The Great Viral Marketing Debate

Justin Kirby, MD, DMC vs Danny Meadows-Klue, Chief Executive, IAB

Ringmaster is Philip Smith of Revolution magazine.

The Great Viral Marketing Debate sees Kirby argue it out with Meadows-Klue to determine if viral marketing really is a valid form of advertising.

Background

There’s too much interruptive advertising across digital media - this is a given - and because of this there has been a rise in viral marketing.

We all know that viral marketing allows users to interact with the brand in a way that traditional advertising hasn’t allowed, but is this always a good thing?

The Debate

In the red corner is Kirby. A viral marketing fanatic, he'll be exploring:

• What are the benefits of peer-to-peer endorsement?
• How does viral marketing change users into ‘brand advocates’?
• How do advertisers create free distributions channels through email?
• What are the different types of viral marketing, and why are these divided?
• What is Tipping Point marketing?

In the blue corner is Meadows-Klue, considering the following:

• Can viral be a good thing if advertisers are not in control of their campaign?
• Is viral marketing ‘bad’ because it cannot be regulated?
• Is viral marketing ultimately spam as it is unsolicited?

Who will feint?

Who will pack a punch?

And more importantly, who will have the upper cut and reign supreme?

Come to The Great Viral Marketing Debate to find out!


About the Speakers

Justin Kirby started his career in the mid-80s working on ground-breaking multimedia installation projects, including the famous Herbie Hancock video robotics models. In 1994, Justin founded Digital Media Communications Ltd (DMC). DMC are the experts in planning, seeding and tracking online viral and buzz marketing campaigns for major brands, including Diesel, EA Sports, Eidos, Levi’s, Mates, Mazda, MTV, Sony Ericsson, Ubi Soft, Virgin and Xbox. They are also co-founders of the international Viral & Buzz Marketing Association (www.vbma.net).

Danny Meadows-Klue trained in traditional publishing with United News and Media. In 1995 he joined The Daily Telegraph’s pioneering award-winning internet service which he helped manage for more than four years before being appointed as a director of Hollinger Telegraph New Media Ltd. He then moved to NBC’s Internet operations where took up the post of one of the European Vice Presidents. Danny is the chief executive of the industry’s commercial trade association, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which he helped found in 1997.

About the Ringmaster

Philip Smith is the editor of Revolution, the UK's dedicated digital business and marketing monthly. Smith runs the annual Revolution Awards, which reward the best examples of digital marketing and business from more than 400 entries. In March 2004 he co-hosted with Stephen Fry. Smith has a post-graduate diploma in journalism from the acclaimed media school at the University of Wales, College of Cardiff. His first book, Directing Traffic, was published by RotoVision in December 2002.

Report on the event.