Viral marketing is nothing but a social virus that spreads itself in a public domain - mainly the internet, and thus it defines the concept of your cause and business.
1) The Best Job in the World (2009) - Australia - Started as an attempt to find a suitable applicant for a job as 'caretaker of the grounds' on Hamilton Island in 2009, the campaign grew to be unbelievably profitable. Run by Tourism Queensland job benefits included a large salary, free lodging in a multi-million dollar villa, and transportation there and around the islands. Two days after the launch of the campaign, the site for applications crashed due to the sheer volume of people who wanted to be chosen. By the end of the search, over $200 million dollars were generated in global publicity value for Tourism Queensland and a documentary about the making of the campaign was aired on BBC Television.
2) Cloverfield - The Movie (2007-08) - With numerous studio tie-ins, a number of websites and fake products were developed to market the film. The results were astonishing and it created internet hype that no movie had seen back then.
It involves two methods – Firstly, it is somewhat conventional such as selling your product online. On the other hand, it enables other videos help a specific product to create an impact among large audience. YouTube and Facebook and Hotmail or even gmail are such examples.
It can be expressed through the word of mouth or improved with mobile networks and internet effects. Incentive based, pass along based, undercover based or trendy based are commonly used to transmit viral messages. Expect lots of crowd using them or watching them.Viral marketing persuades websites and users to pass on a marketing message to other sites and users. Hence, it creates an exponential growth in the message’s visibility and effect. Without doubt, Hotmail was initially considered as a successful viral marketing that promotes its advertisers’ and service messages in every user’s e-mail notes.
This form of marketing is heavily dependent on Internet so as to reach wide spectrum of audience through marketing messages. Though it is an effective online form, it is also referred as buzz marketing. The moment a buzz is created, you can expect value-added incentives for your audiences. This approach will help them to forward their messages to others. These are so far some of the best campaigns I have come across. They are in no particular order:
1) The Best Job in the World (2009) - Australia - Started as an attempt to find a suitable applicant for a job as 'caretaker of the grounds' on Hamilton Island in 2009, the campaign grew to be unbelievably profitable. Run by Tourism Queensland job benefits included a large salary, free lodging in a multi-million dollar villa, and transportation there and around the islands. Two days after the launch of the campaign, the site for applications crashed due to the sheer volume of people who wanted to be chosen. By the end of the search, over $200 million dollars were generated in global publicity value for Tourism Queensland and a documentary about the making of the campaign was aired on BBC Television. 
2) Cloverfield - The Movie (2007-08) - With numerous studio tie-ins, a number of websites and fake products were developed to market the film. The results were astonishing and it created internet hype that no movie had seen back then.
3) The Blair Witch Project (1999) - A viral campaign that had used the Internet to spread the trailer. A trailer suggestively advertised as being a record of true events using 'found footage'. For quite some time both before and after the film was released, audiences vocally wondered whether or not the movie depicted real-life deaths. The fervor stirred up by the campaign helped the film (which had a budget of just over $500,000) gross almost $250 million at the box office.
4) Heinkeken U-Code (2012) - One of the first campaigns of 2012, Heineken's use of QR codes, a medium that has been falling out of favor with both users and marketers, shows that there's still life in them if you use them correctly. Check it on Youtube.
5) Kony (2012) - Amassing over 96 million views on Youtube and 16.6 million on Vimeo in just under a year, Kony 2012 was a viral smash. The short film, which aimed to make African cult and militia leader Joseph Kony globally known and arrested, was released by the organization Invisible Children Inc and had a multitude of celebrities. The overwhelming exposure of the video caused the 'Kony 2012' website to crash in the days after its release. TIME Magazine ranked the campaign as the most viral video of all time.
6) TNT Benelux: A Dramatic Surprise On A Quiet Square (2012) - On April 10th, Turner Television Network station, TNT Benelux brought a dramatic surprise on a quiet square. The TV station placed a red button in a quiet square in Flanders in Belgium. A flashy arrow hovered above the button that said, “Push to add drama.” Of course very few would even consider it as most individuals passed it by; however, for the people that did have the courage to press it go a wonderfully fun surprise. Check it on Youtube.
7) Red-Bull (Stratos) 2012 - Want to really capture the attention of consumers? Solution - Create or break a record. Thrill seekers could not help but watch the stunt, but this viral video never would have had the social media impact it did without a web and PR team to lay the groundwork. Red Bull’s marketers talked to the media for months and posted updates online to build buzz before the big event. Anticipation grew, and when Felix finally took the plunge, people everywhere dropped what they were doing and turned on CNN to watch.
8) M&M’s Find Red: A Smart Social Campaign? (2012)
More on the lines of social media and UGC, M&M’s Canada has created the sophisticated campaign Find Red. The online treasure hunt inside Google Street View,was smartly fed with hints in social networks. The clues were seeded M&M’s YouTube, Twitter, Foursquare and Facebook pages over the next few weeks to help find where red is.
9) 3M’s Post-it Runs Smart Viral UGC Campaign
Post-it launched a standalone viral commercial (Super Sticky Man), but also took the strategic decision to build an online brand engagement platform inviting consumers to participate in a user created video competition. 3M Post-it have launched a branded YouTube Contest Page with an infomercial which explains clearly how the video competition works. And Post-it has launched this well designed (great usability) micro website.
10) O.B.® Triple Sorry | o.b.® Mighty Small™ J& J campaign
They made a customized apology for users who could further share it and customize it to the person they wished to send it to. The campaign worked beautifully. Check it on Youtube.
There are plenty more out there, want to share or know some more - comments are welcome!!!
