Shane Martindale Internet Marketing Strategies and Techniques

Buzz Marketing Defined

I was having a conversation with a friend, someone who’s been in PR/Marketing for many years. It started out with typical small talk. “How’s the family? What did you think of the game? About halfway through the conversation he jumped in and asked; “Ok I’ve got to know one thing, what exactly is buzz marketing? Here was someone I respected, a veteran marketer and PR wiz who worked with some of the top brands and campaigns in the country. I thought he, of all people, would get it. As I fumbled through an answer it got me asking myself; what is buzz marketing?

“Buzz marketing is an event or activity that generates publicity, excitement, and information to the consumer. It’s usually something that combines a wacky, jaw-dropping event or experience with pure branding, like tattooing your forehead. If buzz is done right, people will (talk) about it.” ~ Dave Balter, Founder and President of BzzAgent.

It’s an event or activity that reaches out, grabs you and demands your attention. In music this is called “the hook” it’s a song that you just can’t get out of your head even after the song is over. Love it or hate it, it reaches out, grabs you and doesn’t’ let go. Have you ever have had a song, a jingle, or a slogan stick in your head that you just can’t get rid of? That’s buzz at work….

Let’s look at the Old Spice campaign a little closer and see if we can determine what made it buzz worthy. What about this video makes it a great buzz campaign? It’s clever, interesting, amusing and it’s easy to talk about.

“If you haven’t given people something clever, amusing, catchy, or remarkable…if you haven’t given them something they’ll enjoy sharing with others to entertain, to sound smart or clever…forget it. You ain’t got buzz.” (Mark Hughes, Buzzmarketing: Get People to Talk About Your Stuff, 2005.)