Grapevine: Why Buzz Was a Fad but Word of Mouth Is Forever

商家名称	信用等级	购买信息	订购本书
		Grapevine: Why Buzz Was a Fad but Word of Mouth Is Forever
		Grapevine: Why Buzz Was a Fad but Word of Mouth Is Forever

基本信息·出版社：Portfolio Trade
·页码：224 页
·出版日期：2008年06月
·ISBN：159184228X
·条形码：9781591842286
·装帧：平装
·正文语种：英语

内容简介 Word of mouth is an amazingly powerful force — but how does it really work?.

Businesses have become obsessed with stimulating word-of- mouth to counteract the declining effectiveness of advertising. But it’s easier said than done.

As the founder of BzzAgent, a community of more than 400,000 people who volunteer to talk to friends and acquaintances about products they genuinely love, Dave Balter is a successful practitioner, not a theorist. And he’s figured out how to measure and harness word-of-mouth without corrupting it.

In Grapevine, Balter shows why honest feedback – about books, restaurants, gadgets, or anything else – is more believable than any paid endorser. And he answers some of the most elusive questions in marketing, such as what makes word-of-mouth very different from “buzz” and “viral marketing.”
作者简介 Dave Balter is the founder and CEO of BzzAgent, the groundbreaking word-of-mouth marketing and a media channel that now has a network of 400,000 consumer volunteers.
编辑推荐 From Publishers Weekly
Like most other marketing books, this intriguing but unconvincing volume dwells on botched ad campaigns, implying that those campaigns would have triumphed if only the advertiser had sought the authors' advice. In this case, all the reviled efforts overlooked "the most powerful marketing force in the world": word-of-mouth. "Everybody talks to everybody else about products every day," writes Balter, founder of three-year-old BzzAgent Inc., which enlists earnest volunteers to spread the gospel about products that the firm is hired to promote. Balter argues that the fact that BzzAgents actually tell people, "I'm a BzzAgent, and I'm pushing this product" aids the credibility of both the products and their advocates, with the result that Bzz campaigns succeed where shill campaigns (which employ paid actors) backfire. That may be true, but this volume doesn't adequately make the case that sincerity and product samples constitute a marketing revolution: the book's slapdash, "admittedly nonscientific" analysis is backed by little more than enthusiasm, quotes from The Tipping Point and three years of BzzAgent anecdotes. Balter's gee-whiz, narcissistic writing voice won't help win converts, either. (Though Butman is a coauthor, Balter narrates the book in the first person.) While it aspires to reorient current thinking on consumerism and social interaction, it's clear that this book's true purpose is to serve as a 210-page BzzAgent ad. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Why is it that normally talented, even cutting--edge innovators feel compelled to exhibit logorrhea when pen is poised over paper? Such is the case with Balter, who, with the aid of writer Butman, crystallizes his practice of word-of-mouth marketing. The concept is unique and differentiated from buzz by its credibility, its emphasis on genuine storytelling, and its theme: "not 100% goodness 100% of the time." There's research (and bottom-line sales results) that proves his points about the benefits of "one big cocktail party." But he spoils the effect by, in Seth Godin-esque fashion, choosing to insert a fictional account of Bardo, the perfect target customer; SparklyPerfect, a new product; and Annie, the designated marketer. First, a straight-out-of-fantasyland narrative goes against the honesty-is-our-policy foundation of word-of-mouth marketing. Second, real-life case histories--as with Apple iPod and its battery and the Coke C2 debacle--drive home the premise far better than any novel; real experiences and real perceptions make the product sing. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
aThe rapidly growing field of word-of-mouth marketing has been desperately missing one thing: hands-on experience. This book fills that gap.a
aEmanuel Rosen, author of "The Anatomy of Buzz"
aHooray for Dave Balteras "Grapevine," Dave knows exactly of what he speaks, and has the numbers to prove it. This is indeed a must read.a
aTom Peters
aEvery once in a while, a book comes along that changes everything. Dave Balter clearly and persuasively makes his case for a whole new way to think about how your ideas spread.a
aSeth Godin, author of "Purple Cow"

Review
“The rapidly growing field of word-of-mouth marketing has been desperately missing one thing: hands-on experience. This book fills that gap.”
—Emanuel Rosen, author of The Anatomy of Buzz

“Hooray for Dave Balter’s Grapevine. Dave knows exactly of what he speaks, and has the numbers to prove it. This is indeed a must read.”
—Tom Peters

“Every once in a while, a book comes along that changes everything. Dave Balter clearly and persuasively makes his case for a whole new way to think about how your ideas spread.”
—Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow

查看更多 下一篇