Buzz Marketing

Marketing has relied on word-of-mouth (WOM) for a long time – happy consumers have always told their friends about the products they like. Direct marketing often includes testimonials from ordinary people or the general public who say why they like using the product. Favourable word-of-mouth publicity – positive WOM – is highly beneficial for the brand because the person who spreads the word is usually highly trusted – a family member, for example. However, the product or service must not disappoint the target audience – it must live up to the hype created by WOM.

Buzz marketing uses existing networks, often social networks, to increase brand awareness. Social networking relies on the idea that people will pass along and share cool and entertaining content. Unlike word-of- mouth, buzz is generated by the brand itself, looking to build awareness of a product or service. A buzz marketing campaign hopes that the message will spread quickly, thanks to buzz agents, people who pass along message.

Comment UK is a company which specializes in live buzz. This is done by performers (actors) acting out live advertisement.

Brands also use stealth marketing, where consumers are not aware that they are being marketed too. The actors asked people to take pictures of them, and took the opportunity to praise the brand, saying positive things about it.

An electronic buzz marketing campaigns, also known as viral marketing, uses viral commercials – ads which are sent around the internet by users themselves. The commercials could be funny video clips (short video files), interactive flash games, images, etc. These campaigns can be started by email, in chat rooms or on discussion boards where groups of people with shared interests meet online, and on peer to peer sites such as YouTube.

At the end of a viral commercial there is usually a clickable link to “tell a friend” or “Email this page”. The success of an electronic campaign can be measured by the number of emails opened, the click-through rate – how many people clicked on the link after opening the mail – and the number of pass-along events.

Comprehension questions:

1. How can you define WOM?

2. What do you know about buzz marketing?

3. What does an electronic buzz marketing campaign use?

Referring to Unit 3

Advertising and the Marketing Concept

Advertising is the activity consumers most associate with the term marketing. Advertising is defined as a marketing communications element that is persuasive, nonpersonal, paid for by an identified sponsor, disseminated through mass channels of communication to promote the adoption of goods, services, persons, or ideas.

Effective advertising can present information about new or existing products, demonstrate meaningful uses of the product, and establish or refresh the brand’s image. It can reach a diverse or wide audience with repeated communications and gives a company the opportunity to dramatize its products and services in a colorful way.

Advertising stimulates demand, helps build brand success, develops and shapes buyer behavior, and gives the seller a measure of certainty about the level of sales. In addition, it informs buyers about product characteristics and availability and makes markets more competitive.

In many markets, first-time purchasers are rare. Here advertising is critically important in affecting brand shares by inducing switching or retaining customers who otherwise might switch. Brand switching is generated from advertising through building brand awareness or altering consumer beliefs about brands.

Advertising performs other functions as well. Some advertising supports personal selling efforts. For example, many companies advertise to increase consumer awareness of products, making later personal selling efforts easier. Such advertising, if executed effectively, generates sales, leads and communicates product advantages to prospective buyers.

It is important to remember that advertising is expensive and must be targeted effectively to achieve a firm’s objectives. Firms do not have unlimited budgets; thus, the allocation of these funds must be made with a clear view of target markets and, hence, the audience of the organization’s advertising. Further, conceiving product offerings on the basis of consumer needs and benefits is not sufficient without some form of communication, frequently advertising. That is, communication (advertising) and desired product attributes are both integral aspects of the marketing concept. Advertising is a huge industry, with annual global expenditures close to 300 billion dollars worldwide. Many advertisers hire advertising agencies to create ad campaigns and to purchase media time and space. Ad agencies employ creative people who develop unique advertising messages and media specialists who provide media planning and scheduling.

Comprehension questions:

1. How is advertising defined?

2. What can effective ad present?

3. What functions does ad perform?

4. What are the aspects of marketing concept?

5. What do advertising agencies do?