher web presence. This being the most effective of all the forms of social media that they have used as it is aimed at their target audience specifically.
When looking at the overall web presence of each of the events it can be seen that International Confex has specialized in the forms of social media that they have used in order to specifically target their exact audience. But within the usual forms of social media that are the most popular within the UK they have not been as successful at gaining a web presence as London Fashion Weekend has with their Facebook account providing more information and areas for the consumers compared to International Confex. As well as having more people a part of their Facebook account and Twitter account. With these factors in mind London Fashion Weekend would appear to have a greater web presence than International Confex overall as their target audience is more generalized than International Confex. But International Confex has been immensely successful in utilizing a social media that is specific to a professional target audience and gaining web presence within that.
References
Facebook (2012) Confex Group [online] Available from: http://www.facebook.com/ConfexGroup [Accessed 12 March 2012]
Facebook (2012) London Fashion Weekend [online] Available from: http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-Fashion-Weekend/149537531044 [Accessed 12th March2012]
International Confex (2012) Marketing Campaign [online] Available from: http://www.international-confex.com/Content/Marketing-Campaign/3/ [Accessed 12th March 2012]
Linkedin (2012) About us [online] Available from: http://press.linkedin.com/about [Accessed 12th March 2012]
Masterman, G. Wood, E. (2011) Innovative marketing communications strategies for the events industry. New York. Routledge.
TGI (2008) Internet any social networking (e.g facebook, myspace,bebo) [online] Available from: https://www.kmrsoftware.net/netquestuni2/default.aspx [Accessed 12th March 2012]
Twitter (2012) Fashion weekend @ LFWEnd [online] Available from: http://twitter.com/#!/lfwend [Accessed 12th March 2012]
Twitter (2012) International confex @intlConfex [online] Available from: http://twitter.com/#!/intlconfex [Accessed 12th March 2012]
YouTube (2012) London Fashion Weekend Channel [online] Available from: http://www.youtube.com/user/LondonFashionWeekend?ob=0&feature=results_main [Accessed 12th March 2012]
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