Universal McCann Wave Report: When Did We Start Trusting Strangers?

8/14/2019 Universal McCann Wave Report: When Did We Start Trusting Strangers?

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© Universa McCann 2008

When did westart trustingstrangers?How the internet turned us a into inuencers





5

This unique perspective comes rom data collected in

the third instalment o Universal McCann’s global digital

research programme “Wave”. The research was completed

among 17,000 active internet users in 29 countries –

making it one o the most wide reaching investigations into

the subject o inuence and word o mouth. Respondents

are provided by the world’s leading online panel companies,i l l i li l i

all recruit to strict ESOMAR standards.ll i d i

Every market is representative by age and sex to the

16-54 Active Internet Universe. Quotas and universe sizes

were established rom local data sources such as TGI

and Simmons.

To quali y as a member o the Active I i erse thel i i Interne t Univ

respondent needs to be usin he I

i t Internet everyday or every

ther . They are the audi

ay. i nce that matter to current

an marketin i i

uture o r in communications and represent theh r i i i l

onsumer t t re driving the ew inuence landscape.

Methodoogy

Australia

Austria

Canada

China

Czech Republic

Denmark

France

Germany

Greece

Hong KongHungary

India

Italy

Japan

Mexico

Netherlands

Romania

Pakistan

Philippines

Poland

Russia

South Korea

Spain

SwitzerlandTaiwan

Turkey

UK

USA





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No Strangers Anymore cont.

Wecome to the newinuence andscape

➜ The rise o social media

3 key trends

Yvonne, Switzerland

This study demonstrates through a unique global research

project in 29 countries that things have changed orever. In the

new inuencer landscape there are fve undamental changes

that every brand and marketer will have to acknowledge.

Anyone can inuence anyone: We now trust strangers as

much as our closest riends.

Friendship is no onger oca or ace to ace: It’s becoming

technology. We all share inuence today whether we actively

mean to or not.

New super inuencers rise above the mass: Not all

consumer inuencers are equal. A new breed o “super

inuencers” has been created by the tools o the social

media revolution.

The new inuence ecosystem has undamentay changed

Darren, UK

Scott, USA

Michael, Germany

Olga, Greece

Brendan, Hungary

Teresa, Canada



11

The rise o socia media

From its inception the internet has allowed consumers to

create content in a manner that was never possible in the

age o mass media where TV, radio and press belonged

to the proessionals. The web reduced the barriers to

production and opened the channels o distribution to

anyone with a desire to create content or share their

thoughts and opinions.

In the early days it required technical knowledge, experienceand a substantial investment in computing hence the impact

was limited to the geek community. However, in the last

ew years these barriers have disappeared and consumer

content and opinion has exploded due to the emergence o

mass market social media platorms like YouTube, Blogger

and MySpace.

These developments combined with the ever alling costs o

computing and broadband have enabled a global revolution

in consumers publishing their content and thinking.

This explosion o social media has created hundreds o

millions o content creators as demonstrated by data rom

our Global Social Media Tracker in Figure 1. This shows

massive growth in a very short period o time and users

have gradually moved rom passive consumers to activecreators. Writing blogs has risen rom 28% to 44%, creating

a social network page has grown rom 27.3% to 57.5%

and uploading a video clip rom 10% to 42%. The result

is billions o thoughts and opinions online available

or anyone to read which is driving an inuence revolution.

Figure 1: “Socia Media adoption over time (Waves 1 – 3)” Global Average

Source: Universal McCann Social Media Tracker – Power to the People

Socia Media adoption over time (Waves 1 – 3)

Read blogs/weblogs

Start my own blog/weblog

Leave a comment on a blog site

Upload my photos to a photo sharing site

Upload a video clip to a video sharing site

Watch video clips online

Create a profle on a social network

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Wave 1 Sep 06

%

E v e r d o n e

Wave 2 Jun 07 Wave 3 Mar 08

13



ure 2:ure 2: “What do you do with your socia network profe?”“What do you do with your socia network profe?”

cial Network Users, Global Average. Source: Universal McCanncial Network Users, Global Average. Source: Universal McCann

cial Media Tracker – Power to the Peoplecial Media Tracker – Power to the People

added to your social network page

Insta

appications23.3%

Upoad photos55.1%Write a bog

30.8%Upoad

videos21.9%

Favourite /

currentyistened to music

33.6% Promote

a band9.8%

The scale o this revolution is demonstrated by Figures 2

and 3, which show the extent o content that social network

users and bloggers are uploading. It is clear that social

media has become a platorm or directly sharing opinion

and thoughts; 34% o social network users are sharing

opinions on music, 31% are writing a blog inside their profle

and almost 10% have promoted a band.

