What Is Buzz Marketing?

Buzz marketing, commonly known as "oral publicity marketing", is an innovative marketing method of the traditional "word of mouth" method in the new economy. The word "Buzz" in the English term "Buzz Marketing" of verbal marketing refers to "the sound of crickets, or buzzing". Therefore, Buzz Marketing is also translated as "buzz marketing". It is a very cheap marketing method that is mainly used by people (can be consumers or corporate marketers) to disseminate information about corporate products (or services) to target audiences. Buzz marketing is mainly based on people's awareness of corporate products and The direct experience of the service.

Buzz Marketing

Buzz marketing, commonly known as "oral publicity marketing", is an innovative marketing method of the traditional "word of mouth" method in the new economy. The word "Buzz" in the English term "Buzz Marketing" of verbal marketing refers to "the sound of crickets, or buzzing". Therefore, Buzz Marketing is also translated as "buzz marketing". It is a very cheap marketing method that mainly uses people (can be consumers or corporate marketers) to disseminate information about corporate products (or services) to target audiences. Buzz marketing is mainly based on people's

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Buzz marketing is flexible and different from traditional methods

Buzz marketing is a project that requires careful planning and can be done like

Buzz marketing posing as consumers

Employing extras to act as shoppers or consumers is the most common and traditional method of buzz marketing. Hollywood production companies, tobacco companies, alcoholic beverage companies, or because of restrictions by advertising law, or the product life cycle is too short (the film screening cycle is usually only two weeks), it is difficult to carry out a complete advertising campaign, they are the most First adopted this marketing method.

Sony Ericsson hired 120 actors to play couples or couples in the most lively areas of major U.S. cities such as the Empire State Building near New York. They invited passersby who might become target customers to take pictures of them and took the opportunity to promote them to the new features of T68i. Nicky Csellak-Claeys, president of strategic marketing at Sony Ericsson America, described this as a "proactive campaign to reach consumers."

Now, not only some small and medium-sized enterprises with limited marketing budgets prefer this marketing method, but it is also favored by large companies such as Procter & Gamble and Ford. In western countries such as the United States, beep marketing staff hired by companies frequently appear in streets, cafes, night clubs, supermarkets and other places. The method of beep marketing has also changed from simply making gimmicks at the beginning to becoming more skillful and undisguised. .

The biggest problem currently faced by the shopper / consumer marketing method is that with the widespread application of this method, more and more extras have appeared in consumers' lives, and consumers no longer trust them. Even a little bored. Once consumers feel cheated, they will trigger a serious public relations crisis for the company. The failure of Sony Pictures Entertainment to buzz marketing its films "Vertical Limits" and "Human Face" is a good example. The popularity of buzz marketing has even sparked debate in the academic world about the impact of business on society, culture and people's lives.

What is more serious is that if the information hired by the company's extras during the marketing campaign is not accurate enough, it will cause damage to the brand and corporate image. In April 2001, IBM sued its public relations and marketing company because the information spread by buzz marketing had undermined the company's low-key, calm style.

Buzz marketing grabs opinion leaders

The key to the success of Buzz Marketing is to find a vehicle for disseminating marketing information-those opinion leaders who have a strong influence on a market. Philip Kotler defines "opinion leaders" as people in a reference group who can influence other members of the group due to special skills, knowledge, personality, and other characteristics. Opinion leaders are like customers' own spokespersons, and they are the makers of word-of-mouth propaganda.

In marketing communications, people have paid great attention to the role of "opinion leaders". For example, the delicate skin of female stars makes them "opinion leaders" in skin care and cosmetics. "Opinion Leaders"; nutrition experts are certainly "Opinion Leaders" in food; doctors must be "Opinion Leaders" in medicine ...

King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour first cultivated 2,000 "dead parties" as the consumer leaders of its brand with an online "baking circle". Through their word-of-mouth and word-of-mouth communication, they influenced and developed more potential customers. 60% of new customers came from their recommend. The "baking circle" is getting bigger and bigger, and it has grown to more than 100,000 people.

Currently, young consumers are the most popular among buzz marketers. They don't like the mass media, and opinion leaders influence them very much. More importantly, they are in the formative period of brand preference. If they establish their preference and loyalty to a brand at this time, it will have a significant impact on their life and the spending habits of their spouses and children.

Malcolm Gladwell's monograph "Detonation Trend" summarizes the personality characteristics that are conducive to pioneering the trend, analyzes cases such as children's television, smoking, and post advertisements, and reveals how to use a minority of opinion leaders. The principles and methods to trigger and maintain social trends and trends are a panoramic textbook for Buzz Marketing. In 2002, it was named one of the 20 greatest American business books in the past 20 years by Forbes Magazine. Thoughts on Buzz Marketing

Although buzz marketing has many advantages and is becoming more and more widely used, marketing experts still believe that the scope of buzz marketing is limited to those that are positioned in specific market segments. Consumers, for their own use, technical complexity and representative status, etc. Considerations, making a more prudent decision about a product or service. Peter Sealey, former director of marketing at the Coca-Cola Company and associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business, said: "One of the flaws in Buzz Marketing is that it only works for high-engagement product categories. If I want to launch a new BMW model or re- With the launch of the Ford Thunderbird series, I will definitely use Buzz Marketing as part of my marketing mix. But if I were a marketer of Snapple fruit drinks or Tide detergent, I would not use Buzz Marketing. "

Not only that, the rapid popularity of Buzz Marketing also heralded its decline. Imagine if every company used buzz marketing, buzz marketing would become a nasty advertisement. Jonathan Lessler, CEO of Big Fat Promotions, and a planner for Lottery Cigarettes, said: "Buzz marketing will face itself in the future. Marketers must change their minds to come up with something that is incredible and different for consumers. The marketing plan came out. This is the biggest challenge of buzz marketing. "