business of commodity fetishism

New World of Marketing, or Not?

2009-12-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

With the tagline “A New World of Marketing is Here,” Next Jump, an e-commerce marketplace founded by Charlie Kim back in 1994 has been working under the surface, underneath corporate intranets or retailer’s rewards websites, and expanding itself to reach a wider audience. “More than 100 million Americans have access to Next Jump’s e-commerce marketplace, and 10 million a year are customers” (Privacy Lives). It has become such a powerful advertising medium that “today, 60 percent of the Fortune 500 companies use Next Jump’s technology for their employee discount programs” (NYTimes). While the company continues to develop, Next Jump has been quietly gathering years of data from companies and customers, including personal details for demographic purposes; and even credit card transactions from American Express and MasterCard. Based on this information, each person’s characteristics and interests would be analyzed by Next Jump, enabling the company to tailor advertisements and offers that would spark the customer’s interest, often through emails. This microtargeting strategy employed by Next Jump has been proven to be so effective that, “for every 11 people who see of its ads, one person makes a purchase” (NYTimes).

The Internet has become a powerful tool for personalized advertising, one that has been effective in luring customers to buy products. However, is it fair to the customers that companies like Next Jump have been using the vast amount of customers’ information that they possesses to their advantage?

Paradox of Personalized Search

2009-12-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Google announced yet another change they’ve made to the search engine- Personalized Search. The idea of this new feature is to enable users to obtain the most relevant search results based on their search history. For example, if I look up “NYU,” www.home.nyu.edu would appear at the top of my list because I click on it so frequently. This is done through an anonymous cookie that is linked to one’s browser to ensure maximum relevance and precision. This feature was previously offered to users that are signed into their Google account, but the company has decided to extend this luxury to signed-out users, in more than forty different languages.

However, Personalized Search has received criticisms from many- mainly about how Google is probing into people’s privacy by going through users’ search activities, and collecting their data. Before this, users had the option of retaining their privacy by not logging into their Google account while browsing the web, but now, Google can track down every single user, whether or not they are signed in.

Personalized Search- is it bringing search engines to a whole new level with results tailored to suit the queries of users? Or are users losing their trust in the internet, having to limit their online activity to protect their privacy? Is the internet acting as a bridge to connect people with the infinite realm of the cyber world, or is it in fact limiting their agency to explore?

Black Friday

2009-11-29T00:31:00.000-08:00

The day before yesterday was Thanksgiving. I didn’t go out, I didn’t have turkey, I didn’t even have dinner. Instead, I slept. I spent the entire day sleeping, until 9pm, in preparation for the infamous Black Friday. The day where shoppers trample all over each other to get their hands on discounted items.

But this year, several retailers took it up a notch- using Twitter and Facebook to keep in contact with their customers about Black Friday sales by tweeting their current inventory, answering customers’ questions, and uploading photo albums. Shoppers were able to share information about current sales, or leaks about the Black Friday sales before they were announced to the public. They were also able to share reviews about certain products or retailers. I was quick to hop onto the Twitter bandwagon. I managed to get most of the information I wanted from the instantaneous tweets, such as how much discounts each retailer would be giving, for what items, and what time the sales for each store would end. I did a bit of research to get a rough idea of where I should head to to get the most out of the discounts before the clock stroke 12, and arranged my schedule based on the time each store’s sales end.

Several major retailers including, Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Barneys, Bloomingdales and Toys’R’Us have taken their promotions to a whole new level, using social networks to reach out to customers.

Is this medium of interaction with the customers here to stay? Or is it just another marketing strategy which would fall into the background in due time?

I believe it is the previous.

Google Tunes?

2009-11-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

Pretending to look busy while I browsed through the racks of clothes in UrbanOutfitters, or hanging in Starbucks just for a few minutes longer than I had to, my real intention wasn’t the clothes or the coffee. Instead, it was the music that kept me from stepping out the door. When a good song comes up on the speakers, I quickly whip out my cellphone, and start typing in fragments of the lyrics, which would later be entered into Google’s search box back at home. With the song title and artist, I will then proceed to iTunes to download.