They are also sharing content; 55% are sharing photos, 22%

are uploading videos and 23% are uploading applications,

all o which project opinions and endorse brands i included.

The rise o socia media cont.

What I do with my socia network profe

13

Monica, Spain

Glen, UK

Hugh, Canada

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Have you seen the newUniversal McCann website? Check it outwww.univer salmccann.com

Figure 3:Figure 3: “When writing a bog, which o the oowing do you post?”“When writing a bog, which o the oowing do you post?”

Blog writers only, Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Soci al MediaBlog writers only, Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Soci al Media

Tracker – Power to the PeopleTracker – Power to the People

Videos24%

Recommendedwebsites

32%

Upoad

music20%

Favourite/ currenty istened

to music29%

Opinions on

productsand brands

28%

Stories rom

other bogs

23%

Widgets

14%

Photos50%

and recommendations; 32% have shared recommended

websites, 29% their avourite music and 28% opinions on

products and brands. This is a massive volume o opinion

that is uelling the new inuence landscape.

The rise o socia media cont.

15

Spyros – Greece

Federico – Panama

What do I post

on my bog?

17



Figure 5: “What do you do with your socia networking profe?”,

Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Social Media Tracker –

Power to the People

Dating18.3%

Meet new

riends

42%

Stay in contact

with existingriends

58%

Emai99% Instant messenger

81.6%

Socia network58%

VOIP51.3%

17

Digita riends

Since its inception as a closed academic and military

network the web has had a major impact on the way its

users communicate and the nature o the social contacts

they maintain. In 2008, 1.5bn people are online and the

impact o the internet has spread into the way we interact

and communicate as a society.

Figure 4 shows the penetration o dierent communications

platorms; email is universally used and instant messenger

is adopted by more than 80% o users world-wide. This has

moved billions o personal interactions into the virtual and

written word, where it is much easier to spread inuence

and communication is much more requent and casual.

What is interesting is the extent to which social media

is beginning to rival its more established equivalents,

with nearly 58% having joined a social network. But

more importantly, as Figure 5 shows, these users are

communicating in new ways, with 66% using them to stay

in contact with existing riends, 42% using them to meet

new people and 18% or dating.

It is extending our defnition o riendship and

is a undamental shit towards a virtual

communications platorm.

Figure 4: “Thinking about the Internet, which o the oowing have

you done?”, Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Social Media

Tracker – Power to the People

How I communicate onine

How I use socia networks

19



Use socia networks to meet new peope

C a n

a d a 2 5 . 3 %

J a p a

n 2 7

%

100

0

U K 2 8

. 8 %

% A

g r e e

N e t h

e r l a n

d s 2 4

. 1 %

A u s t r

a l i a 2 7 %

G r e e

c e 3 2 . 2 %

S w i t z e

r l a n d

3 2 . 8 %

F r a n

c e 3 3 . 7 %

T u r k e y

3 7 . 8 %

D e n

m a r k

3 8 . 2 %

A u s t r i a

3 9 . 4 %

S p a i n

4 2 . 2 %

C z e

c h R e p

u b l i c

2 4 %

M e x i c o

7 3 . 5 %

H o n

g K o n

g 4 6 . 8 %

G e r m

a n y 4

4 . 6 %

S o u t h

K o r e

a 5 8 . 7 %

T a i w

a n 4 6 . 2 %

C h i n

a 6 3

. 6 %

R o m

a n i a

4 6 . 5 %

B r a z i l 6

9 . 7 %

R u s s i a

4 8 . 8 %

I t a l y 5 2

. 2 %

I n d i a

7 5 .

