Viral Marketing & LuLaRoe

            “Viral marketing assumes consumers, not firms, have the most influence in the creation of brands. Increasingly marketers attempt to tap into fan culture to co-opt fans’ creativity for relatively inexpensive grassroots marketing campaigns.” (Varnelis, pg.62)

New Techniques

            One new technique being utilized within viral marketing is the shift of power through web based applications. The power is moving into the hands of “consumers” instead of the producers. Previously, companies used television advertisements, billboards, and printed media to market their products. In the past, companies would shoot a commercial with a certain “demographic” in mind and would also aim to portray a certain essence about their product. (Varnelis, pg. 62) In the digital age, consumers are able to share their real world experience with one another. So which opinion would be considered a more reliable source for consumers, the company focused on generating revenue, or everyday people that have actually used the product and can attest to the quality?

 The application of viral marketing is much cheaper than traditional practices. This can be handled several ways. Companies can create their own web content and monitor feedback from consumers, or consumers can be the ones generating content and writing reviews about a specific company and their products. The book mentions “networking technologies” such as “e-mail” and “MySpace” which is a bit comical as these items are barely scratching the surface of the new media available now. (Varnelis, pg. 63) The current media stream is virtually unlimited as the marketing campaign can be in the form of Twitter posts, Facebook posts, blog entries, YouTube videos, SnapChats, Vines, Instagram photos, memes and more. The best part about this type of marketing is that there are no set hours. Consumers are able to access this content whenever it is the most convenient for them.

LuLaRoe

            To explore viral marketing further, I would like to take a closer look at the clothing line LuLaRoe. LuLaRoe manufactures different styles of shirts, dresses, skirts, and their most popular item, leggings. LuLaRoe leggings have been nicknamed “butter” leggings do to how soft they are. These items are not your typical fashions, as the prints are extremely unique and only a certain number of items are produced in the same print. LuLaRoe is sold exclusively through consultants and items are not available in stores. While some face-to-face sales do occur the majority of sales transactions occur through social media, namely Facebook. This is a perfect example of viral marketing since the description “butter” was created by consumers and also piques the interest of other consumers. Fans of LuLaRoe are also bound together with posts, memes, and communication about how confident and comfortable they feel while wearing these items.

Issues with Viral Marketing

            One downside to viral marketing is the possibility of negative or false content being shared. Varnelis states that “In the world of the enginet, it seems that marketers are increasingly coming to resemble political spin doctors, carefully leaking disinformation to the press in order to advance an agenda, thwart detractors, and manipulate public opinion.” (Varnelis, pg.64) Since viral marketing is mostly web based, it is open to virtually anyone to be able to create content regarding any product. This includes negative content or any false claims. In the case of LuLaRoe, it would be easy to spread news that the leggings turn your legs green and give you hives and some consumers may believe it. This of course is not true in my experience, but the possibility of false accusations is always out there.

            In relation to Green’s theory there also may be difficulty within the cultural literacy practice with this example. Where there is inclusion, there is the possibility of exclusion. In this case, there is a very specific set of terms that consumers can make sense of from the “context.” (Green) LuLaRoe names its clothing items after people. For example, a “Randy” is a quarter length baseball style shirt, and a “Nicole” is a specific type of dress. If you weren’t used to this type of jargon you may be excluded from the LuLaRoe hype until you researched or heard about it from a consultant or friend.

Thoughts on the Reading

            This has been my favorite read so far since it allows for non-linear understanding. You don’t have to read in a specific chapter order to gain full comprehension. Instead, certain topics grab your attention and you can apply it to an experience that is already common.

Citation:

Varnelis, K.(Ed.).(2008). Networked Publics. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

GREEN’s Three Dimensions of Literacy Diagram

Images from: lularoe.com & http://images.memes.com/meme/860260