Hmm, another title no one will ever Google. So what do these have in common? You guessed it, all of them are great examples of WOM, or Word of Mouth marketing. With little official information provided sometimes fans project their own ideas and the resulting buzz often becomes deafening. And sometimes that buzz can get out of hand.
Witness Cloverfield. People expected a J.J. Abrams take on Godzilla. Why? They analyzed what little clues were provided in the teaser trailers (mention of Japan, monster’s roar) and drew their own conclusions. Don’t worry – no spoilers ahead – but a question – did you go to see Cloverfield expecting something more? Read the movie boards today: people are polarized. Some loved it, most hated it. Nothing in between.
Snakes was viral marketing done huge. Trouble was, after the buzz died and the movie came out no one (even the fanboys) really wanted to see snakes loose on a plane. Great title, great viral marketing: terrible idea for a movie.
Finally Apple. Like Cloverfield and Snakes they get great buzz from the very little information they provide. A poster gets hung, or a patent application is found and people go atwitter. But once the real story comes out, polarization happens and sometimes people don’t buy what Apple is selling. It happened with the Cube, now some are saying the same about MacBook Air. Time will tell.
In the meantime, it’s all good escapists fun to be part of the buzz machine and feel connected to something big. Even a giant monster loose in Manhattan.