Today the term “going viral” paints a clear picture of YouTube phenomena, like a kid jumping a bike off the roof of his house, or cute kittens drawing millions of views.
What we’re really talking about here is the time-tested wonder called “word of mouth.”

Back in 1890, Chicago was picked to host the next World’s Fair. Excitement grew as fast as the anxiety of knowing that this event had to be so spectacular as to dwarf the most recent World’s Fair in Paris (where the Eiffel Tower was introduced).

In order to create a world-class experience, the finest architects, engineers and visionaries from the United States were selected. Among them was site designer and landscaper Fredrick Law Olmstead, the man who designed New York’s Central Park.

Olmstead knew the power of creating a positive experience and how it would cause people to share their thoughts with family and friends. He knew what viral marketing was before the turn of the century!

It was critical now, Olmstead argued, to concentrate on making improvements that were most likely to increase the gleam in the stories people took back to their hometowns. “This is the advertising now most important to be developed; that of high-strung, contagious enthusiasm, growing from actual excellence: the question being not whether people shall be satisfied, but how much they shall be carried away with admiration, and infect others by their unexpected enjoyment of what they found.”

Are your customers carried away with admiration and unexpected enjoyment in what they’ve found? Remember, there is power in positive!