Novelty is considered as a central characteristic in contemporary consumer culture, especially to the dynamics of fashion in modernity as suggested by Georg Simmel.
[5] According to Veblen's theory, people consume conspicuously for two main reasons – the first one is to be recognized by their peers and the second one is to achieve a higher social status in society.
[2] Such expectations evolve as the innovation is under development forming "communities of promise",[12] attracting social actors, journalists and opinion leaders that do not wish to be excluded from such interactions.
[12] the inflation is induced both by advertising strategies (such as trailers, demos or sneak peeks) as well as media coverage on the targeted innovation.
Marketers use specific techniques to stimulate hype, like the Gartner's hype cycle,[16] which describes the typical progression of an emerging technology, from user and media overenthusiasm through a period of disillusionment to an eventual understanding of the technology's relevance and role in a market or domain.
[18] The idea of hype culture in entertainment industry is based on an explosive flow of information, carried out within a network, in which users express their own preferences or opinions about a product or a service.
The effects of hype in contemporary consumer culture can be considered a "double-edged sword", because consumer's expectations raised for the launch of a new product can be met, but if a communication or marketing strategy is not managed rightly, this can lead to a general disappointment with a consequent damage of image of the brand or the product itself.
But it is also a tale that insiders said they saw coming for months, based on CD Projekt Red's history of game development and warning signs that Cyberpunk 2077 might not live up to its sky-high expectations.
In the movies and TV series industry, companies often use various marketing techniques in trailers in order to build hype and attract more attention.
In the 2014 Godzilla movie for example, producers added the actor Bryan Cranston, after his successful starring role in AMC series Breaking Bad, using his character Joe Brody in every trailer to build up hype.