Within marketing circles around the world, enormous attention has been paid to a relatively new form of marketing called flash mobbing. This marketing model not only attracts attention, it also makes many people incredibly successful.

But first I would like to point out that although this form of marketing is often referred to as flash mobbing, it currently has no name and is the result of a combination of two different marketing strategies.

Originally called tuangou, the system was first developed in mainland China, where buyers would organize and approach suppliers to negotiate wholesale prices rather than paying full retail, as is the case for individual purchases. Group purchase created!

Since the beginning, the collective buying power has been exploited, not only in China (more than 800 group shopping sites) but also in North America, where marketers are only now beginning to see the potential of this marketing model. trend marketing.

Despite how obscure they are from each other, the name was changed from tuangou to the much more pretentious name of flash mobbing. Yet this is what the media has chosen to label tuangou.

The true definition of flash mobbing is when a coordinated group of individuals suddenly gather in a public place, perform an unusual or useless act, and then disperse.

Probably the most publicized example of flash mob advertising is the Oprah Winfrey Show when she hosted a concert in downtown Chicago with the Black Eyed Peas. Shortly after their hit single, “I Got a Feeling,” previously organized groups strategically planted in the audience began performing synchronized dance moves. As the song progressed, like a chain reaction, the entire crowd of about 20,000 people all danced in sync with each other.

You are probably wondering how tuangou, the art of collective shopping, became flash mobbing. As I did.

A hybrid version of the two has begun to sweep the nation. With group buying sites popping up everywhere, the world is adjusting very well to the concept of group buying. Not to mention saving lots and lots of money in the meantime. However, how can these two seemingly different aspects of marketing come together in one of the most intuitive marketing methods of recent times? Let’s find out.

In the case of “group buying” sites like Groupon and TeamBuy, we are seeing a complementary combination of tuangou and flash mobbing. The backbone of their marketing models is based on the tuangou system for purchasing power while exploiting the social web in true “flash mob” fashion. How this is done is where the real genius resides.

Without numbers (that is, group) the model falls apart. So how do you build the excitement for shoppers to join in and, in turn, make collective buying viable? Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. With these sites in their corner and quick accessibility for their shoppers, they in turn create a monolithic word-of-mouth marketing machine that automates the otherwise tedious task of major marketing avenues, all while spending. a minimum of expenses. If I told you it could save you thousands of dollars in marketing and eliminate your need for print or radio ads … wouldn’t it get your attention? Essentially, this significantly reduces the cost of customer acquisition for manufacturers and service providers. Clearly, this is the bait that attracts the most CEOs.

Broken down further, it looks like this:

tuangou = collective purchase

flash mob = word of mouth or word of mouth advertising

The combination of the two, if applied correctly, is an ideal marketing model with the highest possible conversion numbers of any other marketing method. As all businesses compete in this rapidly changing world, we must discover new and intuitive ways to market our goods and services. As Stuart H. Britt once said,

For a company, not advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but no one else knows.

With growing popularity and increasing conversions, one might be bold enough to say that we are witnessing the transformation of how marketing can change for 2011 and beyond.

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