Godin's main idea, however, is deceptively simple, and it really can be summed up in just a few words. He believes that the most successful marketing campaigns are those that are simply spread by means of word of mouth, from person to person. The product was so "infectious," in other words, that the marketer didn't have to do anything but just get the initial word out, and it spread from there until it became a virtual epidemic of consumer consumption.
There are ways, though, that you can help this process along, such as Steve Jurvetson's idea of including a little promotional message with every person's email advertising their service, which was then sent by all Hotmail customers to everyone they emailed, and it snowballed from there, growing to 12 million users in 18 months.
Godin's enthusiasm for marketing is contagious itself, and in fact he discusses the concept of "sneezers," or people who are able to "infect" others and influence their purchasing decisions through their influence. (As someone with occasionally less than impressive immunity, I would have preferred the author not get quite this cute with the terminology, but oh well :-)). He discusses Oprah Winfrey, who he says is the most successful "sneezer" of our generation in her power to influence millions of people to buy the books from her book clubs and other products, not to mention her ability to make comparative unknowns like Dr. Phil successful media personalities just from the exposure gained on her show.
My only complaint about the book is that, as I said, the idea is pretty simple, and probably have been explained in a much shorter book rather than the actual 197 pages. A lot of the text is spent discussing various examples, which, although interesting, could have been pared down quite a bit. But overall, this is a well written, interesting, and enjoyable book to read on some of the most wildly successful marketing strategies of recent years with some useful ideas for putting them to work in your own business.
I noticed that many of the other reviews seem to think that Seth is going to give them a step-by-step system how to turn their idea into an idea virus. Reading this book with that expectation you are going to be let down.
Every situation is different. You have to connect the dots. You have to apply the ideas in this book, it to make it work for you. You get the idea. (No pun intended)
Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated
Far from a brainiac book, Unleashing the Ideavirus is chock full of SPECIFIC and SMART ideas you can implement right now (if you're fast and brave enough) to make a real difference in the marketing profile your company's products and services enjoy. Another classic, and precursor to Purple Cow.
You should have both in your library. Period.
My main problem with Unleashing was the organization of the book. Unleashing the Ideavirus was a bit disjointed. It does not flow as nicely as the author's Purple Cow (by way the a 5 star book!) which I would highly recommend.