Every generation has that must-have fad toy: hula hoop, Slinky, pet rock, pogs, Trollz, Nano pets, Furby, Webkinz and now Silly Bandz. Silly Bandz are rubber bands sold in packs of 24 to 36, and retail for about $4.95 a pack. Each pack features a theme (think rainforest, baseball or under the sea), and the rubber bands are shaped into characters, objects or animals that fit within that theme. Children then collect them to wear on their arms and trade amongst their friends.
Though inexpensive and seemingly innocuous, Silly Bandz has taken the school-age generation by storm—creating a retail frenzy that has stores scrambling to keep them in stock, parents driving far and wide in search of retired packs and school districts banning them to eliminate the disruption they are causing.
All for a rubber band shaped like a duck?
If you’re like me and don’t have school-aged children, you probably have never heard of Silly Bandz nor do you understand why children, parents and stores are so worked up over them. But you may understand this—the power of viral marketing—and that alone makes Silly Bandz worth understanding.
Brainchild, the marketing arm behind the Silly Bandz craze, does not have a traditional marketing plan in place. They use social media, Internet buzz and word of mouth to sell their products.
Silly Bandz has over 200,000 fans on Facebook and just under 3,000 followers on Twitter. Parent bloggers connect with other parents around the country to chat about the craze and share tips on how to find the rare packs.
In a recent AdAge article, CEO Michael Lewis of Forever Collectibles, the marketer behind Logo Bandz, says he sells over 500,000 packs a day of his licensed Silly Bandz-like rubber band packs. Lewis claims these bands, which feature brand names like Disney and professional sports teams, are more valuable in the trading market.
“It’s 100% viral, and it’s the No. 1-selling product in the country right now — and accelerating daily. An individual store can sell 1,000 packs in an hour,” said CEO Michael Lewis. “And it’s all word of mouth, no advertising. The New York Yankees [pack] is white hot right now. When one kid finds it at a store, in two seconds the kid or his mother is on the phone texting that they’ve found them, all right from the store.”
So what can we learn from this latest rubber band fad? The value of online, viral marketing and how the right buzz can make or break a business.
Silly Bandz are STRETCHING the SNAPPY ability of social media.