Good morning, Marketers, and being a superspreader is a bad thing, right?
Cursory research suggests that “superspreader event” has been a term of art (or science) among epidemiologists since at least 2005. It’s now entered everyday language, of course, thanks to COVID, and the depressing spectacle of large numbers of people continuing to gather without masks or social distancing.
Which means it’s also now ready to hand as a metaphor, as in a New York Times article published yesterday afternoon which identified a number of usual suspects as “superspreaders” of falsehoods about the election on social media. It seems that some 25 “superspreaders” were responsible for almost 30% of social interactions around voter fraud misinformation.
Why marketers should care: imagine social media influencers for brands getting that kind of traction. Every brand should have a “superspreader” — just maybe call them something else.
Kim Davis
Editorial Director, MarTech Today