Customer Reviews

Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence and Create Demand

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Buzz relies on its anecdotes and case studies to provide insight and explanation of the topic. The example-ware is interesting enough to keep the pages turning--the book's an easy read--but I was hoping for more. Using a diving analogy, if great business texts were scuba diving, Buzz would be snorkeling. While some of the material was thought-provoking, the text casually cruises around, and never really gets down below the surface.

If you're looking to get an idea of post-Barnum, modern influence marketing, Buzz works. If you're looking for exhaustive analysis of the title material, descriptive techniques, or methods, this may not be the book for you.

As an aside, there are repeated references to the authors' own company, which only detract from the work.

A footnote: The book includes an entire chapter on and shock and negative marketing. By virtue of posting this review, I realize I'm contributing to Buzz' own buzz.

When used in the context of marketing, the word "Buzz" usually conjures up connotations of PR or creative activities executed in unprecedented ways, rather than old-school advertising.

That's a notion that the EuroRSCG authors of this book clearly do not share. Everything even remotely within the gamut of marketing is smooshed in to this all-encompassing treatise. No reason, they felt for instance, to leave out traditional creative that successfully carries "shock value" (e.g., voyeuristic ads) and thus by implication, "buzz."

Personally, I was specifically interested in examples of usage of new media such as mobile phones or blogging, but both these issues get abysmally meagre mention in the book. A case of Amnesty International from Netherlands is mentioned regarding the use of SMS. As for blogs, we are recommended, in 2 paltry pages of coverage, to keep ourselves "apprised" with what users around the world may be writing about our brands.

That's a bit like saying corporate governance is crucial for business, so well, keep your accounts clean. Right. How about a conceptual or theoretical framework, or even just a couple of concrete suggestions to actually DO something about it?

While the case studies are occasionally nifty -- e.g., MTV's hold on the spring break season for the youth in US; or Nando's in South Africa which uses creative advertising to position itself against McDonalds and KFC -- the book simply flip-flops all across the board trying to flesh out the fashionable catchet of buzz.

In the absence of any directional guidelines about how to CATALYZE such "buzz," the book falls a bit short of it promised claims. I'd still give it a 3/5 for a pretty interesting marketing read in general, it's just the title that's a bit of a gyp.

"Buzz" has about 10 pages of educational reading. The concept of alphas (also called early adopters) and betas (the buzzing group that copies the early adopters and brags about it to others) is great.

The rest of this book is a waste of time. The authors constantly trot out examples of things that went viral, but don't know enough about it to actually explain how it went viral. They weren't involved in the early planning to identify the alphas, and they don't give good explanations for what exactly made the betas adopt the alphas' ideas, so every anecdote is a smug exercise in predicting the past. "You see," the authors seem to say, "here's an example of something that became viral, which demonstrates we know what we're talking about." It's easy to retrofit your theory to fit an anecdote, but it's lazy and obvious to an intelligent reader.

In the end, an interesting framework followed by a history lesson of things that became viral does not give a marketer enough information to replicate it. And the authors' annoying habit of constantly name-dropping their agency name reveals, I think, what this book was really intended for - a customer giveaway that might generate some buzz for them. I'm not biting. And neither should you.

This book is essentially a compendium of standard marketing lore repackaged as a new gospel of brand building. Breezily if sometimes awkwardly written, it provides some useful insight into how technology and social changes have reduced the importance of advertising and magnified the impact of person-to-person chatter. Abundant examples, anecdotes and observations on current events help keep it relevant to contemporary business. Given that books trying to catch the next wave of what works can be called a success if they deliver a single insight that a reader can use effectively, we find this book successful and worth reading.

I was surfing the WEB looking for some resources on Creating Demand for products and services when I came upon this book. I immediately bought it and began reading.

There are steps to building demand for a product or service and creating the WOM (Word of mouth or "buzz") all marketers long for. By cleverly cultivating buzz, small businesses with small budgets can level the marketing playing field.


IF you want to create excitement about your product or service or launch a new product, start with BUZZ!

Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO - The WECAI Network(tm)

"Helping Women Do Business on and off the WEB."

Thought it would be rehash of other marketing books--nothing big, nothing new. Wrong. Good stuff on the trendspreaders, versus the trendsetters. Makes me rethink do you wanna be Alpha or Bee, and if you're a marketer, if you're wasting money chasing the first versus the third one to try something new. I know the authors' work from NEXT, but this BUZZ is much more focused, and insightful, also a very easy read. It's almost too fun to be a business book.

This book is written by real visionaries who thoughtfully and thoroughly open your eyes to the truth about marketing in an information saturated society. Nothing works harder or better than word of mouth and instead of waiting around and hoping it might happen for your business, buy this book and learn how to create it. You'll be amazed at the fascinating stories, ideas and practical applications crammed in this enormously intelligent book that will help you understand how to create successful buzz for your business.

Buzz is the sort of business book that lay readers will find informative and fascinating. The examples are timely and thought provoking, helping me understand why some products and campaigns are successful and others are not. In today's marketplace, the consumer needs to be as savvy as the marketer.

This book is packed full of insights and case studies. Extremely readable. I found myself picking it up again and again, reading and re-reading various chapters. An excellent field guide as to how you can and others have tapped into the power of buzz. A must read for anyone involved in marketing. It should be added to every business school's reading list.

"This book convinced me that buzz is the medium of the future. It's the reality-tv of the advertising business, 'reality-marketing' hitting home (or the street) where canned messages won't get anyone's attention anymore.

"No-nonsense with high day-to-day usefulness, it's one of the better business books I've picked up recently. I'm recommending this to all my colleagues and clients.