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Pre-release consumer buzz

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Abstract

“Buzz” during the period leading up to commercial release is commonly cited as a critical success factor for new products. But what exactly is buzz? Based on an extensive literature review and findings from a theories-in-use study (consumer depth interviews and focus groups), the authors argue that pre-release consumer buzz (PRCB) is not just a catchword or a synonym for “word of mouth” but is a distinct construct for which a precise, shared conceptual understanding is notably absent. The authors define PRCB as the aggregation of observable expressions of anticipation by consumers for a forthcoming new product; they conceptualize the construct as being manifested in three distinct types of behaviors (communication, search, and participation in experiential activities) along two dimensions (amount and pervasiveness). PRCB is unique because prior to, versus after, a product’s release, (1) differing information is available, (2) differing mental processes occur, and (3) consumers’ behaviors have differing effects on other consumers, affecting diffusion differently. A quantitative study using secondary data for 254 new products illustrates the performance of the theory-based conceptualization.

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Notes

  1. Our review included: AMJ, AMR, Advances in Consumer Research, Business Horizons, IJRM, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, JCR, Journal of Cultural Economics, Journal of Interactive Marketing, JM, JMR, Journal of Popular Culture, JPIM, JPP&M, Journal of Retailing, JAMS, Management Science, Marketing Letters, Marketing Science, MIS Quarterly, Public Relations Quarterly, and QME.

  2. Movies, video games, and performing arts represent hedonic product categories that mainly provide distraction, entertainment, and social benefits (Hirschman and Holbrook 1982). Automobiles and mobile phones are more utilitarian, providing functional benefits of transportation and communication; certain cars and phones also provide hedonic benefits (e.g., driving pleasure). Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) observe that experiences differ when consuming hedonic products in the fine arts realm versus from popular culture; thus, we included performing arts.

  3. Godes and Mayzlin (2004) have looked at dispersion of word of mouth across internet discussion groups and Dellarocas et al. (2007) between age groups.

  4. This methodological choice is also consistent with our interest in the predictive performance of PRCB and its formative specification (Hair et al. 2011).

  5. Out of the different studio action indicators, budget, distribution strategy, sequel, and bestseller adaptation all have positive significant outer weights to studio actions; age-restriction, star, and remake do not (see e.g., Clement et al. 2014, Divakaran et al. 2017, Bohnenkamp et al. 2015 for similar results patterns).

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Bernd Skiera for his contributions to this project and Peter Bloch, Chris Blocker, Markus Giesler, Marsha Richins, Marko Sarstedt, Srihari Sridhar, Caroline Wiertz, Chris White, and Eric Yorkston for constructive criticism on earlier versions of this manuscript. The first author gratefully acknowledges financial support from the TCU Neeley School of Business Research Grant fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 298530, Fort Worth, TX, 76129, USA

    Mark B. Houston

  2. Marketing Center Muenster, University of Muenster, 48143, Muenster, Germany

    Ann-Kristin Kupfer & Thorsten Hennig-Thurau

  3. Institute of Electronic Commerce and Digital Markets, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 80539, Munich, Germany

    Martin Spann

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  1. Mark B. Houston
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  2. Ann-Kristin Kupfer
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  3. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau
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Correspondence to Mark B. Houston.

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Dhruv Grewal served as Area Editor for this article.

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Houston, M.B., Kupfer, AK., Hennig-Thurau, T. et al. Pre-release consumer buzz. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 46, 338–360 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-017-0572-3

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