JPL - A Strategic, Integrated Communications Company

At the end of a recent seminar, I was asked to define “buzz marketing.” I believe my response was something to the effect, “It’s viral marketing. It’s getting people to talk about your product or service. Buzz marketing is creating buzz.” I thought my definition helped to answer the question at the time, but when I got home that night, the question lingered and I thought, “How do other marketing professionals define buzz?” So I went to my bookshelf and pulled out one of my old MBA consumer behavior books and looked it up.

The best definition I found was from professors Del Hawkins of the University of Oregon and David Mothersbaugh from the University of Alabama. They defined buzz as “the exponential expansion of word-of-mouth” communication. Buzz is the result of specific marketing activities that creates conversation, excitement, and anticipation around a brand, service or product. It’s “Hey, did you hear…? Hey, did you see…? Hey, did you buy…?” Buzz can be positive or negative. Of course, the goal of marketers is to create positive buzz surrounding their brand. read more