Re:Yes (Score 1)

I'll add my thoughts on to this. Advertising agencies are in BIG trouble. They are expensive and ineffectual at what they do these days. On the other side of life, their clients are often ignorant, pedantic, risk-aversive, cheap and give impossible timelines to create good work - that is - work that communicates their message. Before anyone starts to bash the ad agencies, consider that they are being had over a barrel by their clients with their ridiculous ways of doing things. They call this modern business. In an ideal world, all forms of marketing communications / advertising should be aimed at integrating the diverse forms of media to provide a holistic brand communication, not some sporadic and often diluted flurry of images, sounds and taglines that by and large only end up confusing potential customers or clients, than informing them. Viral communications are an attempt to slip beneath the radar in the hopes that 'brand experiences' with an 'online experience' will enhance brand perception[s] and therefore translate in to something tangible like a purchase. Like with all advertising, it is difficult to truly know how effective viral communications are - there is still a great deal of debate as to their effectiveness and what the ROI is for both client and agency. A smart brand strategist would make an evaluation of the selected target audience[s] and then based on their research, would devise a campaign that may include all the elements / tools at their disposal - TV - Print - Cinema - Experience - Internet [Viral] - DM - or they may select one or more elements and then develop creative concepts and ideas around the media. The rest of the herd and I mean the majority today, still pick the 'big ticket winners' of TV & Print, because this is where they make a lot of their money - and - this is what the most 'prestigious' awards are given for. The vanity of ad agencies should not be underestimated here - I'd attribute a lot of the crap that they produce to their over-inflated ego's - but anyway. An advertiser.