The big guys in the advertising industry have long been aware of the power of social networks, and have attempted in many different ways to capture the power of face-to-face, word of mouth in order to turn a profit. The general idea is that people will respond more to information coming from those they know and trust as opposed to mass media advertisements that they often do not notice, or if noticed, may not perceive as credible. This past summer I had the experience of my life, working at a young advertising agency called “BzzAgent”:
Instead of providing traditonal media services, the company provides their clients with access to their 200,000+ (and growing daily) network of “Bzz Agents”. When a campaign for a new product is launched, agents that fill the criteria (demographic, psychographic, geographic) decided upon are invited to “sign up” for the campaign. Their job was to try out the product (they received a free sample in the mail) and, if they approved of it, to share it with their friends- neighbors, co-workers, etc.- anyone they decide might be interested in the product and would be positively impacted by it. Some of these campaigns have proven to be extremely successful. But you may wonder, but who is allowed to become a BzzAgent? Interestingly enough, the answer is anyone. By simply going to
http://www.bzzagent.com/signup/NewAgentSignup.do
one can register and join the network of agents immediately. Campaigns that fit the information one provides appear on the homepage every time the individual logs in. Reading “The Tipping Point” by Malcom Gladwell as part of the assigned reading for Econ 204 made me ponder this seeming lack of selectivity. According to Gladwell, there are “sneezers”- people prominent in their social circles that have a knack for spreading a new product or idea like a virus. According to him, it is these “influentials”, the mavens or “hubs” in social circles that are the reason products catch on and attract a following. This philospohy is quite different from Dave Balter’s, the founder and CEO of BzzAgent; he thinks real social power resides in the honest word of mouth of everyday people. An interesting dichotomy, but I would like to point out that BzzAgent is to date a thriving business.
[…] The big guys in the advertising industry have long been aware of the power of social networks, and have attempted in many different ways to capture the power of face-to-face, word of mouth in order to turn a profit. The general idea is that people will respond more to information coming from those they know and trust as opposed to mass media advertisements that they often do not notice, or if noticed, may not perceive as credible. This past summer I had the experience of my life, working at a young advertising agency called BzzAgent (). Instead of providing traditonal media services, the company provides their clients with access to their 200,000+ (and growing daily) network of Bzz Agents . When a campaign for a new product is launched, agents that fill the criteria (demographic, psychographic, geographic) decided upon are invited to sign up for the campaign. Their job was to try out the product (they received a free sample in the mail) and, if they approved of it, to share it with their friends- neighbors, co-workers, etc.- anyone they decide might be interested in the product and would be positively impacted by it. Some of these campaigns have proven to be extremely successful. But you may wonder, but who is allowed to become a BzzAgent? Interestingly enough, the answer is anyone. By simply going to , one can register and join the network of agents immediately. Campaigns that fit the information one provides appear on the homepage every time the individual logs in. Reading The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell as part of the assigned reading for Econ 204 made me ponder this seeming lack of selectivity. According to Gladwell, there are sneezers - people prominent in their social circles that have a knack for spreading a new product or idea like a virus. According to him, it is these influentials , the mavens or hubs in social circles that are the reason products catch on and attract a following. This philospohy is quite different from Dave Balter s, the founder and CEO of BzzAgent; he thinks real social power resides in the honest word of mouth of everyday people. An interesting dichotomy, but I would like to end by saying that BzzAgent is to date a thriving business. […]