8 %

P h i l i p p

i n e s 7

9 . 7 %

P o l a

n d 5 8 . 1 %

P a k i s

t a n 7 5 %

H u n g

a r y 4 4

. 1 %

U S 2 9

. 3 %

100

0

F r a n

c e 4 8 . 6 %

P a k i s

t a n 6 7 . 7 %

T u r k e y 4 3

. 6 %

B r a z i l 6

1 %

T a i w

a n 6 4 . 4 %

S p a i n

4 7 . 5 %

I t a l y 6 5

. 9 %

H o n g

K o n

g 5 3 . 8 %

S o u t h

K o r e

a 5 7 .

3 %

M e x i c

o 7 2 . 9 %

P h i l i p

p i n e s 7 3

. 1 %

C h i n a

6 0 . 1 %

I n d i a 7 0

. 2 %

U K 2 5

. 8 %

% A

g r e e

D e n m

a r k 1 7 .

6 %

A u s t r a l i a 2 1 . 8 %

U S 2 4 %

C a n a

d a 2 4 . 3 %

A u s t r i a 2 7

. 7 %

H u n g

a r y 2 7 .

9 %

G e r m

a n y 2

8 . 2 %

S w i t z

e r l a n

d 3 0

. 8 %

P o l a n

d 3 2 . 5 %

J a p a

n 3 4 . 9 %

R u s s i a 3 5 %

C z e c h R

e p u b l i c

3 6 %

G r e e

c e 3 9 . 4 %

N e t h

e r l a n

d s 1 4

. 2 %

R o m a

n i a 4 2 . 3 %

Digita riends cont.

thanks to a multitude o actors including low cost o entry,

less competition rom traditional media, a poor legacy o

fxed line communications and a younger and relatively

more auent profle. This has driven enthusiasm or these

platorms as social channels.

There are also large distinctions in developed internet

markets, 58% o South Korea web users and 66% in Italy

see blogging as a platorm or socialising compared to 26%

in the UK and 24% in the US. These are dierences that

reect broader patterns o adoption o social media and

cultural dierences in role o the web in lie.

The key actor is that the social web is increasingly adopted

as a core social platorm by hundreds o millions o users

worldwide. This dramatically aects the exposure to channels

o inuence and the nature o the social groups we maintain.

The rise o social platorms has created important new

channels or peer to peer interaction. Figure 6 and Figure

7 show the global response to the statements, “blogging

is important to socialise with riends” and “I use social

networks to meet new people”, which indicate the social

impact o both these platorms. Both are now perceived

as important platorms or socialising with riends, pushing

more o our interactions into the virtual world and expanding

our riend networks to include new people and old riends

we would have previously lost contact with.

The global impact is not geographically uniorm and there

are large distinctions by country, with ast-growing emerging

internet markets leading the way, such as the Philippines,

Mexico and India. In these countries social platorms

have been enthusiastically embraced among web users,

Figure 6: Agree with the statement

“Bogging is important to sociaise with riends”

Bogging is important to sociaise with riends

Figure 7: Agree with the statement

“I use socia networks to meet new peope”

21



Digita riends cont.

The evolution o the web as a social platorm and primary

communication channel has had a dramatic impact on

the scale and nature o our riendship networks. Figure

8 shows the global average number o riends and

personal acquaintances we maintain via dierent orms o

communication including ace to ace, digital and letters.

The amazing truth is that the web has massively expanded

the size o our social platorms and virtualised a large

proportion o our daily contact. Today, although we still

maintain an average o 35 riendships ace to ace, it is

rapidly being equalled by email with an average o 32, social

networks with 30 and Instant Messenger with 29.

Interestingly these all rank above SMS or phone calls, which

shows that PC based internet is or expanding networks,

while mobile is or maintaining current ones.

The nature o riendship is changing rom voice to text and

written word. This is a signifcant change in the ability to

inuence and share opinions as it’s much easier to do in

text – communication is more requent and can include

additional inormation like links, videos and photos.

Figure 8: “Approximatey how many peope do you stay in contact with in

your persona ie through the oowing means?”, Global Average

Average number o contacts viadierent orms o onine communications

There are interesting regional dierences in the nature o

riend networks as demonstrated by some o the major

internet markets shown in fgure 9:

Brai – very large riend networks, expanded urther online.

