The Power of Pre-Release Buzz: How Communication, Search, and Participation Drive Market Success

Have you ever found yourself excitedly discussing an upcoming movie months before its release? Or perhaps searching online for details about a highly anticipated product? If so, you have participated in what marketing researchers call “pre-release consumer buzz” – and according to research, your behavior plays a crucial role in that product’s market success.

Pre-release consumer buzz refers to “observable expressions of anticipation by consumers for a forthcoming product.

Understanding Pre-Release Buzz

Our study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, examines the dynamics of pre-release consumer buzz and its impact on market performance. Our research offers valuable insights for marketers looking to generate excitement for new products before they hit the market.

The success or failure of an entertainment product typically hinges on its early adoption. Hence, it is not surprising that entertainment companies pursue front-loaded marketing practices that focus on creating buzz to support the formation of consumers’ early adoption intentions.

Pre-release consumer buzz manifests in three distinct behaviors:

1. Communication: When consumers express opinions about forthcoming products on platforms like Twitter (now X)

2. Search: When consumers actively look for information about upcoming products through search engines like Google

3. Participation: When consumers engage in experiential activities related to the product, such as watching trailers on YouTube

The Buzz Hierarchy: Communication Leads the Way

One of the study’s most significant findings is that not all buzz behaviors contribute equally to market success. Pre-release communication has the strongest impact on box office performance, with an elasticity of 0.23, followed by participation (0.09) and search (0.08).

In simpler terms, an increase in pre-release communication about an upcoming movie by 10% is associated with a 2.3% increase in opening weekend box office sales, while similar increases in participation and search translate to more modest gains of 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

Why does communication have such a powerful effect? We suggest that communication is more accessible and diagnostic to other consumers compared to search and participation. When people see others actively discussing an upcoming product on social media, it sends a clear positive signal that creates excitement and interest.

The Dynamic Interplay of Buzz Behaviors

Perhaps most fascinating is how these three buzz behaviors interact with and reinforce each other over time. Our research reveals that pre-release communication, search, and participation don’t exist in isolation – they create what the researchers call “action-based buzz cascades.”

Buzz cascades are resemblant of bandwagon effects in that other people’s preferences can affect the preferences of an individual, and herding behavior, in that individuals may follow other people’s actions rather instinctively without much deliberation.

When consumers observe excitement about a forthcoming product, they often begin engaging in buzz behaviors themselves, which in turn influences others, creating a cascading effect. We found that communication not only has the strongest self-reinforcing effects but also generates the most powerful spillover effects on the other behaviors.

For instance, a spike in communication about an upcoming movie tends to drive subsequent increases in both search and participation behaviors. This underscores communication’s central role in propagating pre-release buzz.

Implications for Marketers

For marketing professionals, these findings offer clear strategic directions:

1. Prioritize Communication-Driving Activities

Given communication’s outsized impact on market performance, marketers should focus their efforts on strategies that encourage consumers to talk about upcoming products on social media. We found that non-trailer-related social media posts by firms are the most effective tool for stimulating communication, with an effect three times stronger than trailer releases and five times stronger than trailer-related posts.

2. Deploy Social Media Content Early and Often

We recommend that firms prepare social media content for distribution at least two months before a product’s release. Regular posting throughout the pre-release period helps maintain and build buzz momentum.

3. Release Trailers Strategically

While communication is king, don’t neglect participation. Our findings suggest that trailer releases are particularly effective in driving participatory behaviors. These trailers should be engaging and easy to share, as their effects can unfold over days or weeks.

4. Reconsider Mass Media Advertising Allocation

Interestingly, mass media advertising appears to have no significant impact on any of the buzz behaviors, though it directly affects box office sales. This suggests that while advertising remains important for driving sales, it may not be the most effective tool for generating pre-release buzz.

5. Consider Product Characteristics

Additional analyses showed that star power strengthens the impact of communication on market performance, while participation has a stronger effect for products based on existing intellectual property (sequels, adaptations, etc.). Marketers should take these factors into account when planning buzz-building strategies.

Beyond Movies: Broader Applications

While this research focused on the movie industry, the findings have implications for many product categories with short lifecycles and experiential qualities. From video games and books to consumer electronics and fashion collections, pre-release buzz can play a crucial role in early adoption and overall success.

As pre-release marketing campaigns become increasingly common across industries, understanding how to effectively stimulate and leverage consumer buzz will be essential for marketing success.

Conclusion

The next time you find yourself tweeting about an upcoming movie, searching for details about a new product, or watching a trailer, remember that you are not just satisfying your curiosity – you are participating in a complex social process that significantly impacts market outcomes.

For marketers, the message is clear: in the pre-release phase, focus on getting consumers talking. While all buzz behaviors matter, communication plays the central role in driving market performance, both directly and through its powerful spillover effects on search and participation. By strategically deploying social media content and trailer releases, firms can effectively stimulate pre-release buzz and set their products up for success.

Disclosure: This blog post was created with assistance from AI tools.

Full reference: Schreiner, Thomas F., Timo Mandler, Harald J. van Heerde, and Carolin Haiduk (2025), “Dynamics of Pre-release Consumer Buzz: Driving Communication, Search, and Participation for Market Performance,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, forthcoming. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11747-024-01077-y

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