Hype
So many things around us seem to be successful because of hype, ain't it?
And these things continue to happen.
Take facebook, twitter, the iphone, iPad, Dhoni, the IPL, the Old spice commercial - are these products really successful because they delivered. Partially yes, without a doubt. But for these entities to revolve around your life everyday is something we ourselves have caused, I suppose.
Let's take facebook. I did not even have an account on Facebook(FB) a few months back. I used to use other social networking sites to occasionally get in touch with my friends. Now, everyone talks only of FB. So, I was forced to login to FB and I see that as the only way to connect with my friends and near ones. So, would I be able to stay away from FB even I wanted to - I doubt it. Just the hype around the product is possibly causing everyone to create an account as if no other social networking site ever existed. Even worse, there was a movie made on it - luckily it did not shine at the Oscars. Products like Orkut, Ibibo, mySpace, etc are not even respected(most of us do not even know about these sites) - well because they are not too hyped. I still do not have a twitter account, but wondering how long I can stay away from that. Social media is a big thing, no doubt - but still most of the companies are only embracing FB due to the number of registered users.
Ditto with IPL. The months of April and May are really horrendous. IPL is simply the business interest of 10 people(read as owners) plus BCCI and Lalit Modi( luckily this bureaucrat(or autocrat?) is no longer in control). Every lunch or coffee discussion revolves around IPL for no good reason. In fact, I see that no one really cares about who wins - there is no bangalore/chennai loyalist in most of the cases. It's just the hype around the whole product that has generated so much buzz. So much of buzz that is has actually killed other forms of cricket. Why? - All becoz' the BCCI wanted to make more money.
Is the iPad the best thing that happened in the world. We all know the answer. But why was it so successful - all becoz' of the hype/buzz.
The Old spice commercial(The Man Your Man Could Smell Like) was possibly the dumbest ad I have ever seen. At least, I do not find the commericial any bit funny. Just check the number of YouTube hits and the increase in Old Spice sales that it caused.
So, is this the new marketing paradigm - remains to be seen!
And these things continue to happen.
Take facebook, twitter, the iphone, iPad, Dhoni, the IPL, the Old spice commercial - are these products really successful because they delivered. Partially yes, without a doubt. But for these entities to revolve around your life everyday is something we ourselves have caused, I suppose.
Let's take facebook. I did not even have an account on Facebook(FB) a few months back. I used to use other social networking sites to occasionally get in touch with my friends. Now, everyone talks only of FB. So, I was forced to login to FB and I see that as the only way to connect with my friends and near ones. So, would I be able to stay away from FB even I wanted to - I doubt it. Just the hype around the product is possibly causing everyone to create an account as if no other social networking site ever existed. Even worse, there was a movie made on it - luckily it did not shine at the Oscars. Products like Orkut, Ibibo, mySpace, etc are not even respected(most of us do not even know about these sites) - well because they are not too hyped. I still do not have a twitter account, but wondering how long I can stay away from that. Social media is a big thing, no doubt - but still most of the companies are only embracing FB due to the number of registered users.
Ditto with IPL. The months of April and May are really horrendous. IPL is simply the business interest of 10 people(read as owners) plus BCCI and Lalit Modi( luckily this bureaucrat(or autocrat?) is no longer in control). Every lunch or coffee discussion revolves around IPL for no good reason. In fact, I see that no one really cares about who wins - there is no bangalore/chennai loyalist in most of the cases. It's just the hype around the whole product that has generated so much buzz. So much of buzz that is has actually killed other forms of cricket. Why? - All becoz' the BCCI wanted to make more money.
Is the iPad the best thing that happened in the world. We all know the answer. But why was it so successful - all becoz' of the hype/buzz.
The Old spice commercial(The Man Your Man Could Smell Like) was possibly the dumbest ad I have ever seen. At least, I do not find the commericial any bit funny. Just check the number of YouTube hits and the increase in Old Spice sales that it caused.
So, is this the new marketing paradigm - remains to be seen!
