A network street team places marketing and promotional materials on store counters, as well as hands out literature, flyers, or stickers to consumers at nightclubs, comic stores, cafes, and on the street. They also do poster sniping and sticker campaigns. They promote everything from music releases, concert tours, video games releases, magazine issues, and TV shows. Traditionally, street teams have helped spread the word to local trendsetters to create a buzz campaign about particular products or artists.

Using a network street team can be an amazingly effective way to turn an ordinary product into a best seller, especially in key urban demographic markets. Think of word-of-mouth phenomena like Beanie Babies or Razor scooters. Usually, consumers come to the product, but with a network street team, people can bring the product directly to consumers.

The Network Street Team in Action

Street teams are often volunteers who want to support music artists and see them succeed. They help sell CDs, increase an artist's fan base, and improve an artist's reputation. Over the past few years, businesses have seen successful street team campaigns and want to try it with their products--it's word-of-mouth marketing working on behalf of word-of-mouth marketing!

If you want to get involved with a street team, there are a few places to look. First, try a website or fansite for your favorite band. Second, call your local radio and television stations and see if they need help promoting new music or TV shows. Finally, ask around town. When you see posters or flyers in stores, ask the store owners or managers who distributed them, and get in touch with them.