Blog 1: The Science of Going Viral: What Chemistry Taught Me About Marketing Reactions

In chemistry, no reaction happens without energy. You need heat, catalysts, and just the right conditions for molecules to collide and transform. Funnily enough, marketing mimics this process.

Every viral campaign, every post, hashtag, or video that seems to ignite overnight, is a carefully balanced reaction mixture. However, the ingredients aren’t chemicals. They’re reach, timing, engagement, and trust.

In this blog post, I want to break down how thinking like a scientist has helped me think more strategically as a marketer.

Let’s break this marketing reaction formula down into its components:

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1.     Activation Energy = Capturing Audience Attention

In chemistry, activation energy is the minimum spark needed to start a reaction. Without it, nothing moves. In marketing, your activation energy is attention. It’s the hardest element to capture in today’s crowded digital environment.

Every successful campaign begins with a strong trigger: a story that resonates, an emotion that sticks, or a question that demands to be answered.

Think of Dove’s Real Beauty campaign. Its activation energy wasn’t shock value, it was empathy. By challenging traditional beauty standards, Dove gave audiences a reason to care, share, and respond.

My marketing takeaway: don’t waste energy trying to be everywhere. Focus your energy where it matters, the moment that makes your audience stop scrolling.

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2.     Catalysts = Influencers, Community, and Timing

A catalyst in chemistry speeds up reactions without ever being consumed. In marketing, catalysts are your influencers, trends, and communities. They are the forces that accelerate engagement without changing your core message.

When Airbnb launched its “Belong Anywhere” campaign, it used community-generated stories (UGC) as catalysts. These stories turned an abstract brand idea into something emotionally grounded and authentic.

Catalysts are powerful because they make reactions (and messages) happen faster. The right influencer can amplify your message exponentially, but only if the chemistry is right.

My marketing takeaway: choose catalysts that share your brand’s values. Authenticity always reacts stronger than exposure.

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3.     Equilibrium = Finding Brand Balance

In chemistry, reactions eventually reach equilibrium: a balance between forward and reverse processes. For brands, equilibrium is about consistency and sustainability.

Going viral once is exciting, but sustaining engagement over time is where real strategy begins. Think of Nike: decades of consistent storytelling around empowerment and movement have built equilibrium. Their brand evolves, but the message stays the same. We can “just do it” too, within our own brands.

My marketing takeaway: don’t chase viral explosions. Focus on creating steady, self-sustaining reactions that reinforce your brand’s long-term identity.

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4.     Reaction Yield = Measuring ROI and Retention

Finally, every scientist evaluates their reaction by its yield (how much useful product is produced). In marketing, yield is your ROI, your brand retention, your repeat engagement.

High yields don’t always mean big numbers. Sometimes, it means long-term relationships built on trust and credibility. A smaller, loyal audience that converts consistently is far more valuable than thousands of fleeting clicks and high churn rates. Remember Customer Lifetime

Value is an important factor in profitability.

My marketing takeaway: define your yield before you begin. Is your goal awareness, loyalty, or conversion? Without a clear hypothesis, you can’t measure your true reaction success.

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The Experiment Mindset

My science degree taught me that failed reactions aren’t really failures, they’re data. Every experiment brings insight, even when it doesn’t go as planned. Marketing works the same way.

The best marketers are curious, iterative, and unafraid to tweak the formula. Test new approaches, analyse results, and refine methods.

Great marketing isn’t magic, it’s a careful science with a dose of creativity.