Did Server Trouble Boost SpicyParis Buzz?
Server outages typically mean trouble for marketers with an ad that's gone viral. But when Carl's Jr. racy SpicyParis ad caused its site traffic to increase 1449% in one day, the resulting server crash may have done more good than harm. Bloggers immediately picked up on the story of the crash, linking to each others posts and keeping the story alive. Soon mainstream media picked up on it and spread the story even further. The buzz about the ad itself soon dropped while article after article paid attention more to the greater "story about the story."
THE LESSON: Spreading WOM is not necessarily always about reaching consumers. It also takes place blogger-to-reporter and reporter-to-reporter.
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