Creating the Internet Buzz - Games and Entertainment
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8. Games
Offer a game or a puzzle for people to work on, and possibly offer a prize for figuring it out. Even if it's a virtual prize, there is something to be said about winning! This summer in the movie theaters, Disney promoted their blockbuster movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" by having a mystery for the public to figure out. They utilized buzz marketing with the find-the-treasure game in which people could actually win money, cars, or other cool prizes.
Well, I killed about an hour or two playing the dice game from the Disney Dead Man's Chest official website. Let's call it research, shall we? Okay, now that I've resumed writing after playing the assortment of the games on the website, I can definitely say I truly want to see the movie now when otherwise I had not intended to go see it; and I'll search out others that I know that may have seen it and let them tell me all about it. I know my son saw it with his dad, and I'm sure my parents have seen it...okay, you see how that works?
Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon are two kids' networks that have built a virtual empire by appealing to kids through buzz marketing in the form of free games online. My son plays the free games online, and then runs upstairs to watch the cartoon. Yeah, I would say that works effectively as well.
9. Entertainment
Fortunately or not, humans are sponges for advertising in all forms, whether we like it or not, especially if it's entertaining. And advertisers know this. We are inundated with advertising and marketing while driving in our cars (billboards), listening to the radio, in the newspaper or a magazine, on the telly, and of course, on the Internet. We just don't want to feel like we are being advertised to. Entertainment is one of the best forms of advertising available. When we are entertained, we will likely talk about how much fun it was, or how funny a particular commercial might be. Subconsciously, we will be influenced by what we see and hear, and if we are attracted to that particular form of advertising, then it sticks the best. Sure the commercial was funny, but it's not until someone else we know has seen it and agrees that it was funny does it really stick with us.
Ultimately for me, the best form of advertisement is the non-advertisement, and by that I mean buzz marketing. I honestly would rather have a recommendation on a car to buy from my father, whom I trust, than a glitzy television commercial or a funny radio ad. But if I can't get a recommendation from Dad, then I'll turn to someone else I may trust. I may not know the particular person advocating the product, but if I trust his medium, whether it's a blog or how fun the games are on her website, I can probably be persuaded to part with my money for their product or go do the thing they want me to do, like go see their movie. Then I'll end up telling all my friends how great it was.
By the way, maybe the mystery of this article is how I only listed nine ways to create buzz marketing online, instead of a nice round number, like say, ten. If you thought of that before I said it, then you ponder upon the mystery of the number nine. In this regard, perhaps John Lennon can help you. If in doubt, Google...
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