How to Put Viral Marketing in Birthday Messages

Add yet another possibility to the many venues for viral marketing; that's right, a birthday offers new opportunities to introduce a different kind of message. Viral marketing, popularly identified as a brand-based or other persuasive message that is seen and passed on, is probably pertinent to almost any holiday, but birthdays in particular; as specialized events, pave the way for associative messages in ways that enterprising advertisers have learned not to ignore.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Stamp props. Get a discrete decal or branding icon onto streamers, party hats, napkins, or other birthday items. Branding these accessories is a great way to get passive associations into the heads of participants.

2. Create brand-associated party games. This one is tricky: getting your message or brand into play means introducing a game to a crowd, either through personal demonstration or by using printed instructions and materials distributed at parties. Brainstorm ways to start a whole new buzz through a simple birthday game activity.

3. Use e-cards. Getting a brand or message into an e-card is simple. Most companies allow senders to self-assemble their e-cards and add text. An electronic birthday card can be a valuable asset in sending viral marketing messages for birthdays with minimal effort required.

4. Use birthday mass-emails. Another way to distribute viral marketing messages through the Internet is to partner with a social networking site to get your own imprint on their generic birthday email systems. If successful, your strategy will send your message into thousands of boxes daily.

5. Use frosted icing. Getting a message onto the cake requires a level of abstraction. A message like "Happy Birthday from MoneyMattersPeopleYou!" would be better replaced with one like "Another Year? Time to Think About Your Retirement Plan," although this might not fit on the cake. Think about ways to blend a birthday message into a buzz phrase.