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Is buzz marketing a boon or a bother?
By Wan Lixin |
March 6, 2009, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
EDITOR'S Note:
Many Chinese people are complaining about noisy advertisements that pop up everywhere from outdoor billboards to indoor TVs. Does this Western style of "buzz" marketing work in China?
Professor Dominique Turpin is director of the International Seminar for Top Executives at the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland. During his recent visit to Shanghai, he shared his views about branding with Shanghai Daily columnist Wan Lixin. Following are excerpts:
Q: Some office buildings in Shanghai have installed TV screens generating nonstop ad noises. Don't you think that an intrusion?
A: They need to be supervised by the government. In some countries there is a governing body deciding that the message is honest.
In the US and Europe someone says you can use the mobile phone for free, on the condition that you receive advertisements. It does not work. People desire privacy.
In France there is even legislation banning TV advertising between 8pm and 6am.
There is also legislation limiting advertising on the roads for it distracts people.
There is also a need to protect uneducated, naive people from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous advertisers.
Q: Many Chinese consumers, or manufacturers, regard marketing campaigns with suspicion, because the advertising cost will be shifted to consumers. How do you explain this?
A: Branding is often one of the most misunderstood elements of corporate strategy.
Too many managers still perceive it as an "advertising trick" to create an image for their products.
Others still resist the idea of investing in brands in the belief that price is the only way to grow the business, that technical superiority will ensure the products sells itself or that half of the money spent on brands is wasted.
What managers must be aware of is that branding happens anyway.
Customers shape their own perceptions as soon as your products hit the markets.
Many European teenagers today perceive Levi's as the brand of jeans worn by their parents and grandparents. That's why some companies are always using young people in advertising to show it is for the young people.
Q: Most Chinese still believe in quality and value. What does that mean for advertisers?
A: It is true that advertising is losing its power, as there are many different ways to reach the consumers in addition to traditional, cluttered media such as TV or print advertising.
The multiplication of channels means each channel has limited value for the consumers. Given the tight advertising budgets and the fact that they need to be split on many channels of communications, each media is becoming weaker. That's the challenge.
But I disagree that the poor are less sensitive to brands.
I did a survey many years ago in India and found that poor people are actually very sensitive to brands. If you are poor and can wear Nike, you probably want to show that after all I am not so poor.
For teenagers, brands can be a statement that they belong to a certain tribe. It is aspirational.
The difference between a product and a brand: A product is functional, made in factories, while a brand is emotional, made in the mind.
Q: Can good branding strategy (like buzz marketing) be applied universally?
A: The principle of buzz marketing (also called viral marketing) is not to use a specific media.
It aims at targeting and occupying all channels of communications to create significant "noise" and therefore interest in the marketplace for consumers to talk about the product and try it.
But it is very difficult to create buzz if you do not have some kind of innovative ideas meaningful to consumers.
An original product without much added value from a functional or practical point of view can create negative word of mouth.
For example, a portable mobile phone communicating with the outside thanks to a tooth implant would not allay people's chronic fears for dentists.
Buzz marketing is an ideal tool for start-ups, small- and medium-sized companies with limited communication budgets. But it is also a great tool for large corporations wanting to make more noise in the market with a fraction of the huge advertising budgets they are typically manage.
The success of Red Bull relies on an original concept: a highly caffeinated and disruptive drink.
A well-controlled and limited distribution of the product, together with a super premium price and very focused communication through events, constantly renewed around extreme sports, created a myth around the product that it was reserved for a few lucky people who could find the product.
Also, the fact that Red Bull was at first a forbidden product in a number of countries only excited the curiosity of teenagers. A little bit of controversy can help generated more buzz.
Nokia is very famous today, but 20 years ago no one would have foreseen this, for Japanese were very strong in electronic consumers products.
The explanation for its success is that for Nokia the loss of one percentage in market share can be critical, but for the Japanese companies that have diversified into many businesses, they feel their loss in one sector can be easily compensated in other areas.
All successful brands are very focused. A message for the Chinese companies is to explore a niche market on the global scale.
