Not too many years ago, the question might have been, "Do you have e-mail?" Today, it’s "Do you blog?" If you answered Yes in either case (depending on when the question was asked), then author Malcolm Gladwell has you pegged. You are either a Maven (an expert or connoisseur, who wants to know everything and then pass on the knowledge to others) or a Connector (someone who knows tons of people, who has a genius for making friends and acquaintances). In his 2001 best-seller, The Tipping Point, Gladwell postulates that Mavens and Connectors are both essential to the creation and spreading of trends. And buzz, or word-of-mouth marketing, is certainly one of the biggest trends yet to hit alternative marketing.

Gladwell’s theory is that observable trends grow and spread themselves through a society like viruses. He cites trends in behavior (sudden drops in crime, sudden waves of teenage suicides), products ("enhanced" bottled water, combination shampoo-and-conditioner), and ideas (word-of-mouth marketing), referring to them as "epidemics". It’s because of the Connectors and the Mavens, and one more type – the Salesmen – that these social epidemics occur, says Gladwell. Mavens, those databases of information, create the message. Connectors spread it around like social glue over their wide networks of connections. And then there are the Salesmen, people who are skilled at persuasion, who turn the conglomeration into sales. They make us want to buy the next great product.

The Salesmen, that third select group, are the ones who are critical to word-of-mouth marketing – which, in its turn, is the mainstay of alternative marketing.

Alternatives Everywhere

Alternative marketing goes by many names: word-of-mouth and buzz are only two of them. Have you come across guerrilla marketing, virtual marketing, diffusion marketing , street marketing, ambush marketing, covert marketing, renegade marketing, below-the-line marketing,– and yes, viral marketing? It’s confusing, all right; but all of these are ways to try to reach consumers without resorting to traditional advertising means such as television, radio, and print. One thing that may strike you is that most of these names imply stealth or warfare or infection, or a combination of all three. Advertisers seem to have realized that in today’s environment the bludgeon is less effective than the virus, when it comes to selling their products.

No matter what you call them, alternative media depend on the social influence of Connectors. This group of people seems to have endless numbers of acquaintances; and the more acquaintances they have, the more powerful Connectors are in our society. They are in the perfect position to activate trends. Other words used by marketers to describe these folks are carriers, trendsetters, evangelists, and influentials. Their opinions carry weight. Companies want these people in their ballpark; their large networks make them potentially very profitable friends.

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