Online Games & Viral Marketing
A pebble in the online pond...
The Internet is by far and away the most effective medium for 'gossip' or viral based marketing. It has the power to transcend the natural barriers of geography, language, culture and status. A successful piece of online marketing can have worldwide infamy in a matter of hours. It is no wonder that both large Blue Chips and SME's alike often look to online viral marketing as a means of promoting brand and product.
However it is essential to understand and appreciate what it is you want to achieve and with what audience. With the best will in the world it is a rare occurrence to create a piece of marketing that will appeal to everyone, therefore you need to understand what will ignite the touch paper of your target audiences for a specific campaign. You may only want to promote it to a select group of individuals, but the messaging will be incredibly relevant and pertinent to those people it touches. 
This is a screen shot from an online game Purestone created for Office Depot during the 2006 World Cup. It was played across Europe by over 200,000 people.
