Download Des Moines Register 11-28-06 Campaign channels Web buzz to tout D.M.

Des Moines Register
11-28-06
Campaign channels Web buzz to tout D.M.
A digital word-of-mouth strategy uses e-cards and video segments to recruit
people and businesses.
By DONNELLE ELLER
REGISTER BUSINESS WRITER
If the Greater Des Moines Partnership's advertising blitz is successful, residents
will be doing all the work for the central Iowa business group.
They'll spend valuable work time downloading the Partnership's "Caffeinate" or
"Geek Out" video and sending them to friends in Miami who are not really sure
where Iowa is, let alone why people live here. Or maybe they'll e-mail one of the
Partnership's online postcards to a brother-in-law in Los Angeles who spends
holidays in Iowa blathering about a two-hour-each-way commute.
"Viral advertising" is a big piece of the group's new $300,000 marketing plan called "Des Moines. Do More" - and it depends on fun-loving, computer-savvy
folks to spread the word.
Its success also depends on the Partnership's videos and e-cards being fun
enough to get passed around, said Dorothy Pisarski, an assistant professor of
journalism at Drake University.
The danger with viral advertising - a digital take on word-of-mouth advertising - is
that there's no control over how videos or e-cards will be used once they're in
cyberspace, she said.
"Some people say that anything said about you is good, even if it isn't flattering,"
Pisarski said.
Russ Laczniak, an Iowa State University marketing professor, said little
research has been done to determine whether viral advertising is effective. But,
he said, it does appear to be a good avenue for reaching people who try to avoid
advertising.
"When consumers tell other consumers something is cool, the message is more
believable," Laczniak said.
Amanda Steward, a spokeswoman for the Partnership, said the group will be
careful to let the folks who use YouTube, blogs and other sites know that the
Partnership is the one posting the videos. The group doesn't want the negative
buzz that comes from marketing groups trying to pass themselves off as
consumers.
That just wouldn't be cool, Steward said.
Reporter Donnelle Eller can be reached at (515) 284-8457 or [email protected]