The Bottom Line

Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Factual: Money

Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show with insights from the people at the top.

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The Bottom Line: Hype

Hype

BBC Radio 4 - The Bottom Line, Hype

Why do some brands go viral, and how much hype is too much?

Why do some brands go viral, can the attention be sustained, and how much hype is too much? Evan Davis and guests discuss.

Every brand wants attention, to be seen as a must-have, but how do some manage stratospheric levels of popularity? It might happen organically, perhaps even by accident, but it’s also true that many brands engineer it.

Evan Davis and guest discuss the tricks of the trade, from social media influencers to artificial scarcity, and the potential pitfalls when a product is so popular that it's almost impossible to get hold of.

Plus, what is it that compels people to queue several hours for a sandwich, or pay ten times the usual price for a bottle of energy drink - we explore the consumer psychology behind the hype.

Evan is joined by:

Ellis Gilbert, founder of Soho Yacht Club and Talk Nice Studios;
Rory Sutherland, vice chair of Ogilvy UK;
Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, reader in psychology at Anglia Ruskin University;
and Sian Evans, founder of Chatsworth Bakehouse.

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Producer: Simon Tulett
Researcher: Drew Hyndman
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Neil Churchill and Donald MacDonald
Production co-ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge

(Picture: A customer jumps in the air as he leaves an iPhone store in London, after being the first person to buy the brand's latest phone. Credit: Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images)

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