Candidates battle for ‘buzz’

Yes, but are they buzz worthy?

Actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee bought television time for only 13 campaign ads since January in his quest to woo voters and win the Republican nomination for president. His modest outreach was limited to cable networks, according to statistics released yesterday by Nielsen Co.

In stark contrast, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, placed 10,893 ads on local TV stations, cable and national broadcast networks in eight states.

Mr. Thompson is, however, besting Mr. Romney. His “buzz” is bigger, Nielsen says.

For the uninitiated, “buzz” is the persistent and immediate thrum of public recognition for candidates, celebrities, news events and commercial brands in the online realm — on blogs, rants, message boards and discussion groups. Such buzz often sends important rattles through traditional media as well.

Mr. Thompson’s buzz is up by 526 percent, according to Nielsen’s Buzzmetrics service, which tracks the online mentions of White House hopefuls. Mr. Romney’s buzz has grown by 35 percent, though he’s spent close to $9 million on his TV campaign alone this year, according to TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group.

Nielsen speculates that Mr. Thompson’s buzz was enhanced by his decision to announce his candidacy on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.

Meanwhile, fellow Republican and former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani’s buzz is up by 45 percent. Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona may have a mere vibration: His buzz is down by 27 percent.

And what’s this? Among Democratic contenders, former Sen. John Edwards’ buzz factor has dropped by 20 percent, though he’s doing better than Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, whose buzz is down by 33 percent — the biggest drop among all the candidates on both sides.

Buzz can be a fickle thing, perhaps. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton leads the pack in cumulative buzz, with the most online mentions of any candidate in the past nine months. But interest in the New York Democrat appears to be stalled. It has not increased at all in the past nine months, Nielsen found.

But can buzz buy votes?

“Buzz can undo traditional sources of advertising. A candidate can spend millions on prime-time TV and along comes a rival who posts a blog on MySpace and suddenly there’s a groundswell of support. And pledges, too,” said Tyler Gray, senior editor of Radar Magazine.

The publication offers the daily Fame-0-Meter, a “real-time buzz index” that tabulates public interest in assorted famous folks through the number of online searches or press mentions they generate. Mrs. Clinton is currently at the top of the list, followed by Mr. Obama and Mr. Edwards, of North Carolina. Mr. Romney is in fourth place, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, is in fifth.

“Buzz generates feedback. Anybody can post their reactions online to a question like, ’Who would you rather have a beer with, Hillary or Rudy?’ That’s buzz-making. And buzz is part of the national debate via the talk shows and pundits,” Mr. Gray added. “It’s only going to get louder in 2008.”