Rating: 
Summary: Good one...
Review: Thought it would be rehash of other marketing books--nothing big, nothing new. Wrong. Good stuff on the trendspreaders, versus the trendsetters. Makes me rethink do you wanna be Alpha or Bee, and if you're a marketer, if you're wasting money chasing the first versus the third one to try something new. I know the authors' work from NEXT, but this BUZZ is much more focused, and insightful, also a very easy read. It's almost too fun to be a business book.
Rating: 
Summary: EURO-RSCG MOUTHPIECE, LACKS FOCUS, BUT INTERESTING CASES
Review: When used in the context of marketing, the word "Buzz" usually conjures up connotations of PR or creative activities executed in unprecedented ways, rather than old-school advertising. That's a notion that the EuroRSCG authors of this book clearly do not share. Everything even remotely within the gamut of marketing is smooshed in to this all-encompassing treatise. No reason, they felt for instance, to leave out traditional creative that successfully carries "shock value" (e.g., voyeuristic ads) and thus by implication, "buzz." Personally, I was specifically interested in examples of usage of new media such as mobile phones or blogging, but both these issues get abysmally meagre mention in the book. A case of Amnesty International from Netherlands is mentioned regarding the use of SMS. As for blogs, we are recommended, in 2 paltry pages of coverage, to keep ourselves "apprised" with what users around the world may be writing about our brands. That's a bit like saying corporate governance is crucial for business, so well, keep your accounts clean. Right. How about a conceptual or theoretical framework, or even just a couple of concrete suggestions to actually DO something about it? While the case studies are occasionally nifty -- e.g., MTV's hold on the spring break season for the youth in US; or Nando's in South Africa which uses creative advertising to position itself against McDonalds and KFC -- the book simply flip-flops all across the board trying to flesh out the fashionable catchet of buzz. In the absence of any directional guidelines about how to CATALYZE such "buzz," the book falls a bit short of it promised claims. I'd still give it a 3/5 for a pretty interesting marketing read in general, it's just the title that's a bit of a gyp.
Rating:
Summary: EURO-RSCG MOUTHPIECE, LACKS FOCUS, BUT INTERESTING CASES
Review: When used in the context of marketing, the word "Buzz" usually conjures up connotations of PR or creative activities executed in unprecedented ways, rather than old-school advertising. That's a notion that the EuroRSCG authors of this book clearly do not share. Everything even remotely within the gamut of marketing is smooshed in to this all-encompassing treatise. No reason, they felt for instance, to leave out traditional creative that successfully carries "shock value" (e.g., voyeuristic ads) and thus by implication, "buzz." Personally, I was specifically interested in examples of usage of new media such as mobile phones or blogging, but both these issues get abysmally meagre mention in the book. A case of Amnesty International from Netherlands is mentioned regarding the use of SMS. As for blogs, we are recommended, in 2 paltry pages of coverage, to keep ourselves "apprised" with what users around the world may be writing about our brands. That's a bit like saying corporate governance is crucial for business, so well, keep your accounts clean. Right. How about a conceptual or theoretical framework, or even just a couple of concrete suggestions to actually DO something about it? While the case studies are occasionally nifty -- e.g., MTV's hold on the spring break season for the youth in US; or Nando's in South Africa which uses creative advertising to position itself against McDonalds and KFC -- the book simply flip-flops all across the board trying to flesh out the fashionable catchet of buzz. In the absence of any directional guidelines about how to CATALYZE such "buzz," the book falls a bit short of it promised claims. I'd still give it a 3/5 for a pretty interesting marketing read in general, it's just the title that's a bit of a gyp.
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