buzz does not equal popularity

If we learned anything from American Idol this Spring ‘09 season, we learned that buzz cannot be equated with popularity. I thought both finalists were very talented in amazingly different ways. One performer got all the buzz, and the other won the competition. The press was “shocked,” some were “outraged” and the press reported that the “underdog” had won. Clearly Kris Allen was an underdog in the eyes of the media but I suspect the votes weren’t even close (or the producers would probably have revealed that fact).

Some organizations are addicted to buzz - always looking for the next thing that will get people buzzing.  But how often do they stop to see how well that buzz is translating into success?