viral marketing

Word-of-mouth advertising conducted in cyberspace. The term was coined by US venture capitalist Steve Jurvetsen, who backed the e-mail venture Hotmail. Viral marketing is usually carried by e-mail. One friend sends an e-mail to another; somewhere in that e-mail is a clickable link that takes the user through to the host Web site where the product or service is sold.

Hotmail is the example most often cited by proponents of viral marketing. Spending less than half a million dollars, Hotmail managed to sign up over 12 million users in less than 18 months. This prodigious feat was achieved largely because every e-mail sent by a Hotmail subscriber invites the recipient to sign up for an account. In order to succeed, a marketing virus must spread quickly. The most successful viruses tend to be fun or useful.