The Risks of Building Buzz

Posted by Rahna on April 21, 2008 under Consumer Engagement | Be the First to Comment

Marketing in today’s world is messy. I was reading an article about Nike’s video on YouTube to create buzz on their new hyper-dunk basketball shoe. They have a 53-second video, showing Kobe Bryant jumping over an Aston Martin car. It’s not real footage; obviously it has been doctored….Well, at least it’s obvious to me.  The question is, is it obvious to kids? 

There’s a lot of buzz in the internet about whether it crosses the line between building a fun video to get people talking or does it encourage kids to try to jump over cars themselves. Some say kids are pretty savvy and can suspend their disbelief just for the sake of the video, but that they do understand that this is a created effect. But there are others who worry that this will promote kids jumping in front of cars. Whether or not this ends up being a good idea has yet to be seen, as this sort of video does build buzz…but does it build the right kind of buzz? Advocacy groups are going to continue to monitor this sort of viral word of mouth campaign, especially when it comes to kid marketing.  

One way to make sure to avoid this sort of an issue is to make sure that everything you do fits with your brand. If you are true to the personality of your brand, then there’s less likelihood that things will not turn out in your favor. Nike has launched this in order to see its new product launch, which doesn’t come out in stores until late July. This risky move can benefit them, but it might hurt them just as well. You’ll eliminate that risk if you stay true to your brand and make sure you only do things that are within your brand.