The Buzz marketing as a communication tool to reach your objectives beside crisis
Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchangingofferings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. It means that any marketing executive/manager should adapt their product the best to satisfy consumers. Theories of marketing and advertising are supposed to give the irrevocable formula that will make your product a success. But the world, the people, the mentalities are changing every day, isn’t it? And companies have a clear choice: to adapt or to die. No one can live forever on a previous success. So the fact that world economy is on crisis shouldn’t be seen as a “problem” for marketing people, but as an “information” that they need to adapt their offer to a new reality: The economy is more fragile, companies are closing, salaries are cut, people get afraid of loosing their job, they consume less which push the economy to be even more fragile. The circle is complete. It doesn’t mean that customer will stop buying, it means that they will consume differently. And companies that are able to understand / anticipate these new behaviors and adapt themselves to it will survive the crisis. The others could be not that lucky.
Let me ask you a key question: Have you though about the crisis as a positive happening? Which opportunities have been created thanks to the crisis? As a marketer you probably already asked yourself this question. For my part I see at least two answers:
First, by decreasing their advertising budget, your competitors will loose part of their visibility. It means that it will give you extra-opportunity to get visible and increase your awareness level.
At this point you may or may not have a relevant communication budget. If you do, than do not hesitate to discuss extra discount with your agency, you will have it. The big question is what to do when you don’t have sufficient budget anymore? Buzz marketing will provide you with the solution.
The two questions that you should answer now are “what” and “how”. “What” refers to the brand content that you will diffuse the “how” means the way you will reach your target group.
Your company is producing or distributing products or services. What is your target audience thinking and saying about these? Does your offer perfectly respond to your target group expectations? Are customers discussing and recommending the product to each other? Apple is one of the worldwide leader in marketing technology. When releasing a new product (like iphone) you can be sure that consumers will discuss, comment and share information about it. The marketing is transferred to consumers, who will engage conversation with their peers alike to be attracted to the product. Those are so called “buzz worthy” products, product so exciting that people will want by themselves to evangelize them.
If the product is common FMCG, it will less likely generate spontaneous conversation. The first goal of the buzz marketing is to create the “buzz factor” that will make the product discussed (what Seth Godin will refers as the “ideavirus”). There are many ways to create this “buzz factor” improving the product (composition, size, color, texture, smell, taste, image, packaging, distribution channel…) or the brand (history, testimonials, rumors, celebrity endorsement, social action…). The right choice of the “buzz factor shall always support your brand’s message. For example the American company “The Meow mix” which is specialized in cat food product had decided to create branded content and open a temporary restaurant for cat in the heart of Manhattan creating an important buzz around the brand.
In order to reach your target group and have it diffuse the information on your brand/product, you must be able to surprise and excite your audience. You already now that consumers tend to be less influenced by usual advertising. They don’t pay attention to billboard, switch channel on TV and add anti-spam program to their computers. Within the same idea, they don’t like to be approached in gas stations or shopping mall by over-bored promo persons. To be positively out taken, your message should be delivered in an unusual and entertaining way so people would have immediately a positive experience with your brand. Viral video is probably the most famous buzz marketing tool; the idea is to create a video commercial that will be placed only on the internet and to have people forwarding the video to each other (idea of virus contamination). If the viral content is to weak, not funny, not puzzling, not innovative or not controversial enough the video will not be diffused from peer to peer and don’t achieve success (which is probably the case of 90% of virus videos). Stop investing in sexual content: For example the viral video of agent provocateur with Kylie Minogue which was the first viral video exposing the brand with sexual content has been viewed over 100 millions times. But the viral video for Russian food chain proposing “hot breakfast” with naked girls hardly reached more than ten thousands hits, because the idea lack of connection with the brand and originality (naked girls as you understand can be used to sale 100% of existing products on earth). Ambient media and guerilla marketing are often connected. The idea is to use existing urban environment to show your brand/product in a way it hasn’t been seen before. This kind of placement is generally more aggressive and more controversial in order to have people react to it. Ambient and guerilla can endorse many different aspects: integration to urban elements, change the form/size/destination/location of objects, create interaction or optic illusions, use competitors installations… For example Absolut Vodka had a campaign called “the Absolut world week” proposing people to experience what would be an Absolut perfect world. The campaign included the creation of an Absolut newspaper displaying only positive news, free Porsche Cayman taxi and cash machines giving away 20 euros bills for free. Street marketing proposes the same unexpected approach of the target group as Ambient and Guerilla marketing but through the use of special promo team. For example Ikea had redecorate public phone booth and bus stops in New York, inviting even passer-by to take the furniture home. Finally micro-event has as specific purpose to create interaction with the audience. Often it consists in temporary installations indoor (cinema/shopping malls) or outdoor (parks, pedestrian streets, metro) proposing an experience with the brand. For example when Audi was launching the new TT car model, they wanted to transmit their target group the exclusive sensation of driving a convertible car. They decide to create an interactive cinema experience where the clients while seating prior to the film had the possibility of seeing a film that features a car ride from the eyes of the driver, while powerful fences were recreating the sensation of wind, providing viewers with the sensation of driving the convertible car.