Brazilian web users are known as vicarious social network

users thanks to an obsession with Orkut. On average they

maintain 51 riendships via social networks.

China – Instant Messenger leads the way as a nation o

single children jump on Instant Messenger tools like QQ

to socialise. On average they have 51 riends on Instant

Messenger versus 28 riends ace to ace – a staggering shit

to the virtual.

Social network

Instant Messenger

Email

Face to ace

My personal blog

Phone

Text Message

Post/letter

0 60Average number o connections maintained

51.5

48.5

45.3

38.2

26.2

24.4

17

8.6

BRAzIl

Instant Messenger

Phone

Email

Text Message

Social network

Face to ace

My personal blog

Post/letter


49

33.6

32.2

31.7

31.3

27.5

26.1

12.6

CHINA

Average number o contacts viadierent orms o onine communications

Figure 9: “Approximatey how many peope do you stay in contact with in

your persona ie through the oowing means?”, key internet markets

Face to ace

Email

Social network

Instant Messenger

Phone

Text Message

My personal blog

Post/letter


35

32

30

28

26

21

13

9

Graeme, USA

23



Digita riends cont.

UK – Social networks now equal the number o ace-to-ace

relationships reecting the massive growth o Facebook.

SMS usage is level with phone calls demonstrating the

popularity o messaging.

US – Email just leads ace-to-ace relationships, but SMS yet

to catch on.

India – Email and mobile lead the way as Indians leaprog

fxed line networks, embracing unctional communications

platorms over social ones.

Japan – Signifcantly smaller riend networks reect the

structure o society, although it one o the most virtualised

with email and social networks leading ace to ace, but

Instant Messenger lags.

UKFace to ace

Social network

Email

Phone

Text Message

Instant Messenger

My personal blog

Post/letter

Average number o connections maintained0 60

30.9

30.5

25.2

21.1

20.8

20.1

9.7

7.1

USA

Average number o connections maintained

Email

Face to ace

Phone

Social network

Instant MessengerText Message

Post/letter

My personal blog

0 60

21.1

20

16.9

16.6

12.4 8.9

7.4

7.1

Email

Phone

Social network

Face to ace

Text Message

Instant Messenger

Post/letter

My personal blog

Average number o connections maintained0 60

51.6

45.1

42.9

42

35.5

33.2

23.8

17.9

INDIA

JAPANEmail

Text Message

Social network

Phone

Face to FacePost/Letter

My personal blog

Instant Messenger


8.5

8

7.4

7

6.5 6.3

3.8

2.9

Average number o contacts via

dierent orms o onine communications

Average number o contacts via

dierent orms o onine communications

25



Digita riends cont.

% stay in contact

stay in touch with a partner ace to ace. Staying in touch

with children is a very similar pattern, remarkably 16% stay

in touch by text and 13% by email, which again are very

signifcant numbers considering just 34% have children and

stay in touch ace to ace.

This is a big shit. Think back 10 years, email was just

emerging as a business tool, IM and social networks were

yet to exist and SMS was nowhere. Today an increasing

amount o interaction is text-based and remote.

The impacts on the way we interact, communicate and

build our networks are substantial and they have a major

eect on the way we interace, receive and transmit

recommendations.

The impact o virtual networks and digitised riends can

be seen on our core day to day interactions with partners,

riends, work colleagues and children. There has been

a signifcant shit to virtual communication as shown in

Figure 10. This is particularly marked within riend networks

where 79% keep in touch by email, 70% by SMS, 67% by

messenger and 46% by social networks. Interacting with

current work colleagues is led by phone and email, where

interactions tend to be more ormal. Also social networks are

beginning to become important as the boundaries between

proessional and personal continue to disapear.

