There's Gold In Them Hills!

How does an industry/company/product get themselves to create such a buzz about them in the marketplace?

I think one of the best examples I can think of is poker (or more specifically Texas Hold-em Poker). Poker has been around for ages, and was always just a past-time game played in the casinos or being played between friends. But never has it reached the height of popularity that it has now. Clay chips are actually afforable now, TSN (the Canadian Sports Network) broadcasts old tournament footage regularly, demand for poker tables has increased dramatically, and even Wal-Mart has a whole aisle dedicated to the game.

How does this old card game suddenly jump into mainstream popularity? Here's my theory:

1. Timing is Everything - With the rise of reality television, you can expect the unexpected. You get the feeling of anticipation and tension where anything could happen. With the audience yearning for this type of entertainment, televising poker was perfect. Had this probably been broadcast before Survivor, I'm almost sure it would have bombed.


Watch the market to see if conditions are at least favourable to your product.


2. Have an Interest Grab for the Consumer - The poker tournaments don't just have a rotation of nobody's on all the time like a game show. Instead, they've got their colourful characters whose personalities could match some WWE Superstar. There's also the celebrity tournaments where you can watch them try to add another measly million to their wallet.


Give the consumer something to be interested in and follow along with constantly (blogs, news, promotions, etc.)


3. Empower and Relate to the Consumer - Commentary on the poker games give some strategy tips as well as trying give an understanding of the players' mindset (since poker is essentially a psychological game). Unlike sports events where the skills and techniques are physically and mentally demanding, the strategies given can be used by anyone who wants to play poker, essentially empowering them.


Give something of value to the consumer along with the product (Value added services, gifts, discounts, information, knowledge, etc.)

All in all, these concepts shouldn't be anything new, but at least it's a living breathing example of these concepts in action. Now maybe they can broadcast some foosball tournaments on TV to replace hockey. Hopefully that will drive the price of foosball tables down...

Hot Gossip

It's interesting to see how the rumor-mill can quickly influence the market. No official announcements, just gossip and rumors. Leaking news and juicy tidbits from a company is almost comparable to the celebrity tabloids.

Negative instances recently include Apple's unhappiness with some bloggers releasing details of the Mac mini and iPod shuffle. However, at the same time, Google has always thrived on these rumors with the announcement of an "online wallet". What the heck does that include? I have no idea, but eBay stock prices have slumped just at the slight mention that Google might be moving into their territory.

What I find interesting is how Google just feasts on rumors to expand. I'm not sure if it's considered "viral" marketing per say, but they certainly know how to get consumers and investors interested in their actions. With the first release of gMail, people were ecstatic at the possibility of having a free 1GB online e-mail box. Then came their IPO, where the investors were left salivating for their share of Google, and thus began the next age of Technology. Let's just hope this bubble doesn't burst.