“I heard it’s about a girl that likes to be raped.”

“I heard it’s about a pervert that kidnaps innocent women and makes them sex slaves.”

“It’s supposed to be like Twilight on escstacy.”

Within the past month, I have heard people utter these phrases and many more when referencing the overnight sensation that is, Fifty Shades of Gray. This book is an example of something that has gained incredible publicity just through word of mouth. Author, E L James, wrote a trilogy, mostly on her Blackberry that is currently competing with itself for the #1, #2 & #3 spots on the NY Times bestseller list. It’s surprising that James wrote this on her Blackberry but more so that her success has been without any traditional marketing. James was strategic about introducing Fifty Shades of Gray to the world. She wrote something that women would talk about and I can assure you, if it’s worthy, women will talk about it.

 Without any real advertising, the Fifty Shades of Grey Facebook page jumped from 0 to nearly 60,000 in a matter of days.

Women cry when they meet James and tell her that her book saved their marriage, I sense a cult-like following developing before our very eyes. It’s yet another example of the power of word of mouth marketing. Our goal is to add a little “fifty” inspired marketing into all of our client campaigns by strategic positioning to ensure positive conversation, however, we will leave the eroticism to James.