The most remarkable trend is the inuence o the virtual

connection on our most personal o relationships. Nearly

38% o respondents say they keep in contact with their

partner via SMS, 30% via email and 10% via Instant

Messenger. All very signifcant compared to the 55% who

Figure 10: “How do you keep in

contact with the oowing peope”,

Global Average

How do I keep in contact with my partner How do I keep in contact with my chidrenHow do I keep in contact with my riends How do I keep in contactwith my current work coeagues

86.3%Face to ace

31.1%My personal

blog 79.4%Email

82.4%Phone

45.7%

Social network

66.9%Instant Messenger

Social network

5.8%9.8%

7.2%

22%

30.1%Email

48.8%Phone 54.9%

Face to ace

Post/letter

My personal blog

Text MessageInstant Messenger

Post/letter

37.9% 8.1%

25.7%43%

44.4%58%

15.1%

Email

Social network

My personal blog

29.3%

Text Message

Instant Messenger

Face to acePhone

8.1%

24.4%Phone

2.2%3.7%

9.6%

13%Email

15.8%

34.1%Face to ace

Post/letter

Social network

My personal blogText Message

Instant Messenger

3.4%

39.2%Post/letter

70.1%Text Message

27



Proieration o inuencer channes

The continuing rise o social media and digitisation o our

riend networks has opened up a mass o new inuence

channels that allow consumers to voice and have their

opinions heard, both amongst existing networks and more

importantly among a wider audience. Consumer contribution

to the web has become the norm.

The result is that all sites are now incorporating social

aspects that encourage consumer input and interaction

and there is now a huge number o ways in which to share

opinions as represented in fgure 11. For example all

e-commerce sites now have consumer reviews, comments

and recommendations; Amazon allows users to compile

wish lists o products, Ebay has consumer ratings o sellers

and iTunes has consumer ratings and recommendations.

This creates an environment where sharing opinions has

never been so easy - a very real change in a very short

space o time.

The result is a situation we can call casual inuence, it’s now

incredibly easy to inuence other consumers be it via voting

buttons or creating avourites lists or even just by purchasing

a product that will later become a recommendation or

another consumer. There are so many tools to do this that

we no longer have to really think actively about inuencing.

Figure 11: “Consumer inuence channes – mass market age

versus socia media age”, Global Average

Consumer inuence channes – mass market age versus socia media age

Mass Market Age Social Media Age

Talk ace to ace

Phone call

Talk to a shop worker

Consult a proessional

Readers letters

Phone in; TV / Radio

Talk ace to ace Personal blog Comments on blogs

Phone call Social network page Comments on websites

Talk to a shop worker idgets Viral emails

C ons ul t a pr o es si on al V id eo sh ar in g si te A uc ti on we bsi te s

Readers letters Photo sharing site Wish lists

Phone in; TV / Radio Chat rooms Ratings on retail sites

SMS Message boards Reviews on retail sites

Email Social Bookmarking Price comparison sites

Instant Messenger Chat room Social shopping sites

29



Proieration o inuencer channes cont.

The extent o adoption o the new inuence channels can

be seen in fgure 12, which shows the monthly reach. Over

44% o users have shared an opinion about a product or

service by Instant Messenger with a riend in the last month

and 42% by email. These two show that the web is an

extension o the existing relationships.

Signifcantly social channels are also extremely popular and

have very similar levels o penetration. More than 30% o

people have commented on a product or service review on a

blog, just above the 29% that have recommended a product

or brand on a blog in the past month. Amazingly, both now

rank above writing a review on an e-commerce site, a much

more accessible and mainstream social channel.

Figure 12: “Thinking about how you can share an opinion on a product, brand

or service via the Internet. On average how oten do you do the oowing?”

Global Monthly Average

How I share opinions o products, brands and services

Tell someone about a product/service by Instant Messenger

Tell someone about a product/service by email

Comment on a product/service review on a blog/weblog

Recommend a product/service on a blog/weblog

Write review o product/service on ecommerce/retail site

Comment on product/service review on ecommerce/retail site

Post opinion on social network personal profle

Write a review o a product/service on yr blog/weblog

Create product wish/avs list on ecommerce/retail site

Post a video clip eaturing a product/service

44.5%

42.4%

30.4%

29.4%

28.9%

28.9%

27.6%

27.5%

27.4%

25.1%

Monthly Average

0 50

Hi Alistair,I’ve found this amazing golf hotel.I’ll send you details later.

31




There are clear motivations or online users to share their

opinions. When asked to rate dierent actors on a scale o 5

or importance a defnitive pattern emerges among the mass

market as Figure 13 shows. The most important actors

being a good experience, a riend having a good experience

and a quality product – demonstrating the importance in the

new inuence landscape o investing in a quality product.