In conclusion Buzz marketing can really make your brand seen and discussed by your target group if you succeed in having a really unusual and creative marketing approach of your audience.
Second, if less people are buying your products/services it gives you valuable information: people that are still buying from you are your heavy users. You have now the opportunity to know them and to start discussing with them to improve brand-loyalty. This second aspect of buzz marketing that is much closer to the exploitation of a CRM program: the relationship orientated communication. The idea is not anymore to attract directly new customers or to make media mentioning your brand. The purpose of this buzz marketing is to create a strong and permanent relationship with brand users, to convert them into high loyal client and brand ambassadors willing to discuss and recommend your brand naturally. This is a two steps process consisting first in identifying your most loyal consumers and potential influencers among them, second involving them within your brand in order to have them preaching the good word about your brand/products/services.
The reality is that customers are increasingly taking control of the marketing communication landscape. Consumers are already talking about the brands and products and they can spread positive comments as well as negative comments which can hardly be controlled. The idea is for buzz marketing to influence on that flow. Listening to the market and understanding what people are saying about your brand or product is the first step of any buzz marketing action. It has several positive effects: First it is a good starting point for building a long terms relationship with customers. Second it gives valuable information on what is relevant about the product for customers. Third it helps to identify the influencers and opinion leaders. Research can also provide such data as how customers influence one another. The last important point here is to understand that if internet presents many possibilities to gather data on a brand, an online advertising campaign or on the brand’s target audience, a very important part of this process relies on the analysis of this data and the analyzer capacities to come up to conclusions
Creating interaction with your target group is the second step of the buzz marketing process. Different tools allow you to create and develop a direct relationship with your consumers. The goal is to give your best customers a status, recognize them as your VIPs to make them feel like they are effectively important to the brand. Then you must provide them with interesting and exclusive brand content to have them diffuse your information from peer to peer. Seeding trials involve targeted sampling with opinion leaders, conducted in the name of research, having in mind to create goodwill, loyalty and advocacy by putting the products in opinion leaders’ hand and giving them to say their opinion. You must remember that the opinion of 10% of any target market will drive the behavior of the other 90%. By asking advice and taking into consideration the opinion leader’s opinion you will be able to turn them in brand advocates and brand evangelists who will spread good word of mouth about your product. Seeding trial offers enable to business to connect with opinion leaders, offering brand involvement. “Get it first” sampling, “inside scoops” and VIP votes, reinforces this involvement. For example, the Unilever Dove “Share a secret” campaign turned loyal users of Dove soap into active brand advocates by enabling them to order free Dove samples and send them to their friends. Web management is an early warning PR system essential to brand development and protection – it checks what information in circulating on the internet that may not be intended for public knowledge, or may be damaging for brand identity. It assesses brand awareness by scanning who’s talking about your brand and products and what they are saying. It evaluates the effectiveness of the marketing campaign. It gathers competitor data and evaluates the aspects of competitor’s products that excite consumers. Brand community. Influencer marketing aims to create a relationship with your most influential users. Opinion leaders are interested in the product category, it is significant for their lives for various reasons, and they spend a lot of time with these products. It is because they are involved with the category that they talk about it so much. To control the appearance of bad word of mouth, first make complaining to the company as easy as possible, and consumers will let off steam this way, instead of complaining to their friends. Second, make the impression that the company is willing and able to set things right, as “perceived justice” again reduces negative word of mouth(…) . Brand advocates are regular clients, customers or consumers with no special opinion leading powers, but who like your brand so much that they will recommend it to others. The brand advocates, also called brand evangelists are different from opinion leader because they derive their influence not from the fact that there were offered to try the product first or that they have been asked for advice but just because they are highly satisfied adopters so they are very enthusiastic about your brand. The most common tool to transform brand adorers into brand advocates is the “send to a friend” link (customers get customers scheme with rewards gift – discount). Brand ambassadors. Blog marketing is the use of a webblog to diffuse your brand’s message. There are three principal approaches of blog marketing: Opinion leaders’ blog endorsement is an extinction of PR – maintaining good relations with “high profile” bloggers about subjects that are relevant for your brand. One of the key of the success is to conduct them in the spirit of transparency and partnership. The idea is not to try to “buy out” no matter what the bloggers but to give them all the information they need about the brand, let them know about exclusive materials, inviting them to openings, asking their opinion on different subjects, sending samples and demos , … For example Nokia likes to ask some key bloggers to test their new technology prior to the official release, which create affinity with these bloggers and improve their expert status. A company can create its own Brand blogs and Corporate blogs about the brand or the products. A business blog has to offer compelling, constantly updated content to excite the consumers’ interest. This is often achieved by having the key-employees (high-profile, opinion leading executives, board members) to give info and thoughts. The challenge is to make reader keep coming back. Faux blogs or fake blogs are promotional blogs written to appear as if they are authored by real clients, customers or consumers. Often used to stimulate the interest of a new product, they fall under the controversial area of stealth marketing. The risk if they are found is to achieve negative PR.
