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Star Wars And Its Buzz Marketing Campaign

I. Introduction
Word-of-mouth advertising is often referred to as one of the most important sources of information for a consumer because it allows them to connect on a personal level instead of feeling pressured from a distant and calculated marketing pitch by an advertiser. Ironically, this form of "advertising" is not paid for, whereas advertisers usually pay for their advertisements. Word-of-mouth and buzz marketing can often be related in many ways because they are both a technique of viral marketing. According to WhatIs.com: "viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces Web sites or users to pass on a marketing message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message's visibility and effect." Buzz marketing and word-of-mouth are often viewed as a better source than mass media and most other forms of advertising because the personal level of consumer to consumer advertising lets satisfied consumers tell others how much they like a business, product, or service. For example, spoken communication, and web dialogue such as blogs, message boards, and emails can be considered forms of word of mouth advertising. New movies that are about to be exposed to the market often use this type of promotion and advertising. This strategy may consist of specialized movie screenings to specific crowds in order to get the word-of-mouth recommendations started. The recommendations are then spread to friends, family, and co-workers.
Buzz campaigns are usually started for the release of big, blockbuster theater movies. Technology has aided buzz marketers because they are able to deliver their messages easier and faster. The growth of the internet allows them to spread the word via means of websites, message boards, messaging programs, chat rooms, and blogs. All media campaigns make use of the ease of the internet by making sure their flow of word-of-mouth is circulating online before, during, and after the release of new blockbuster...