Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence and Create Demand (Hardcover)

~ Marian Salzman (Author), Ira Matathia (Author), Ann O'Reilly (Author) "Early in 2001, the playgrounds of Chicago's elementary and middle schools were beset by a widespread outbreak of Pox..." (more)
Key Phrases: silver bullet brands, buzz marketing, shock marketing, New York, United States, Calvin Klein (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an enjoyable read, liberarally peppered with illuminating and insightful case studies..." -- Marketing, 3 July 2003

"Marian Salzman has a knack for telling you what you'll be doing before you know it yourself." (The Observer, 29 June 2003)

"...an enjoyable read, liberarally peppered with illuminating and insightful case studies..." (Marketing, 3 July 2003)

“…well covered…” (Gulf Business, July 2003)

“…brand owners must get their wares talked about. The question is: how? The authors of Buzz... believe they have an answer…”(Financial Times, 24 July 2003)

"Marian Salzman has a knack for telling you what you'll be doing before you know it yourself." -- The Observer, 29 June 2003

well covered -- Gulf Business, July 2003

Product Description

Praise for Buzz

"Buzz is ‘step-ahead marketing’ at its very best. No other book comes close to combining such fresh insights with compelling case studies on this crucially important marketing topic. It’s pure dynamite."
–Kevin Lane Keller
E. B. Osborn Professor of Marketing,
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

"As the authors so enthusiastically show, every marketer wishing to create a hot product today must first create a powerful wave of buzz. And as they do so authoritatively demonstrate, that buzz must be authentic–cultivated from the ground up via real experiences."
–B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore
coauthors, The experience economy

"When Marian Salzman enters a room, she sucks out all the ennui, stagnation, and negative thinking–instantly replacing it with excitement, joy, and just plain buzz. If Marian’s spreading it, you need to catch it!"
–Seth Godin
Author, Purple Cow

"Here’s the buzz about this book: It’s smart, it’s timely, and it’s on target. If you want to apply the power of one of the oldest forms of marketing to some of the newest challenges in business, Buzz will show you how it’s done. Spread the word: This is a honey of a book!"
–Alan M. Webber
Founding Editor, Fast Company magazine

"All marketing practitioners are increasingly aware of the need to go well beyond the obvious in terms of communicating and building brands. This book caters admirably to that need, both in terms of the superb sweep of existing knowledge it puts together, as well as the insightful examples that the authors have pulled in from their own experience. As we make the transition to the 21st century, this is a must-read for all serious marketers."
–Anish Gupta
Director, Strategic Support Services, Reckitt Benckiser

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1st edition (April 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471273457
• ISBN-13: 978-0471273455
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #290,983 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a deep dive, July 26, 2004

By	P. Mykleby (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars EURO-RSCG MOUTHPIECE, LACKS FOCUS, BUT INTERESTING CASES, November 9, 2003

By	Shashank Tripathi (Gadabout) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, June 6, 2004

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.