【正文】 54% “avoid buying products that overwhelm with advertising and marketing.” To add, television and movie lovers are witnessing a revolution in digital home entertainment. With it, a growing number of people are turning away from neighborhood cinemas in order to stay home and be entertained by new technologies and advanced personal theater systems. Consumer electronics manufacturers, IT vendors, and movie panies are lining up to extol the virtues of Blueray and HDDVD。 the proclaimed successors to the current DVD format (Thomas, 2006). According to Geoff (2005), by the end of 2004, Forrester Research estimated there were TiVo’s and other DVDs in million US households, up from million in 2002. That number, the firm claims, will climb to almost 50 million by 2009, representing 41% of all US households. On another front, the popularity of Netflix, an online subscription service boasting 3 million users, prompted both Blockbuster and WalMart to offer similar services whereby people rent DVDs for an unlimited time for a monthly fee. While it39。s true that DVDs may be a cash cow for studios, theaters suffer when patrons skip the cinema experience and wait for those releases at home. Needless to say, given the increase in entertainment options, the moviegoing experience needs to be far more pelling to draw in audience members. Moreover, this challenge is not likely to subside, but rather grow more pelling: as discussed by Chary (2005), a recent study by Informal Research Services indicates that 125 million people about 5% of all cell phone owners – will be watching television on their handsets by 2010. In addition, the Digital Lifestyles 2006 Outlook from Parks Associates (Escher, 2006) estimates that US consumer spending for online entertainment, including ondemand gaming, music, and video services, will grow by 260% in the next five years. In this frenetic and petitive environment, marketers must search for innovative ways to reach and attract movie audiences. Buzz marketing is one such promotional posture that is capable of breaking through the existing noise and clutter of the marketing scene, to capture peoples39。 attention to the point that talking about a movie bees an enjoyable experience to share. Essentially, buzz marketing mimics the traditional marketing model in that it sends messages to targeted audiences through varying media. Under the buzz marketing model, however, the entertainment marketer injects the audience and media with a jawdropping, movierelated message that is so interesting and exciting that it causes the information to spread like wildfire. That appealing element of exhilaration represents the essence of and key to, buzz marketing, and differentiates it from the traditional marketing approach. Among its many attractive qualities, buzz marketing is a lowcost, farreaching mode of promotion. This being the case, entertainment marketers39。 interest in the method is raising as media fragmentation continues and movie marketing costs increasingly spiral upward. Buzz marketing also satisfies studio executives who are confronted with steadily mounting marketing costs, and are thus challenged by existing promotional tactics in search of more mileage for fewer dollars.2. Buzz marketing enpasses word of mouth and viral marketingAt the core of buzz marketing is the phenomenon of word of mouth (WOM), the process by which an individual influences the actions or attitudes of others. As indicated by the following quotes on the value of word of mouth, academicians have long been aware of the power of WOM on consumers39。 preferences and actual purchase behaviors: “Forget about market surveys and analyst reports. Word of mouth is probably the most powerful form of munication in the business world. It can either hurt a pany39。s reputation…or give it a boost in the market. Wordofmouth messages stand out in a person39。s mind….Quite simply, we find messages more believable and pelling when we hear them directly from other people, particularly people we know and respect.”– Regis McKenna“Word of mouth seems to be a frequently used riskreduction device。 and this source of information is particularly sought for in situations characterized by high uncertainty.”– Johan Arndt “Word of mouth tends to be highly persuasive because the sender apparently has nothing to gain from the receiver39。s subsequent actions.”– Leon G. Schiff man and Leslie L. Karuk Malcolm Glad well (2002), author of the national bestseller The Tipping Point, says WOM is so powerful because ideas, behaviors, messages, and products sometimes behave just like outbreaks of infectious disease. Similar to how an ill person can start a flu epidemic, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend or the popularity of a new product. According to McKinsey amp。 Co. (Ramsey, 2005), approximately twothirds of all economic activity in the United States is influenced by shared opinions about a product, brand, or service. On the basis of aggregated data and interviews with various WOM marketing experts, remarketer estimates that almost 50% of online marketers will engage in some form of WOM or viral campaign in 2006. A recent survey of marketers, which asked what type of digital media they were either using or were, planning to use, found that exactly twothirds cited WOM (Ramsey, 2005). The nature and scope of the Internet, as well as other messaging devices, has inspired marketers to deliberately attempt to stimulate or simulate the WOM process by designing marketing campaigns with characteristics that attract audiences and encourage individuals to pass along a message. Also known as buzz marketing and viral marketing, these tactics create the potential for exponential growth in the message39。s exposure and influence (Wilson, 2000). Though the terms buzz marketing and viral marketing are often used interchangeably with WOM munications, the following discussion points highlight clear distinctions bet