However, Google has decided to take music to the next level- allowing live streaming right on its main results page; but most importantly, for free. It would also provide links to websites where the songs can be bought.

Listening to the songs I want right on the spot, right after I put in a few words into the search box, without having to go through the whole process of clicking into another website (or more), scrolling through pages, getting other links to streaming sites, or going to iTunes.

This idea of a one step proces is pretty brilliant. A few keywords and bam! I’m listening to my favorite tunes. Google Tunes definitely has my vote.

What is your take? Yay or nay?

Google to the rescue

2009-11-15T18:49:00.001-08:00

The flu season is back, and panic over the H1N1 flu is still building amongst citizens throughout the world, especially after the new release of H1N1’s death toll in the United States estimating at 3,900 (The Canadian Press).

Just when we think the media have done all they could to inform the masses about vaccines, preventions and current news; Google jumped right in, providing yet another genius idea in an effort to ease the concerns of many with their new feature- Google Flu Trends and the Flu Shot Finder.

It has been observed that certain key terms entered in search engines are good indicators of flu activity. Therefore, ‘Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate current flu activity around the world in near real-time’ (Google Flu Trends).

Flu Shot Finder helps one find locations that provide seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines across the United States. The feature has collected data from 20 states, and is looking to cover all 50 states as the feature continues to develop. Locations that could be found today include ‘chains such as Walgreens, CVS and PDX participants, such as Kmart, Duane Reade, WinnDixie and Giant Eagle’ (Official Google Blog).

It is amazing what the internet can do today, Google in particular- from the ‘Street View’ feature on Google Map to ‘Flu Shot Finder’. Google wants to be included in everything, expanding its organization and rapidly covering every inch of the world, through the power of the internet.

Google Wave- a new form of interaction

2009-11-12T00:45:00.000-08:00

After close to two years, Google has yet again come up with a breakthrough product- the Google Wave. ‘Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more’ (Google Wave).

Google Wave is especially convenient for organizing events, doing group projects, sharing photos, sending meeting notes, brainstorming or playing interactive games. Any part of the wave can be edited with a single click, and changes are updated live on screen, which enables others to collaborate with the author of the documents.

With the collaborative editing and inline conversations enabled with Google Wave, different teams in an organization can work on different parts of a project, and merge their documents into the product wave. This means that more than one person can edit the same message at the same time and still transmit the messages live on the wire. When there are too many documents cluttering up, there are always tools for organizing these waves- through folders and tags, which could also be done by anyone else in the wave.

Like many browsers today, Google Wave enables extensions which extend the functionality of waves. For example, a few powerful extensions include spell checker (aka Spelly); Linky which recognizes links allowing videos to be embed; Searchy where you can insert anything you find from the web; Google Map and more. All these extensions when put into the wave allow editing or comments to be inserted at any point. There is also the amazing extension that I found extremely impressive- the Rosy etta which instantly translates more than 40 languages word by word, character by character during a live chat.

There is more to Google Wave than what I have mentioned here. There is the Federation Protocol where waves can be shared across boundaries and organizations despite the different wave systems. Playback wave is also a powerful tool which enables one to investigate and manipulate any part of the history of the wave, such as who did what and when.

It is impossible to explain the infinite functions that Google Wave provides. Although it is a fairly new product, I am positive that this will give a whole new meaning to communication, and what the internet can do to bring the universe into real-time interaction.

For a more detailed insight into what Google Wave can do, watch the demo.

Oh, and guess what, I learnt about this on Twitter.

business in the new era

2009-11-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

It is no question that our world is shifting towards a heavier reliance on technology. For many, the line between virtual life and real life has become increasingly thin, especially with the growing popularity of online games. Even businesses have started diverging into the cyber world. I am of no stranger to online games myself- playing occasionally to kill my boredom, and constantly surrounded my avid online game players. I found myself addicted to Restaurant City on Facebook last summer- a game where each player builds up and manages his/her restaurant by earning virtual currency to buy decorations and appliances for the restaurant, and leveling up by attracting customers and earning gourmet points. Of course, there are also the exclusive products that can only be bought with real currency, or if virtual currency is low, one can always buy more with real money. My initial reaction was, ’who in the right mind would spend money on these virtual products that are nothing but pixels on the screen!’ I knew I was wrong when I saw a range of such decorations in other players’ restaurants. According to NY Times, analysts [have] estimated that virtual goods could bring in a billion dollars in the United States and around $5 billion worldwide this year. “It’s a fantastic business,” said Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that has invested $10 million in several virtual goods companies. “Because it’s digital, the marginal cost for every one you sell is zero, so you have 100 percent margins.” Whether it is for competitive reasons, to impress other players, or just plain desire, business has entered a whole new level, this time including virtual goods.

