Caught this movie recently. It's quite an interesting show, depicting the internet generation, and how viral marketing is so efficient these days.It was really gruesome seeing those people die faster when more and more people log on to the killer website.
This really kept me thinking, well, in a marketing perspective. I mean, word-of-mouth has always been known to be the most effective form of marketing. And by tapping on to the strength of networks, this means viral marketing.
Many companies have tried tapping onto the internet medium to engage its audience and to "spread the word around". An example would be the Dove Evolution youtube video (by just writing this in my blog, and people clicking on the link, it just proves my point on viral marketing/WOM).
However, when it came to this video, ethics were should also be taken into account. Even though there were announcements to warn people to stay away from the website, it just kept people curious and wanting to find out about it more. This adds on to the website's publicity and has adverse effects on the victim.
Curiosity really kills the cat (pun intended - first victim in the movie).
This is also a marketing strategy that many have tapped upon - the more you deter people from getting something, the more people want it. It's just human nature I guess.
About the ethics part, I guess apart from curiosity, people would probably think that their sole addition to website wouldn't hurt a lot. But guess what.. everyone probably thinks the same too.
It kept me thinking that if I were one of those who knew about the video and its consequences, would I still go to the website? I think I would.
Would you?
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