As every brand, product, industry and country are different there is no universal solution to make consumers buy more and recommend more your specific product. Combining a tactical and strategic approach of your market buzz marketing offers you the techniques and technology to reach efficiently your target group and create a long terms relationship with it. With the development of new technologies, consumers will always be more informed about what they are buying and the market’s offers. They are taking control of the communication landscape becoming the first source of reliable information, far more trusted than any advertising campaign, whether you want it or not.
By Thierry CELLERIN- Specialist in buzz marketing-
Ref.:
• Rosen, Emmanuel (2000) The Anatomy of Buzz: Creating Word of Mouth Marketing. New York: Doubleday
• Kirby, Justin and Mardsen, Paul (2006) Connected Marketing: The Viral, Buzz and Word of Mouth Revolution. UK: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Stambouli, Karim (2002) Buzz Marketing: Les Stratégies du Bouche-à-Oreille. Paris : Editions d’Organisation.
• Godin, Seth (2000) Unleashing the ideavirus. New York: Do You Zoom,Inc.
Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchangingofferings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. It means that any marketing executive/manager should adapt their product the best to satisfy consumers. Theories of marketing and advertising are supposed to give the irrevocable formula that will make your product a success. But the world, the people, the mentalities are changing every day, isn’t it? And companies have a clear choice: to adapt or to die. No one can live forever on a previous success. So the fact that world economy is on crisis shouldn’t be seen as a “problem” for marketing people, but as an “information” that they need to adapt their offer to a new reality: The economy is more fragile, companies are closing, salaries are cut, people get afraid of loosing their job, they consume less which push the economy to be even more fragile. The circle is complete. It doesn’t mean that customer will stop buying, it means that they will consume differently. And companies that are able to understand / anticipate these new behaviors and adapt themselves to it will survive the crisis. The others could be not that lucky.
Let me ask you a key question: Have you though about the crisis as a positive happening? Which opportunities have been created thanks to the crisis? As a marketer you probably already asked yourself this question. For my part I see at least two answers:
First, by decreasing their advertising budget, your competitors will loose part of their visibility. It means that it will give you extra-opportunity to get visible and increase your awareness level.
At this point you may or may not have a relevant communication budget. If you do, than do not hesitate to discuss extra discount with your agency, you will have it. The big question is what to do when you don’t have sufficient budget anymore? Buzz marketing will provide you with the solution.
The two questions that you should answer now are “what” and “how”. “What” refers to the brand content that you will diffuse the “how” means the way you will reach your target group.
Your company is producing or distributing products or services. What is your target audience thinking and saying about these? Does your offer perfectly respond to your target group expectations? Are customers discussing and recommending the product to each other? Apple is one of the worldwide leader in marketing technology. When releasing a new product (like iphone) you can be sure that consumers will discuss, comment and share information about it. The marketing is transferred to consumers, who will engage conversation with their peers alike to be attracted to the product. Those are so called “buzz worthy” products, product so exciting that people will want by themselves to evangelize them.