Google announces free GPS

2009-11-04T01:18:00.000-08:00

Say ‘Google’ and we need not mention more. Google Inc. has successfully established itself as the most powerful brand, not only in cyberspace, but in this world we now inhabit. The corporation has everything covered- Google Mail, Google Map, Google Books, Google Reader, YouTube, Blogger- and I am barely a quarter through the list. Not long ago, the company launched the Google phone- the first phone built on the Android operating system.

Google isn’t ready to take a break yet- they recently announced a free navigation service to mobile phones ‘that will offer turn-by-turn directions, live traffic updates and the ability to recognize voice commands’ (NY Times). It was also stated that the service might be supported by advertisements in the future. This is a significant tool that propels the success of Google- with the brand name that they have created for themselves, and the providence of free services, the corporation easily conjures volume and usage for each product; and then subsidizes it with advertisements. It is thus clear that advertisements act as the backbone of what makes Google services attractive to the masses- free.

Twitter- not another fad

2009-10-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

When Twitter emerged, the first thought that crossed my mind was- it is just another social networking website, another fad that would soon wear off, especially considering its limited features where users are only able to tweet a sentence or two and put up a photo on their profile. Compared to Facebook, Twitter was nothing. It wouldn’t last. That is precisely why I refused to set up a Twitter account in the beginning, until it became a requirement for the Business of Media class.

But after 3 years since it first launched, Twitter is proving itself to be more than just a fad. Instead, it has become an essential tool for people to connect with each other- to let friends and family know what one is up to, make announcements or even link something one finds interesting on the internet. Most importantly, many are using Twitter to build networks with professionals, and using it as an instrument to market themselves. Establishing one’s Twitter personality by putting up a professional photo with a clean background has become crucial in the social media. Twitter is attracting the masses and even Forbes.com has an article written about the rules to follow on Twitter in order to build one’s credibility and to create a personal brand as a way to sell oneself and make connections in the social world.

In this increasingly competitive world, everyone is striving to rise above the rest, to go further in life- by getting better jobs, more clients, more connections, and Twitter might just be the answer. Right now, it isn’t products, but ourselves that we are trying to sell- ourselves, as commodities of fetishism.

I'm going to start taking Twitter more seriously from now on.

Follow me @ geraldinelau

Apple's Growing Revenue Despite Lower Prices

2009-10-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

Due to the health of the current economy, large and small businesses have been shutting down all over the world. Apple, however, has been going against the mainstream decision by expanding the company and opening 15 new stores during the quarter, bringing it to a total of 273 stores. It seems like Apple is taking a huge risk, especially after hearing mixed reviews from consumers about the Apple products breaking down after a few uses. For example, my roommate has had his iPhone exchanged 4 times in 2 months; and I often hear warning signs from other Apple products owners. Despite all the criticism, people continue flocking into the stores. Apple’s CFO Peter Oppenheimer recently reported that they just completed “Apple’s most profitable quarter ever, and sales of more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter” (Seeking Alpha).

Although Apple brought down the price for most of their computers, iPods and iPhones, their average selling price continues to go up. “Revenue for the quarter was $9.87 billion, representing 25% growth over the prior September quarter’s results” (Seeking Alpha). This does not make sense, so how is Apple doing it?
Analysts say that most consumers enter the store, intending to buy the iPod Shuffle but ends up getting the iPod Nano, or initially targeting the iPod Nano but walking out with an iPod Touch. The same scenario was observed for both the computers and iPhones.

