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Exploring Marketing Campaigns That Generate Buzz
Public relations and marketing campaigns can be designed to effectively stimulate positive word-of-mouth buzz, which is an exponential expansion of word of mouth (WOM). The key to generating buzz is to generate excitement. There are various techniques that marketers can use to successfully accomplish this.
Buzz marketing has made massive successes of products and brands including Pokemon, Beanie Babies, Tickle-me-Elmo, the Harry Potter books, and Zhu Zhu Pets toy hamsters. Word can spread exponentially with little or no mass media advertising supporting it.
Successful National Buzz Marketing Campaigns Include…
During the 2004 Summer Olympics, Dodge launched the Pontiac G6. In the marketing campaign for the product launch, Dodge aired short “teaser” ads with an edgy rock theme and the G6 logo, but no car! The idea of this marketing campaign was to create build-up to the launch and generate buzz.
More recently, ABC crafted a marketing campaign for the premier of the final season of their hit show LOST. The campaign generated lots of buzz, especially online. They released trailers and commercials for the new season that did not feature any new footage. This kept online fan forums buzzing with speculations on what was to come.
Another way a marketing campaign can generate buzz is through product samplings. During the 2010 Super Bowl Dockers aired a commercial advertising a free pants giveaway. By the next morning the phrase “Dockers free pants” was the top-trending search term on Google, the leading search engine.
Using the Internet to Effectively Generate Buzz…
is a Web site based company designed to help marketing campaigns spread buzz. The site recruits everyday people to actively spread word-of-mouth about products their clients are looking to promote. Anyone can join Buzz Agent’s WOM marketing network to try new products and spread word of mouth. Some of their current campaigns include DANON Dan Active, Starbucks Pike Place Roast, and Mrs. Paul’s.
Additional Internet Marketing Techniques for Leveraging Buzz include:
Viral marketing – This is an online “pass it along” strategy. It uses electronic marketing communications to trigger brand messages throughout a widespread network of buyers. Viral marketing is often accomplished through Email Marketing Campaigns and the distributions of Electronic Press Releases.
Social Media – Social media can be used to generate buzz amongst a large network of people. Companies can create Facebook fan pages for their products or brands, Tweet about the latest news, and much more using social media sites. Online video distributions on sites like YouTube can also be very effective for product promotion.
Online Guides -These serve as online opinion leaders. , for example, utilizes online guides to provide original consumer information and advice.
