Dissertation-Viral Marketing
Kapil Gupta
Viral marketing of digital products using social media
Dissertation presented for the Degree of Masters of Business Administration at the University of Edinburgh Business School, May 2011
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my supervisor, Tony Kinder, for all of the help and guidance he has given me over the course of the project, from the initial idea through the research and writing stages through to the conclusion. It would have been impossible to complete this project without his assistance.
I would also like to thank all of the interviewees, whose experiences and insights were invaluable in writing this report:
Rachel Armitage Jenny Herbison Andrew Burnett Colin Gilchrist Tera Dargavel
I would also like to thank all my friends and colleagues who tolerated me while I incessantly talked about viral marketing and who sometimes even helped me brainstorm some ideas.
Warm thanks to all of you, Kapil Gupta Edinburgh, May 2011
MBA Dissertation
Page 1
Abstract
Improvements in hardware and software technologies like high speed internet, cloud computing, smaller and faster chips, have made social networking and mobile devices ubiquitous, which has in turn created a huge opportunity in digital products and services market. Marketers, in trying to use traditional word-of-mouth marketing concepts online for - aka viral marketing – for their digital products are realising that there is the potential of exponential growth that can be achieved very quickly and very cheaply when compared to using more traditional marketing channels. This report attempts to explore how marketers could use viral marketing to market their digital products and realise this potentially exponential growth. In answering this question, this report draws on the results of primary and secondary research, including four interviews conducted in March and April 2011 with professionals from organisations dealing in digital products and social media marketing.
Viral marketing of digital products using social media
Dissertation presented for the Degree of Masters of Business Administration at the University of Edinburgh Business School, May 2011
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my supervisor, Tony Kinder, for all of the help and guidance he has given me over the course of the project, from the initial idea through the research and writing stages through to the conclusion. It would have been impossible to complete this project without his assistance.
I would also like to thank all of the interviewees, whose experiences and insights were invaluable in writing this report:
Rachel Armitage Jenny Herbison Andrew Burnett Colin Gilchrist Tera Dargavel
I would also like to thank all my friends and colleagues who tolerated me while I incessantly talked about viral marketing and who sometimes even helped me brainstorm some ideas.
Warm thanks to all of you, Kapil Gupta Edinburgh, May 2011
MBA Dissertation
Page 1
Abstract
Improvements in hardware and software technologies like high speed internet, cloud computing, smaller and faster chips, have made social networking and mobile devices ubiquitous, which has in turn created a huge opportunity in digital products and services market. Marketers, in trying to use traditional word-of-mouth marketing concepts online for - aka viral marketing – for their digital products are realising that there is the potential of exponential growth that can be achieved very quickly and very cheaply when compared to using more traditional marketing channels. This report attempts to explore how marketers could use viral marketing to market their digital products and realise this potentially exponential growth. In answering this question, this report draws on the results of primary and secondary research, including four interviews conducted in March and April 2011 with professionals from organisations dealing in digital products and social media marketing.