It is a smart marketing strategy. When we are caught in the middle of deciding between an iPhone for $99 and the new iPhone 3G S with better and newer features, just for an extra $100, we would generally opt for the 3G S. It is after all, a must-have of the era.

Be careful the next time you step into an Apple store because you might walk out paying more than you had expected to.

AMP Up Before You Score

2009-10-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

In order to promote its new Amp Energy Drink, Pepsi Co recently released an iPhone application, called “AMP UP Before You Score,” which promises to help men “score” women by providing a "roadmap to success with your favorite kinds of women" that will "change your game and raise your expectations." The app provides several pick up lines, links, and a quick cheatsheet which would guide him through the process of picking up 24 different types of women- from “Rebound Girl” to “Aspiring Actress” to “Married” to “Foreign Exchange Student.” AMP UP Before You Score takes another step further by letting men post up names, dates, and other details on a “Brag List,” after they got lucky with the women, and they could also share this list with their friends via email, Facebook or Twitter.

The app has stirred up quite a controversy all over the media. The blog Jezebel saw the program as “completely unacceptable and ridiculously offensive.” Others have expressed distaste for the app through Facebook, Twitter and within the blogsphere. I thought that the application was ridiculous and degrading to women, treating them like mere commodities that could easily be acquired, used, and thrown. The more women they get the more worthy of a man they seem amongst their friends. Also, women are stereotyped into different categories, as if they all share the same attributes and are so easily obtained based on the given guidelines. Although AMP Energy Drink was geared towards men in their 20s and 30s, the app was still insulting.

After the stir it has created, Pepsi tweeted from the AMPwhatsnext account, stating “Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We apologize if it's in bad taste & appreciate your feedback. #pepsifail.” Even after the apology, the criticism continued to pour in, and Pepsi was forced to take down the app from iTunes on Thursday, October 22^nd.

Companies go through certain extents to develop marketing strategies. Although Pepsi’s strategy attracted much criticism, it created buzz for their targeted group, albeit bad buzz. However, the stir didn’t quite turn out to be what Pepsi had hoped for, as “revenue in the third quarter fell 1.5% to $11.08 billion, missing analysts' expectations of $11.25 billion,”, while Apple shares had gained $1.49 to $191.56 on 13^th October morning (MSN).

Image from Ventura County Star

This Is It

2009-10-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

It may be close to four months now, but many still find it hard to accept the fact that the legendary, Michael Jackson is dead, and never again will there be new recordings or concert tours. The sudden death of this musical genius shocked the world and the aftermath was publicized all over the media, which went on for weeks. The funeral, memorial concerts, and documentaries of Michael’s life were heavily aired throughout the globe. With such publicity, even non-fans were compelled to pick up a Jackson record in order to understand why he was labeled the greatest entertainer in history, and how his music touched the lives of so many in ways unimaginable.

In September, it was announced that a motion picture titled “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” would screen in theaters all over the world for two weeks. The movie was said to “offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. “ (http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/news/unprecedented-number-sell-outs-reported-worldwide-first-showings-%E2%80%9Cmichael-jackson%E2%80%99s-it%E2%80%9D)

It was reported that no film in history has ever generated this much ticket sales, especially so far in advance. Throughout the globe, fans dashed out their doors to secure the movie tickets, which sold out within 24 hours of its pre-sale in most countries. According to the official website, within the first day, London sold more than 30,000 tickets; Japan generated more than $1 million in ticket sales; and Bangkok, Thailand saw an immediate sell-out for the first showing. It was also observed that the same phenomenon occurred throughout the United States, Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, Belgium and New Zealand.

I think that Sony Pictures Entertainment, in conjunction with Sony Music Entertainment made a smart choice in marketing the film. Four months, and many loyal fans are still struggling to accept the loss of such a brilliant musician. The film is able to provide a view of how Michael Jackson spent the last days of his life practicing and carefully crafting every move to perfect his performance for his last tour- one that never happened. Maybe, the movie is exactly what the fans need- something to affirm the passing of their idol, which was initially too sudden to handle.

On top of that, the fact that the motion picture will screen in theaters for only two weeks escalated ticket demand.

The heavy advertisements, the rare behind-the-scene footage, and the limited screenings- all of the King of Pop himself- what better marketing strategy is there?

