This article from The Indian EXPRESS shows that the conversation about buzz is truly world wide! And yet, no matter where in the world you're talking about buzz, there are basic truths that need to be followed!
When you add up all the comments made at any point in time about a particular film or product you get what is called the Buzz of that product. Newsweek defined buzz as ‘infectious chatter; genuine street level excitement about a hot new person, place or thing.’Buzz is all the word of mouth about a brand. It is the total of all person to person communication about a product. People all around the world constantly exchange comments about everything they consume. Be it a new hair shampoo or the latest meditation technique dished out by a guru. Purchasing a product is a part of a social process, like that kid asking the man how the movie was. It is this one to one interaction, and not the one to one interaction between the manufacturer and the customer, that ultimately moves a product and makes it a winner.
In this age of communication revolution these exchanges use several means of transportation, but whether these comments move through phone lines, via e-mail or echo in a beauty salon while getting a hair cut, comments always start in one brain and end up in another.
Buzz starts with a superior user experience. We in the movie world are aware about the dangers of scaling up the expectations of the viewers through aggressive advertising. Whenever a product over promises and under delivers the maker has egg on his face. One of the most effective ways to exceed expecttions is to price the product below what the customers anticipate. And deliver a great experience. When TIPS Music slashed the price of a compact disc from 300 rupees to 99 rupees and delivered an album like Raaz it paved the way for a blockbuster. So the mantra is that it is always better to under promise and over deliver.
One knows that despite of all our findings the need for conventional advertising will still endure. However the challenge is to advertise in a way that helps to build buzz, not dampen it.
One of the questions to ask before you begin to advertise is, whether or not the campaign can jump-start buzz for your product. Or can the ads themselves be made clever enough to create buzz. The thing to find out is whether the campaign will give buzz a chance to build, because otherwise, ads can kill buzz.
Link: The great myth of marketing.
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