Joining the large and unruly pantheon of advertising media and methods, viral marketing now has its own trade group. The Viral & Buzz Marketing Association (VBMA, pronounced v-aye-b-ma) launched with founding members from several European and Commonwealth countries. The group invites academics and practitioners to join on its site.

The VBMA hopes that by joining together, members can swap case studies, develop best practices and gain wider acceptance for viral marketing as a branding method. The industry eagerly await the association's first promotional efforts, in hopes they will break from traditional, insipid trade group fare.