Note: A previously unreleased single, also titled “This Is It” from the movie debuts today (Oct 12).

Image credits: www.nbcwashington.com

putting the 'free' in marketing

2009-10-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I was walking around the city and stumbled upon the street fair on 6^th avenue. The fair stretched several blocks down and it was jammed packed with patrons checking out what each stall had to sell. Vendors competed with each other in hopes of attracting more customers by blasting their music, putting up brightly written signs and of course, there was the hollering.

I was walking along the street when I heard a recording being played repeatedly that went something like, ‘Step up to get a free sample of Kettlecorn. Don’t be shy. There’s enough for everyone.’ Free! The magic word! I frantically looked around for the source of the recording and found a vendor with people squeezing through just to get free samples of popcorn that came in every flavor. More people stopped in their tracks as soon as they heard the recording and made a beeline towards the stall, happy to join the crowd just to get a handful of flavored popcorn. After trying out the free samples, many purchased bags of Kettlecorn NYC.

The ratio of the Kettlecorn NYC stall and those around it was obvious. Kettlecorn NYC clearly adopted the method that Woodward in ‘The Birth of Free’ promoted. The thought of obtaining something for free never fails to attract people. Giving the customers a free taste instantly triggers their taste buds, which provokes them to make a first purchase, and then a second, and a third… The use of recording was also a genius idea because the advertisement could be heard before actually spotting the stall.

Food Network Unwrapped covered Kettlecorn NYC as well, and according to a customer who got a free sample, ‘I think I can start my own addiction on it now.’ There you go, the right advertisement and a free sample can go a long way in boosting sales and capturing loyal customers.

bad publicity to boost sales?

2009-10-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

Celebrities are always paving the path for the next big thing. Their large fan base are constantly on the lookout for anything concerning their favorite celebs- from personal lives to the latest events they attended to the latest clothes they have been caught wearing.
The media, however, acts as the channel to transmit this information to the public.
With the health of the current economy plummeting, businesses are doing their best to generate publicity, if not revenue, even if it includes embarrassing themselves. The most recent headline that has been seen all over the media is Lindsay Lohan’s controversy with her latest debut collection as an “artistic advisor” for Emanuel Ungaro during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday. The models that strutted the runway were seen sporting flashing neon colors, poorly fitted jackets, overly short hemlines and excessive heart motif. However, what left the audience gasping in horror were the jackets that revealed sequin covered pasties in the shape of hearts, plastered on the models’ breasts.

“Emanuel Ungaro was a couture king of drape and shape. When a swathe of white dress was covered with a white fur stole, there was some attempt to move from teen night out to a couture elegance. Yet will this collection of hearts but with no soul be enough to entice young women who could probably find these looks anywhere?” (NYTimes) How is it possible that a fashion designer, as experienced as Ungaro allow this to happen? According to The New York Times, Ungaro “acknowledged that his main goal in hiring Ms. Lohan was to generate publicity, he said he also believes she will excite consumers. He said he was actually surprised the criticism had not been even more negative. The market for luxury goods has been so bad, he said, that hiring a traditional designer would not make enough of a difference to get people into his stores. With retailers cutting their orders by 30 percent or more this year, there was little chance that Ungaro could survive without getting more attention. He said he did not believe that Ms. Lohan’s history of well-publicized personal problems would get in the way of her job at Ungaro or have a detrimental impact on the brand.”

With enormous success in the fashion industry, such as Ungaro’s, it brings to me as a shock that he would do something so drastic which could potentially jeopardize the brand. As urgent as it is to rescue the failing sales, I believe that there is no need to go to such measures. It took years, if not decades to build up the House of Emanuel Ungaro which caters the finest clothing to the elites, and it is a devastating sight to witness what Lindsay Lohan did to the latest collection. Maybe it is true that Ungaro needs publicity to get people interested in the brand again, but I don’t think that this is the kind of attention it should seek.

fashion & identity?

