A ringing buzz
Friday, February 17th, 2006There’s a new viral campaign that’s pretty interesting because at first glance it looks cheesy and fake. The sales pitch: a ringtone can make you irresistible to the opposite sex. There are banner ads with headlines like: “Can a ringtone make you sexy?”
Rather than some revolutionary new product, the whole thing is indeed a fake pitch and all part of a buzz marketing campaign. Fake ads, fake doctor (Dr. Myra Vanderhood), fake web site (Pherotones.com) and fake videos. (Check out the wedding ceremony video.) All this for a real client with a limited budget and lots of guts, Oasys Mobile. A little known cellphone provider that markets games, wallpapers and ring tones to the 18-24 year old demo. A tough and cynical demo to reach out to. Drawing them in like this in a participatory, fun, and quirky way is a smart move.
Is it working? Looks like it. Last week on Technorati, a Web site that tracks blogs, Pherotones.com was in the top 10 percent of the most popular blogs worldwide. It’s been reported that the videos have been downloaded about 3,000 times on Web sites like YouTube, Punchbaby and Kontraband.
The power of buzz/viral marketing is growing. Rapidly. And some real money is now being put in to it. Advertising Age estimated that buzz marketing is now a $100 million to $150 million industry annually.
A study by Northeastern University released last month found that even when participants who pitch products in word-of-mouth campaigns identify their commercial affiliations, it usually does not affect consumers’ willingness to pass the marketing message on.
For more on the study, check out Walter Carl’s blog, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Northeastern University.