Word-of-mouth marketing comprises a number of different measures: buzz marketing, viral marketing, influencer marketing, street marketing, user generated content and so on. These new approaches are often confounded, although even if they are complementary other they are also quite different. I will give a brief overview of these new approaches so that you know what you are talking about when conducting your next marketing 2.0 campaign…
Buzz marketing, engagement marketing, P2P marketing, permission marketing, alternative marketing, direct marketing, viral marketing, marketing 2.0… lately we have been positively invaded by a mass of terms to designate word-of-mouth marketing… and I am frequently asked what the difference is between buzz marketing and viral marketing. In the following I will explain these new marketing measures whose success seems to remain undisputed, in times in which consum-actors are not only a marketing target but also a potential relay for your communication actions.
To begin with, there is word-of-mouth. This form of communication between two people (about brands, products and services, among other things) is of course not a new phenomenon. What is new is the power, the range and the speed which word-of-mouth has gathered with the arrival of the internet and more recently with social media, blogs and video platforms…
On the internet, any information, no matter if in form of image, text or video, can from now on virtually instantaneously be reacted to and it can be propagated to a huge number of people, without any geographical limits. Formerly word-of-mouth was restricted to a certain number of family members, neighbours or colleagues. Today any internet user can profit from communication tools of a hitherto unequalled power.
In the last years, more and more brands have become aware of the power of this phenomenon. First experiments with word-of-mouth marketing like those by Hotmail, Budweiser or Blair Witch Project have now evolved to thought-through strategies for relaying a message, a video… via internet users, who themselves have become a media. Below follows a brief explanation of these new marketing approaches:
Viral Marketing is one of them. It is about facilitating the transmission of a message from one person to another. In spite of its rather scaring name, reminding one of computer viruses, viral marketing is harmless. The idea is that it works like a cold, “infecting” one person who in turn will infect other persons and so on, thus creating an exponential dynamic.
To do this, instead of interrupting people as does traditional advertising (where the audience is forcibly exposed to an advertising message), you have to offer internet users content that is so original, amusing, surprising or interesting that they will want to pass it on to others. A module that is too obviously commercial or conventional will very probably not catch.
Although humour, sex and provocation are often ingredients of success, viral marketing can take all kinds of forms, depending on the target, the message and the objective. In B2B for example the publication of a downloadable white paper is a very good example of viral marketing.
The personalisation of a message (by adding one’s name or photo to a game or video), the incentive (a symbolic or real reward that can be gained in a game for example) and intuitive use are key elements of success of this type of campaign.
Formats: viral video, e-mail, downloadable module, widget, white paper and study, Facebook application, audio and video podcast…
Examples: The personalizable homepage of La Tribune de Genève, Dove and its film “Evolution”, the “NicoMarket” viral videos against smoking, UPS and its widgets, the job website Moovement and its personalizable module “Manager of the Year” the videos on rugby and existentialism by Le Coq Sportif, the viral virtual garden by Roxy perfume, or the game “AxeBusters”.
Buzz Marketing is another technique of generating word-of-mouth. The concept here is to spread information to the consumer via an event, a measure or a spectacular, surprising or memorable action associated with a brand… A successful buzz marketing action generates word-of-mouth and media coverage. The important thing here is to create a reaction to attract attention, even by risking controversy or provocation.
Media coverage (via a PR action) is essential to make sure that you reach not only the few persons who are directly exposed to the measure. You have to facilitate the indirect experience of the action by videos broadcast by the media, video sharing platforms... the action has to be sufficiently visual, of course.
This type of action requires considerable logistic and legal know-how to overcome rules and obtain the necessary authorisations (unless you are prepared to risk paying fines), which can often be complicated and time-consuming. You also have to anticipate that some people or administrations might view these “creative measures” as a forcible invasion of their environment … so be careful with the reactions…
Examples:The latest WWF campaign against deforestation, the street marketing campaign for “Batman Begins”, the vertical rugby match by Société Générale, Jeep and its SUV parking places of VW Eos and its “solar” billboards, the bank ING and its provocative saga of clothing for the very rich or the “DIM DIM Girls” squatting the ranks at the rugby world cup.
Then there is also Influencer Marketing, which comprises seeding (creating word-of-mouth by letting opinion leaders test products) and community management. The objective is to generate word-of-mouth by involving opinion leaders online and offline (bloggers, influential consumers, VIPs, stars) and motivating them to relay a message to their audience. This can be done by offering them to test a product, to participate in an exclusive event or to gather in a special place: blog, forum, social network.
This approach requires time and a certain sensitivity… but it can pay off very well in the long term. Exchanging opinions with your consumers, creating customer loyalty and step by step transforming them into supporters allow you to enhance your recommendation rate and thus the growth of your brand. But brands do not always possess sufficient human and financial resources for following the initiated relationship every day over a longer period of time. Influentials need to be handled with care and in contrast to publicity they can not be bought… A clumsy and too commercial approach will at best disinterest them, at worse make them laugh… and can even cause negative buzz if you should have tried to manipulate them, lied to them or deceived them.
Examples: Distribution of new products to female bloggers by Dim Osmose, the social network of the brand MMMKenzoki, the “Running Club” of New Balance or the blog “Renault F1”,...
And finally there are Consumer Generated Media, also called User Generated Media. This type of action consists in letting the audience participate in the communication of a brand and more rarely the co-creation of a product or an offer. A certain number of brands have thus offered internet users to post their videos and photos in order to participate in a competition or a collaborative module (Wat.tv, Gmail, or Joga Bonito for Nike). Some even go so far as to “ask” internet users to invent the screenplay (Honda for “Superball”) or even create the future spot or billboard (Sony via “Current TV”, or SFR via “BlogBang”).
Although this type of campaign is in line with the new phenomenon of “consumer 2.0” or “consum-actor”, it sometimes fails. Often this is due to a lack of quality and sometimes participation is simply not high enough, as this demands a lot of implication and time on the part of the internet users.
What is more, one certainly has to wait a while until everyone masters the tools and expertise necessary for creating a spot… and the number of talents around is not unlimited… because if you like it or not, not everyone is a potential Spielberg ;)
Examples: EBay and its latest campaign, Diesel’s perfume and its co-creation module of customised products or the collaborative video for Gmail (more than 5,000,000 views and more than 1,000 offered videos).
All these approaches differ slightly from each other. They can be used independently or complementarity, or even combined with more traditional communication actions (TV spots or online advertising banners, billboards, press or radio). In that case we speak of integrated communication or 360° marketing…
PS : This post is the translation of the Tribune I wrote and that was published by The Journal du Net
Very Good explanation !
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