Abstract

The case is about the marketing of ‘The Da Vinci Code’, the international bestselling novel by Dan Brown. The novel was later made into a motion picture, which generated a lot of controversy with various Christian groups protesting against it. The case describes how word of mouth publicity resulted in the huge success of both the book and the movie. It also discusses the ethical issue of using controversy as a promotional tool.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the importance of word of mouth / viral marketing in the promotion of a book or a motion picture
• Appreciate the increased use of viral marketing as an effective promotional tool with the advent of the communications revolution.

Keywords

The Da Vinci Code, Word-of-Mouth Publicity, Viral Marketing Campaign, Marketing Ethics, Co-Branded Promotion, Bestselling Novels, Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Dan Brown, Sony Ericsson Communications AB, Google Inc., Kayak Interactive, Internet Marketing Campaign, Motion Picture Marketing, Buzz Marketing