Buzz/Viral

Let’s define what I call Anticipation Marketing. It’s essentially the build-up of a product from preannouncement to launch. Let me explain the concept with one of the masters of this method, F/X Networks, specifically with their launch of Dirt starring Courteney Cox.

This show was announced back in April with no date set for release (we now know the show starts in January). After the initial announcement of the show, commercials started running with a lot of frequency but they didn’t really give you an idea about what the show was about. They would just flash up the logo with a coming soon caption. This piqued the curiosity of the viewers. After several weeks of the vague logo commercial, they began to air one with a woman from the neck down carrying a camera. Now we have a little better idea about what the show is about but nothing definitive, but you’re interested. This format carries on throughout the winter with new versions that give us a little more each time. It’s like getting a little chocolate and wanting more.

What this does is keeps the viewers excited and wondering about the show and during the pre-launch stage. If you had seen the full fledged version of the commercial back in April, you might have been unimpressed and decided right then that you weren’t going to watch it. This method keeps your interest throughout until the network can air the show, and you’ll be hooked…assuming that it’s any good.

Taking this online can be difficult and there has not been anyone to do it well. It can be compared to viral marketing, but it isn’t quite the same thing. In most cases of viral marketing, you get the buzz going around a product or service but there isn’t really any buildup or anticipation going on here.

Microsoft made somewhat of an attempt with the launch of their Zune mp3 player, building a vague web site that created some buzz. The final execution was poorly done because nothing ever changed and they didn’t give people any reason to keep checking back, destroying any anticipation that existed.

There are countless “web 2.0” companies out there that have yet to launch their product and are making feeble attempts and building anticipation, but again none of them do it well. Here are some things to make Anticipation Marketing work:

1) Move from the standard one-time success model. The conversion metric for this campaign is return visitors and nothing else. You should be seeing a steady increase in return visits from start to finish.

2) Don’t give away the bank too quickly. If you do there will not be enough anticipation built up and your customers won’t give your product a full examination. This is especially true with new technologies or new ways of doing things. (I think Flock made this mistake)

3) Don’t drag it on forever. There is a point when the anticipation reaches critical mass. Reward the waiting customers then or it will be worse than moving too quickly. People will get frustrated with waiting, abandon you and probably won’t even look at what you’ve got.

4) Be creative. Blog posts that just say you’ve got a ‘cool new widget’ or ‘widget coming soon’ are not going to cut it. You need something attention grabbing that will make people anticipate the release.

5) Don’t be too vague. You can start vague, but make sure you keep giving away some candy or visitors won’t have any reason to return.

An article from yesterdays Washington Post details an investigation into viral marketing. The basis of the story is “advocacy” groups are not happy with marketers using such methods to portray an unbiased opinion of their products and services.

As the practice has taken hold over the past several years, some advocacy groups have questioned whether marketers are using such tactics to dupe consumers into believing they are getting unbiased information.

What exactly are these advocacy groups advocating for anyway? There are some companies and individuals out there completely misleading the public with claims on what their products can do (get rich quick schemes come to mind first), but these have been and are allowed to continue to run without any outcry from advocacy groups. “As Seen On TV”…??? Yea right, are you kidding me? Companies run these ads because they work, however the laws in this area are so loose they can easily get away with it.

Let’s look at viral marketing compared to traditional marketing. With viral marketing, the majority of the time these ads don’t make any false or misleading assumptions and any individuals promoting it are normally not compensated. Certainly there is a natural pressure to speak positively about a product or company simply for being included (or for the free products), however this doesn’t seem as nearly as bad as some of the false advertising we see on a regular basis. Even with the free products the consumers are free to comment and portray the product however they like. In traditional advertising, the companies marketing department has complete control over the entire campaign, start to finish, and can say whatever they like. After the initial launch in word of mouth marketing the control lies with the consumer. When the consumers catch on, these campaigns can and certainly have backfired (Sony) or they can spread and show outstanding returns (Mentos, Dove). How many times have we heard that the online world is moving toward communities and social interaction with Web 2.0? Word of mouth marketing accomplishes this difficult feat.

Do advocacy groups need to be concentrating on the viral marketing phenomenon? Not yet in my opinion. This type of marketing will certainly proliferate and start to cross the line into a gray area, but it is a wonderful marketing tool that when done properly will be a useful tool in any companies marketing package. Advocacy groups should work on their bigger problems before attempting to tackle such a blurry concept as viral marketing.