Differentiation is critical.
Many Chinese people are complaining about noisy advertisements that pop up everywhere from outdoor billboards to indoor TVs. Does this Western style of "buzz" marketing work in China?
Professor Dominique Turpin is director of the International Seminar for Top Executives at the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland. During his recent visit to Shanghai, he shared his views about branding with Shanghai Daily columnist Wan Lixin. Following are excerpts:
Q: Some office buildings in Shanghai have installed TV screens generating nonstop ad noises. Don't you think that an intrusion?
A: They need to be supervised by the government. In some countries there is a governing body deciding that the message is honest.
In the US and Europe someone says you can use the mobile phone for free, on the condition that you receive advertisements. It does not work. People desire privacy.
In France there is even legislation banning TV advertising between 8pm and 6am.
There is also legislation limiting advertising on the roads for it distracts people.
There is also a need to protect uneducated, naive people from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous advertisers.
Q: Many Chinese consumers, or manufacturers, regard marketing campaigns with suspicion, because the advertising cost will be shifted to consumers. How do you explain this?
A: Branding is often one of the most misunderstood elements of corporate strategy.
Too many managers still perceive it as an "advertising trick" to create an image for their products.
Others still resist the idea of investing in brands in the belief that price is the only way to grow the business, that technical superiority will ensure the products sells itself or that half of the money spent on brands is wasted.
What managers must be aware of is that branding happens anyway.
Customers shape their own perceptions as soon as your products hit the markets.
Many European teenagers today perceive Levi's as the brand of jeans worn by their parents and grandparents. That's why some companies are always using young people in advertising to show it is for the young people.
Q: Most Chinese still believe in quality and value. What does that mean for advertisers?
A: It is true that advertising is losing its power, as there are many different ways to reach the consumers in addition to traditional, cluttered media such as TV or print advertising.
The multiplication of channels means each channel has limited value for the consumers. Given the tight advertising budgets and the fact that they need to be split on many channels of communications, each media is becoming weaker. That's the challenge.
But I disagree that the poor are less sensitive to brands.
I did a survey many years ago in India and found that poor people are actually very sensitive to brands. If you are poor and can wear Nike, you probably want to show that after all I am not so poor.
For teenagers, brands can be a statement that they belong to a certain tribe. It is aspirational.
The difference between a product and a brand: A product is functional, made in factories, while a brand is emotional, made in the mind.
Q: Can good branding strategy (like buzz marketing) be applied universally?
A: The principle of buzz marketing (also called viral marketing) is not to use a specific media.
It aims at targeting and occupying all channels of communications to create significant "noise" and therefore interest in the marketplace for consumers to talk about the product and try it.
But it is very difficult to create buzz if you do not have some kind of innovative ideas meaningful to consumers.
An original product without much added value from a functional or practical point of view can create negative word of mouth.
For example, a portable mobile phone communicating with the outside thanks to a tooth implant would not allay people's chronic fears for dentists.
Buzz marketing is an ideal tool for start-ups, small- and medium-sized companies with limited communication budgets. But it is also a great tool for large corporations wanting to make more noise in the market with a fraction of the huge advertising budgets they are typically manage.
The success of Red Bull relies on an original concept: a highly caffeinated and disruptive drink.
A well-controlled and limited distribution of the product, together with a super premium price and very focused communication through events, constantly renewed around extreme sports, created a myth around the product that it was reserved for a few lucky people who could find the product.
Also, the fact that Red Bull was at first a forbidden product in a number of countries only excited the curiosity of teenagers. A little bit of controversy can help generated more buzz.
Nokia is very famous today, but 20 years ago no one would have foreseen this, for Japanese were very strong in electronic consumers products.
The explanation for its success is that for Nokia the loss of one percentage in market share can be critical, but for the Japanese companies that have diversified into many businesses, they feel their loss in one sector can be easily compensated in other areas.
All successful brands are very focused. A message for the Chinese companies is to explore a niche market on the global scale.
Differentiation is critical.
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