I blame facebook (and possibly Teletubbies, but I’m not sure why the latter just yet) for the direction in which the buzz vs message balance is shifting. Why blame? Primarily due to the manner in which message are shared and the speed in which they are processed (or absorbed) by those viewing them.
In short: marketing messages MUST be buzz worthy in order to spread within a social network of “friends.” Nothing new. But the dynamic mix of all your marketing factors is what’s interesting.
This is very important: increased importance of “Buzz” does NOT demote the importance of the message… it simply increases the necessary weight of “Buzz” within the marketing matrix. I’m not suggesting a 2 Legit 2 Quit type election campaign commercial (yeah… if you don’t know about that one yet, go ahead and click the link for a Google search). A good marketer and advertising campaign can have a good message, respect the viewer AND have buzz. We do not have to sacrifice message or design for buzz; they can work together.
Look at it this way: in the past we had a percentage that added up to 100% of your marketing package: buzz, design, message, channel, etc. all resulted in 100%. This has changed insofar as the mix is as though it all adds up to MORE than 100%. The design and message and targeting have not become less important, but the buzz has increased almost as if its a separate beast or independent measure outside of the other aspects.
The buzz worthiness factor is measured by its likelihood (conversion rate percentage) that it will get passed along from one person to another. Of course you want that to be high. Apple’s “Think Different” ad campaign had both great buzz and great message (that thing would have gone totally viral in our “social networking world”).
What I challenge marketing managers, creative directors, and the person just starting out his or her own business out of a garage is to never forget the power of brand integrity and a clear message. To sacrifice those two things, even for just a brief campaign to get some viral attention, has a permanent impact on your branding and your brand’s culture credibility. You never want to damage your brand because of an overwhelming desire to create a campaign that goes viral for a week or two.
You CAN get a lot of buzz while maintaining your brand and message. You just have to be
- smart;
- creative, and;
- understand exactly what your brand stands for.
A long term marketing strategy is not one that throws random identities at “the facebook” or “the youtube” and then hope one goes viral. Do that, and in time your brand identity, your company / corporate identity will be incredibly diluted.
Both are important. The overall weight of “Buzz” is definitely increasing, but please, for the sake of your own brand and business, don’t sacrifice message for buzz.
