Whats all the Buzz About?

From a marketing perspective, buzz can be defined as a method of advertising that gets consumers talking about your product, service or idea in order to increase sales.  Uses of buzz can be seen every day through teasers, press conferences, and commercials.  While buzz is usually beneficial, it can also be detrimental if used improperly.

Such is the case with the Ford Edsel in the late 1950s.  Ford tried to create buzz by parading an Edsel across the country via train but covered by a tarp.  This concept was designed to stir consumer's curiosity as to what the car might look like.  Although this did create buzz, the actual car did not live up to the wild expectations that this campaign created for consumers, and the model did not sell very well at all.

 To this day, buzz marketing is still used by many brands in order to create excitement about the release of a new product.  One company that has utilized buzz more than any other is Taco Bell with the introduction of their new Doritos Locos Tacos.  After the success of the Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos, the public demanded the product expand to feature the Cool Ranch flavor of ideas.  Taco Bell then released the following commercial called "The World's Most Obvious Idea" as a teaser for the release of the Cool Ranch Flavor:

In this case, it was easy for Taco Bell to create buzz because their consumers were already demanding this product.  Taco Bell chose to acknowledge this in the commercial by portraying various situations of customers saying that they should make a Cool Ranch flavor.  With the success of this new flavor, Taco Bell released yet another teaser trailer for their newest brand, Fiery Doritos Locos Tacos, titled "The World's Most Hottest Idea" which can be seen below:

This created a lot of buzz amongst the brand's consumers because the Doritos Locos Tacos have become so successful during their short lifespan.  In order to create buzz, Taco Bell really needed to know their market.  With the success of the nacho cheese and Cool Ranch versions, it was a no brainer for Taco Bell to release a new version.  Because the Fiery DLT is relatively new, it may take a while to see the success of this teaser trailer.