If the product is common FMCG, it will less likely generate spontaneous conversation. The first goal of the buzz marketing is to create the “buzz factor” that will make the product discussed (what Seth Godin will refers as the “ideavirus”). There are many ways to create this “buzz factor” improving the product (composition, size, color, texture, smell, taste, image, packaging, distribution channel…) or the brand (history, testimonials, rumors, celebrity endorsement, social action…). The right choice of the “buzz factor shall always support your brand’s message. For example the American company “The Meow mix” which is specialized in cat food product had decided to create branded content and open a temporary restaurant for cat in the heart of Manhattan creating an important buzz around the brand.
In order to reach your target group and have it diffuse the information on your brand/product, you must be able to surprise and excite your audience. You already now that consumers tend to be less influenced by usual advertising. They don’t pay attention to billboard, switch channel on TV and add anti-spam program to their computers. Within the same idea, they don’t like to be approached in gas stations or shopping mall by over-bored promo persons. To be positively out taken, your message should be delivered in an unusual and entertaining way so people would have immediately a positive experience with your brand. Viral video is probably the most famous buzz marketing tool; the idea is to create a video commercial that will be placed only on the internet and to have people forwarding the video to each other (idea of virus contamination). If the viral content is to weak, not funny, not puzzling, not innovative or not controversial enough the video will not be diffused from peer to peer and don’t achieve success (which is probably the case of 90% of virus videos). Stop investing in sexual content: For example the viral video of agent provocateur with Kylie Minogue which was the first viral video exposing the brand with sexual content has been viewed over 100 millions times. But the viral video for Russian food chain proposing “hot breakfast” with naked girls hardly reached more than ten thousands hits, because the idea lack of connection with the brand and originality (naked girls as you understand can be used to sale 100% of existing products on earth). Ambient media and guerilla marketing are often connected. The idea is to use existing urban environment to show your brand/product in a way it hasn’t been seen before. This kind of placement is generally more aggressive and more controversial in order to have people react to it. Ambient and guerilla can endorse many different aspects: integration to urban elements, change the form/size/destination/location of objects, create interaction or optic illusions, use competitors installations… For example Absolut Vodka had a campaign called “the Absolut world week” proposing people to experience what would be an Absolut perfect world. The campaign included the creation of an Absolut newspaper displaying only positive news, free Porsche Cayman taxi and cash machines giving away 20 euros bills for free. Street marketing proposes the same unexpected approach of the target group as Ambient and Guerilla marketing but through the use of special promo team. For example Ikea had redecorate public phone booth and bus stops in New York, inviting even passer-by to take the furniture home. Finally micro-event has as specific purpose to create interaction with the audience. Often it consists in temporary installations indoor (cinema/shopping malls) or outdoor (parks, pedestrian streets, metro) proposing an experience with the brand. For example when Audi was launching the new TT car model, they wanted to transmit their target group the exclusive sensation of driving a convertible car. They decide to create an interactive cinema experience where the clients while seating prior to the film had the possibility of seeing a film that features a car ride from the eyes of the driver, while powerful fences were recreating the sensation of wind, providing viewers with the sensation of driving the convertible car.
In conclusion Buzz marketing can really make your brand seen and discussed by your target group if you succeed in having a really unusual and creative marketing approach of your audience.
Second, if less people are buying your products/services it gives you valuable information: people that are still buying from you are your heavy users. You have now the opportunity to know them and to start discussing with them to improve brand-loyalty. This second aspect of buzz marketing that is much closer to the exploitation of a CRM program: the relationship orientated communication. The idea is not anymore to attract directly new customers or to make media mentioning your brand. The purpose of this buzz marketing is to create a strong and permanent relationship with brand users, to convert them into high loyal client and brand ambassadors willing to discuss and recommend your brand naturally. This is a two steps process consisting first in identifying your most loyal consumers and potential influencers among them, second involving them within your brand in order to have them preaching the good word about your brand/products/services.
