No trespassing...

When telemarketers started to invade homes, people took it personally. When the Internet was flooded with pop-ups, Internet surfers were outraged. And email, we all know about email. The more marketers intrude on personal space, the more people will do to ban these messages. Recently, consumer advocates have gotten do-not-mail bills on the agendas of legislatures in more than a dozen states. These laws will not only stop unwanted messages, but will also become a marketer's nightmare.

Many states, including NY, have this legislation passing through their judicial systems as you read this. People are becoming fed up with unwanted messages and are blocking out more and more advertising.

In my opinion, this issue is going to take several years to process for it involves both sides constitutional rights. For consumers, people will argue that their amended privacy rights are being breached. And for marketers, they will say that they have the right to free speech and expression, protected by the first amendment.

In regards to this subject, Lori Schwartz, VP-director of Interpublic's Emerging Media Lab, said "Viral marketing is really overhyped. The word viral should go back to being a medical term." I, on the other hand, strongly disagree. Sure, there are a handful of companies that blast people with emails (enlarge this, make more with that, etc), but these businesses are the exceptions. What about the successors like Hotmail, Careerbuilder, and many more. People like Schwartz argue that advertising is becoming over-invasive, but I think viral marketing is just poorly-hyped.

Advertisers need to tailor viral efforts more towards the consumers needs. Of course, it helps to be shocking, surprising and filled with the unexpected. But in the long run, marketers should be trying to fulfill the single most important question for a message to reach, "what's in it for the consumer?"

Or perhaps, instead of entering people's personal space frequently, viral marketing can take a slightly different approach. Ad Week's Do-Not-Mail article explains a new "opt-in messaging" as a solution. This involves creating an online community and allowing marketers to invite people to join the excitement. This can be seen with Quicken and Turbotax services online.

In the long run, I do not see this as an end to a chapter in advertising, or even viral marketing. It will just be another roadblock to dodge, a minor pothole really. Take TiVo for example. Advertisers were in great fear over the thought of their pricey messages being skipped. But in all reality, the better tailoring of these messages have caused consumers to still watch these commercials, and with more interest, on their recordings.

For more information, check out this interesting article.