anti.viral.marketing

Because this is mostly a pedagogic project, I’m posting what I’ve learned each day and how that effects the next day’s tree posting. 

Day 1: I learned that if you put a random sign on a tree, it will be taken down after a few hours. In response I decided to create a blog (hastily done in about a half an hour) to see if a web address tacked on to the bottom of the poster would encourage the authorities to leave the sign up for longer… 

Day 2: Success– My sign stayed up until at least 7:30 pm.  Because I only expected the sign to stay up for a few hours I placed it in the direction where it might be seen by the most people at that time of day. I also experimented with a prop (I attached a pair of pants to the tree) to see if that also might generate more interest.  What I didn’t anticipate is that so many people would decide to take a look at my hasty blog.  After 100 hits and this comment:

“And yet I suspect this is only one more component of the marketing, because there is no substance to this blog at all. Nothing wrong with that, I guess. But neither will it make me want to go see a boring romantic comedy”

I decided to make a few alterations to the site. I might also add that I was extremely embarrassed by the above comment and was red for about an hour even though this person does not know my identity. I guess I will have to toughen up a bit and do my homework in advance.

Day 3: I was ready to quit on Day 2, but after looking around the blogosphere and seeing some positive feedback, I decided to go another day.  Admittedly, I don’t think this day is terribly clever. 

Day 4: There IS supposed to be a Day 4 and it was going to be clever, but the guy at Kinkos looked at me like I was nuts to want to do what I wanted to do in a short period of time.  Asshole.  I might go to a different print shop today, or I might just improvise the idea.  OR there might not be a Day 4.  We’ll see.