The buzz about the buzz is still only a buzz

Shula Bigman, president of Communications Options, NY, explains that word-of-mouth and buzz marketing has its roots in the 'two-step communication flow' theories of Lazarsfeld/Katz and Dichter 50 years ago.

The Buzz About the Buzz is Still Only a Buzz

Shula Bigman

With a recent leading article in the New York Times science section, 'Gossip' joined the world of media. The whole arena of word of mouth (WOM) – originally the transmission of spoken information from one person to another – is the latest, fashionable interest for marketers and advertisers.

Once, WOM was a poor relation of PR. But with growing media fragmentation and the switch from TV-centric planning to a broad-based, media-neutral approach, WOM has been attracting increased attention as an inexpensive way of gaining contact points...

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