These both rank above negative experience, rebufng the

misconception that people just use the web to complain.

All aspects o personal experience and personal

recommendations are stronger inuences than any

traditional paid or communications except sampling. A clear

demonstration that being active in social media will become

increasingly important or brands.

Interestingly or the mass market, a brand being ashionable

or discovering an unknown brand is not a major driver to

recommend and users would much rather comment and

pass judgement on something that is already known and

amiliar. This is because we are more amiliar with these

products and we eel saer in recommending it. This shows

that the majority o us do not want to dictate trends, but

respond and evaluate what is already established.

These motivations indicate two things; frstly companies thatinvest in quality product will succeed and will get a much

greater exposure through consumer content than their

marketing budget allows; secondly it means that companies

with a bad product or trying to cover up bad behaviour will

suer in the transparent world o the inuencer economy.

Figure 13: “The oowing are a ist o reasons and motivations or you to tak about a product, brand or

service. Pease can you consider how important they are in motivating you to tak to others? Where 5 =

very motivating and 1 = Not at a motivating.” Global Average

What motivated me to share my opinion?

Good personal experience

Someone you trust having a good personal experience

The brand is high quality

A riend’s recommendation

Bad personal experience

A ree sample you receive

Your riends like the product or service

Someone you trust having a bad personal experience

The product or service is discounted

The brand is popular

An advertisement you fnd interesting & inspiring

A promotion you see in a store

A recommendation in the media (TV/newspapers/mags/radio)

A recommendation you receive in a store

The brand is ashionable

The brand is unknown amongst social group

Seen used by a celebrity/well known fgure

4.1

3.7

3.7

3.4

3.3

3.2

3.2

3.2

3.1

2.9

2.8

2.7

2.6

2.5

2.4

2.1

1.8

Average Score 1-50 4.5

I’ve found the coolest trainers ever.I’ll show you on Saturday.Federico, Panama Spyros, Greece

33



What’s the best mobile networkyou know of?!

Prolieration o infuencer channels cont.

As Figure 14 shows, these new channels have become

an essential part o our repertoire or sourcing inormation

on products and brands. When asked which ones were

consulted or inormation on products and brands in

an average month, all remarkably had a penetration o

more than 40%, with all social channels competing

extremely well.

Search is number one, but an email recommendation

is virtually the same with 80% monthly reach. Instant

Messenger conversation with a riend has the same

penetration as visiting a branded website. Both o which

demonstrate the increasing reach o digitised direct

communication channels as a orm o inuence.

The other validation or the impact o social channels

is the 55% o the active Internet universe claiming to

have sought product and brand inormation on personal

recommendations on social networks and 51% on personal

blogs in an average month. This compares with 55%

reading reviews on a news website or product and brand

inormation in the last month and the same number reading

reviews on price comparison sites.

It’s clear that social and consumer-generated channels,

regardless o environment are consumed at the same level

as proessional content - a big development in the growth o

the new inuencer landscape.

Figure 14: “Thinking about the process o looking or opinions on a product, brand

or services online. On average how oten do you do the ollowing when looking or

inormation on products, brands and services?”, Global Average

How I source opinions on products, brands and services

Search or a specifc product/service on a search engine

Read an email rom a riend/colleague

Visit ofcial company/brand website

Instant Messenger conversation with a riend/colleague

Bookmark products & services interested in

Visit an Internet auction site

Read comments on a personal profle on a sn e.g Facebook.com

Read ofcial reviews on retail/price comparison websites

Read reviews written on news websites e.g bbc.co.uk

Read a personal blog/weblog by someone you know

Read reviews by consumers on retail sites e.g Amazon.com

Visit online Chat rooms/message boards

Read a blog/weblog by someone you do not know

Read peoples wish/ave lists on retail websites

Read a blog/weblogs managed by a brand/private company

82.1%

80.2%

69.6%

69.2%

63.3%

58.1%

55.1%

55%

55%

51.4%

49.9%

47.8%

46.6%

43.1%

42.3%

% Monthly Reach0 90

Hayley, London

35




The common perception is that today’s society is more

dangerous and less community orientated than it has ever

been. I you read the more hysterical newspapers, you

could be orgiven or thinking that every stranger is going

to kill you and steal your credit card. But as this research

demonstrates, this is simply untrue, at least in the world o

the web. Figure 15 shows the extent to which global web

users trust dierent sources o inormation on products,

brands and services, proving that online strangers simply

aren’t perceived as a threat, quite the contrary. Today we

trust the opinions o strangers rom all round the world

almost as much as the people we know.

