Viral Marketing can do wonders for a new brand. And the truism that the goriest and funniest often wins has also been reaffirmed the email virtal campaign for new clothing brand Alto...

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An innovative viral marketing campaign from international digital direct-marketing experts eCircle, uses dark humour with a new innovative online marketing instrument, videomail, which combines email and videostreaming to launch new clothing label that targets tall men (www.ALTOclothing.com).

Multimedia streaming virals

The videomail, which combines email and videostreaming, was sent to a specifically targeted group of 10,000 males selected from the eCircle permission marketing database. In turn, the clip, which can be downloaded from www.altoclothing.com, was extensively forwarded on, resulting in the clip being viewed 250,000 times*.

Through using email as a marketing channel, the campaign reach extended to a 25 fold increase from the original mail out, to their target market of tall men aged 18 to 30. The email campaign carried out by eCircle was an essential part of the overall launch campaign that was developed by Neoco, a London based creative agency.

Gruesome trademarks of the virals that spread

The gruesome clip produced by Neoco demonstrates the frustrations of tall men finding clothing that fits. It shows a tall man having his hands chopped off, when waving, after leaving a helicopter, accompanied with the fitting slogan; 'Tall people have enough difficulties, now clothing isn't one of them'.

ALTO Clothing was founded by Kingston Wildcats basketball team owner Justin Edison, as he and his friends struggled to find clothes that fitted them.

Instant feedback for the brand

He commented on the viral campaign; "The response to the campaign has been incredible. We didn't really know what to expect but have been delighted with the outcome. It has allowed us to reach our audience extremely quickly but also receive almost instant feedback from them. It would not be an exaggeration to say that we have received responses from every corner of the planet. This is great for us as we are aiming to become a pan-European online retailer. To achieve this

Managing director of eCircle UK, Alexander Meyer, explains; "The email campaign for ALTO proved that viral marketing is extremely suitable for launching new products to this specific target market. Nowadays we see more and more viral campaigns, which combine brand awareness and entertainment. The success of the ALTO campaign proves that branded entertainment is the next big thing in online advertising."

Benn Achilleas, creative partner at Neoco, is also pleased by the success of ALTO's launch campaign; "It was essential that the right people were targeted in the first instance, then it's up to the entertainment value of the clip to extend the reach of the campaign.

About eCircle:
eCircle, founded in Germany in 1999, is the leading provider of software for digital direct marketing throughout Europe, and winner of the 2004 New Media Award. Our portfolio includes high-end solutions for newsletter send-outs and email / SMS campaigns, the option to book permission address lists for the management of campaigns and extensive consulting services. With offices in the UK, Germany, France and Italy eCirlce's extensive client list include some of the biggest brands; Vodafone, Thomas Cook, T-Mobile and Standard Life to name a few. www.ecircle-uk.com