The reality is that customers are increasingly taking control of the marketing communication landscape. Consumers are already talking about the brands and products and they can spread positive comments as well as negative comments which can hardly be controlled. The idea is for buzz marketing to influence on that flow. Listening to the market and understanding what people are saying about your brand or product is the first step of any buzz marketing action. It has several positive effects: First it is a good starting point for building a long terms relationship with customers. Second it gives valuable information on what is relevant about the product for customers. Third it helps to identify the influencers and opinion leaders. Research can also provide such data as how customers influence one another. The last important point here is to understand that if internet presents many possibilities to gather data on a brand, an online advertising campaign or on the brand’s target audience, a very important part of this process relies on the analysis of this data and the analyzer capacities to come up to conclusions
Creating interaction with your target group is the second step of the buzz marketing process. Different tools allow you to create and develop a direct relationship with your consumers. The goal is to give your best customers a status, recognize them as your VIPs to make them feel like they are effectively important to the brand. Then you must provide them with interesting and exclusive brand content to have them diffuse your information from peer to peer. Seeding trials involve targeted sampling with opinion leaders, conducted in the name of research, having in mind to create goodwill, loyalty and advocacy by putting the products in opinion leaders’ hand and giving them to say their opinion. You must remember that the opinion of 10% of any target market will drive the behavior of the other 90%. By asking advice and taking into consideration the opinion leader’s opinion you will be able to turn them in brand advocates and brand evangelists who will spread good word of mouth about your product. Seeding trial offers enable to business to connect with opinion leaders, offering brand involvement. “Get it first” sampling, “inside scoops” and VIP votes, reinforces this involvement. For example, the Unilever Dove “Share a secret” campaign turned loyal users of Dove soap into active brand advocates by enabling them to order free Dove samples and send them to their friends. Web management is an early warning PR system essential to brand development and protection – it checks what information in circulating on the internet that may not be intended for public knowledge, or may be damaging for brand identity. It assesses brand awareness by scanning who’s talking about your brand and products and what they are saying. It evaluates the effectiveness of the marketing campaign. It gathers competitor data and evaluates the aspects of competitor’s products that excite consumers. Brand community. Influencer marketing aims to create a relationship with your most influential users. Opinion leaders are interested in the product category, it is significant for their lives for various reasons, and they spend a lot of time with these products. It is because they are involved with the category that they talk about it so much. To control the appearance of bad word of mouth, first make complaining to the company as easy as possible, and consumers will let off steam this way, instead of complaining to their friends. Second, make the impression that the company is willing and able to set things right, as “perceived justice” again reduces negative word of mouth(…) . Brand advocates are regular clients, customers or consumers with no special opinion leading powers, but who like your brand so much that they will recommend it to others. The brand advocates, also called brand evangelists are different from opinion leader because they derive their influence not from the fact that there were offered to try the product first or that they have been asked for advice but just because they are highly satisfied adopters so they are very enthusiastic about your brand. The most common tool to transform brand adorers into brand advocates is the “send to a friend” link (customers get customers scheme with rewards gift – discount). Brand ambassadors. Blog marketing is the use of a webblog to diffuse your brand’s message. There are three principal approaches of blog marketing: Opinion leaders’ blog endorsement is an extinction of PR – maintaining good relations with “high profile” bloggers about subjects that are relevant for your brand. One of the key of the success is to conduct them in the spirit of transparency and partnership. The idea is not to try to “buy out” no matter what the bloggers but to give them all the information they need about the brand, let them know about exclusive materials, inviting them to openings, asking their opinion on different subjects, sending samples and demos , … For example Nokia likes to ask some key bloggers to test their new technology prior to the official release, which create affinity with these bloggers and improve their expert status. A company can create its own Brand blogs and Corporate blogs about the brand or the products. A business blog has to offer compelling, constantly updated content to excite the consumers’ interest. This is often achieved by having the key-employees (high-profile, opinion leading executives, board members) to give info and thoughts. The challenge is to make reader keep coming back. Faux blogs or fake blogs are promotional blogs written to appear as if they are authored by real clients, customers or consumers. Often used to stimulate the interest of a new product, they fall under the controversial area of stealth marketing. The risk if they are found is to achieve negative PR.
As every brand, product, industry and country are different there is no universal solution to make consumers buy more and recommend more your specific product. Combining a tactical and strategic approach of your market buzz marketing offers you the techniques and technology to reach efficiently your target group and create a long terms relationship with it. With the development of new technologies, consumers will always be more informed about what they are buying and the market’s offers. They are taking control of the communication landscape becoming the first source of reliable information, far more trusted than any advertising campaign, whether you want it or not.
By Thierry CELLERIN- Specialist in buzz marketing-
Ref.:
• Rosen, Emmanuel (2000) The Anatomy of Buzz: Creating Word of Mouth Marketing. New York: Doubleday
• Kirby, Justin and Mardsen, Paul (2006) Connected Marketing: The Viral, Buzz and Word of Mouth Revolution. UK: Butterworth-Heinemann
• Stambouli, Karim (2002) Buzz Marketing: Les Stratégies du Bouche-à-Oreille. Paris : Editions d’Organisation.
• Godin, Seth (2000) Unleashing the ideavirus. New York: Do You Zoom,Inc.
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