A digital communications expert has said there is “no such thing as a viral strategy” at the latest installment of the Heavy Chef Sessions in Deloitte’s Johannesburg headquarters.
Mike Sharman, owner of digital communications agency Retroviral, said marketers and companies should concentrate on developing remarkable content and getting it to the right platforms and then hope it goes viral.
The evening was themed Viral & Social and also featured Mike Stopforth, founder of integrated strategic communication agency Cerebra.
Sharman added ‘viral’ is what most clients request of his company to do with their digital marketing, but as he elaborated, viral is really hard to define and indefinite.
Stopforth’s talk mainly centered on how companies and brands start social profiles which are not aligned with what they can deliver as a brand / company and are often launched without a clear aim as to why they are starting them.
The Heavy Chef is a project by World Wide Creative and has evolved into a business in its own right, offering talks, information, opinion, resources, workshops and education.
Every month, experts are invited within the various categories of digital marketing to talk at the Heavy Chef Sessions. These sessions are held in London, Cape Town and Johannesburg and are free to the first 50 people on a first-come, first-serve basis.
