.1984.
What do you think of when you see that year? What if I add the term “Apple?”
For me, the famous Orwellian Super Bowl commercial comes to mind. Do you even remember who won the Super Bowl that year? Or even who played in it?
Super Bowl commercials had yet to become the subject of water cooler talk in 1984. How strange is it to hear that Apple originally planned to run its commercial during the college bowl games only to move it to the Super Bowl because it was cheaper? The Apple commercial is responsible for kicking off the Super Bowl super ads that have stolen the show — especially when the game was a blowout.
Why did this commercial receive such buzz? It’s not like we’d never seen a good or different one before.
Are you struggling to come up with an idea for a marketing campaign or any campaign for getting the word out there when your budget is limited and every media is overcrowded? Even in this day and age with TiVO skipping commercials and information overload, it’s possible to break in. It takes creativity and pushing at least one of six buttons.
Hughes shows which six secrets, or as he calls them “six buttons of buzz,” that Apple hit upon with this commercial. Not only does he talk about the six buttons, but also he covers the six steps to creating a buzz worthy campaign:
The six buttons to creating successful word-of-mouth campaigns:
1. The taboo – sex, lies, and bathroom humor.
2. The unusual.
3. The outrageous.
4. The hilarious
5. The remarkable.
6. The secret – both the revealed and unrevealed.
The six steps to creating a campaign while integrating at least one of the buttons:
1. Push the right button.
2. Capture the media.
3. Advertise for attention.
4. Climb the mountain.
5. Discover creativity.
6. Police your product.
Hughes writes conversationally with wit, much like what you see in the high quality blogs and he easily engages readers. Hughes could readily spout marketing jargon, but he doesn’t. Nor does he come across as a know-it-all. He genuinely wants to show how buzzmarketing works and backs up the six buttons and six steps with real life examples that experienced ‘super buzzing.’ We need more business books like this.
The examples include the Pepsi Challenge (I prefer Coca-Cola to Pepsi and have taken plenty of challenges to prove it), Rit Dye, Ford Mustang, and of course, Hughes’ own campaign coup — Half.com. It takes no time to read the book as it flows like good fiction. Whether your budget is small or large, the examples and ideas from the book show how to create a campaign worth much more without spending an extra buck.
Do you hear buzzing? That’s the sound this book is generating as the publicist behind it spreads the word to reviewers and bloggers. When I post a review, it doesn’t just show up in one place. Expect to find it posted in two other places and linked to from two newsletters. Now that’s spreading the word — or should I say ‘buzz.’ Hughes lives what he preaches.
Anyone who wants to give attention to anything will benefit from the book.
Title: Buzzmarketing
Author: Mark Hughes
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
ISBN: 1591840929
Date: July 2005
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Cover Price: USD: $23.95 Amazon: $16.29