2009-10-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

We often hear about how one has great style and possesses an amazing sense of fashion. But is this “sense” of fashion innate in us, or is it something that the media shapes? Flip through a magazine, access a beauty/fashion website, or enter a boutique. We see models and mannequins dressed in the latest outfits that portray style, elegance and confidence- traits that we so desire. In addition to that, we are living in a socially competitive environment where physical appearance is of great importance. Trends are ever changing, new designers are springing up from every corner, and many feel the need to keep up with new arrivals, just so that they are not deemed a teleporter from the past. We are always relying on these mediated means to justify what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’, what are the season’s ‘essentials’ and ‘must haves’. The media is always telling us how to stay in style, and how to be beautiful, appearance wise. So, are we still capable of thinking for ourselves, and shaping our own personalities or do we mold our identity according to what is considered ‘beautiful’ in the society?

Fashion, is not so much about passion or interest anymore. It has become more of a mean to project who we are, or how we want others to view us as (in the sense of status and personality). We use it as a mode to conform to the society, but at the same time, stand out as a unique individual. As for those who are ignorant about their appearances, and go out dressing in a way that is against the unwritten rule of fashion, they will immediately be cast out in the society, a habit we are shamefully subjected to, whether consciously or unconsciously. As Simmel (1904) analyzes in his article Fashion, ‘it seems that there exists for each class of human beings, probably for each individual, a definite quantitative relation between the tendency towards individualization and the desire to be merged in the group, so that when the satisfying of one tendency is denied in a certain field of life, he seeks another, in which he then fulfills the measure which he requires. Thus it seems as though fashion were the valve through which woman’s craving for some measure of conspicuousness and individual prominence finds vent, when its satisfaction is denied her in other fields.’ (144, http://www.modetheorie.de/fileadmin/Texte/s/Simmel-Fashion_1904.pdf)

How would we perceive ourselves and others around us, if it wasn’t for fashion? But are we faking our identities through fashion? Are we dressing the way we want to be recognized as, which contradicts who we truly are on the inside? Are we keeping up with the trend, so that we will not be categorized as social outcasts? Are we using the media as a map to model our identities to what is regarded as ‘ideal’?

*image is a self-made collage from several websites- Sephora, net-a-porter, Vogue, Splendora, Style.com

Fashion's Night Out

2009-09-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

September is all about social events, especially in New York City, with highlights such as the Video Music Awards and Fashion Week. This year, Fashion’s Night Out was added onto the calendar- Thursday, September 10, right on the eve of Fashion Week. During the evening of this event, over 700 retailers and designers all over New York City will open their doors until 11pm, with special performances and fashion parties hosted and attended by the world’s biggest names. The masterminds behind the event were Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Council of Fashion Designers president Diane von Furstenberg. Fashion, being one of the largest industries in New York City ‘employs 175,000 New Yorkers, and generates $10 billion in total wages’ (http://www.fashionsnightout.com). With the current economy going downhill and America’s unemployment rate at 10%, the event hopes to encourage people to start shopping in order to boost sales, because like how Vera Wang says, "To put it bluntly, if people don’t shop, people lose their jobs" (http://www.fashionsnightout.com).

This year marked the first time Fashion’s Night Out was ever held, which made publicity pivotal to ensure the success of this event. Advertisements could be spotted in every corner- throughout the streets of New York City and all over the media landscape. Posters were plastered on the walls, bus stops, boutique windows, lamp posts, moving buses etc. There was also the Fashion’s Night Out t-shirt that could only be purchased from participating retailers with 40% of the proceeds going towards the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center. Adding to that, celebrities, models and fashion designers were scheduled to attend the event, and a promotional clip featuring them in the t-shirt was made, as a mean to attract their enormous fan base. The extensive publicity over the months managed to build up a great deal of hype amongst fashion enthusiasts.

The highly anticipated night finally arrived and New York City was swarmed with people. ShopperTrak reported that the ‘Manhattan store traffic increase on September 10 versus the same day in 2008 was 36 percent. Therefore, the net traffic gain in the borough was nearly 50 percent’ (http://www.shoppertrak.com/news_retail_sales_091109.php). Judging from the overwhelming turnout, it is obvious that publicity and advertisement were the main forces behind such a successful event. Therefore, buzz, is what this business is all about.