The top four trusted forms of recommendation are all

direct conversation – signifcantly two o these are now on

internet channels: email and Instant Messenger

We trust strangers nline lmost much ace to face

recommendation

We would much rather trust a stranger than celebrity, by

a long way

We rust tranger r paid-for communications r

advertising

We rust a tranger more in regulated environment like reviews in a retail site such as Amazon or an auction site

like eBay

•Blogs r becoming trusted orm of opinion, blogs from

people you know rank at number 7 and those by rom

proessionals or micropublishers, number 15. Blogs are

almost as trusted as their written word counterparts,

magazines and newspapers

Not verything online is trusted: emails from ompanies

are only marginally more trusted than celebrities

Figure 15: “Thinking about where

you fnd inormation or products,

brands and services that you buy.

Pease can you rate them in terms

o how trust worthy the inormation

provided typicay is? Where 10 =

Very trustworthy and 1 = Not at a

trustworthy”, Global Average

The sources o inormation I trust

R a d i o

a d v e r t i s i n

g 3 . 6 3

M a g a z i n

e a r t i

c l e 4 . 6 4

E m a i l s r o m

a r i e n d

/ c o l l e a g u e

. 7 7

I n s t a n

t M e s s e n g

e r c o n v e r s a t i o

n w i t h

a r i e

n d / c o l l e a g u

e . 7

C o n s u m

e r s r e v i e w

s o n r

e t a i l s

i t e s e

. g a m

a z o n

. c o m 5 . 5 6

B l o g s / W

e b l o g

s - b l o g

w r i t t

e n b y

p e o p l e

y o u d

o n o t k n

o w 3 . 9 5

C o m m e

n t s / v i e w

p o i n t

s o n s

o c i a l

n e t w

o r k s i t e s

e. g

a c e b o

o k. c o m 4 . 1 4

M a g a z i n e

a d v e r t i s i n g

3 . 7 4

R e c o m m

e n a t i o n

i n

a t e l e

v i s i o n

p r o r a m

m e 4 . 0 7

N e w s

p a p e r a

d v e r t i s i

n g 3 . 6

P e o p l e s

w i s h / a

v l i s t

s o n r

e t a i l w

e b s i t e s

e. g a

a z o

. o 4 . 0 2

S p o n s o r e d

l i s t i n

g s o n

a s e a r c

h e n g i n e

3 . 6 4

O u t d o

o r a d

v e r t i s i n

g ( e. g

P o s t e r

s a d s

o n p u b l i

c t r a n

s p o r t ) 3

. 9 2

O n l i n

e C h a

t r o o m s

/ m e s s a g e

b o a r d

s 3 . 7 9

S p o n

s o r s h

i p o

e v e n t s

o r s p o r t i n g

e v e n t s 3 . 4

E m a i l s r o m

c o m p

a n i e s

3 . 2 5

i n e m a A

v e r t i s i n

g 3 . 3 1

C e l e b

r i t y r e c

o m m e

n d a t i o n

3 . 2

T e l e v

i s i o n

A d v e r t

s 3 . 7 7

R e c o m m

e n d a t i o

n o n r

a d i o

p r o g r a m

m e s 3 .

R e v i e

w s o n

r e t a i l / p

r i c e c

o m p a

r i s o n

w e b

s e. g p r i c e

l i n e. c

o m 5 .

2 8

P e r s o

n a l r e

c o m m

e n d a t i o

n s r o

m p r o e

s s i o n

a l s 6 . 1 6

U s e r

r e v i e w

s o n a

n o n l i n e

a u c t i o n

s i t e

( e. g e

b a y. c

o m ) 4

. 3

N e w s

p a p e

r a r t i c

l e 4 . 6

R e v i e

w s w r i t t e

n o n n

e w s w

e b s i t e s

e. g g u a r d i a

n. c o. u

k 4 . 4 1

S e a r

c h e n g i n

e ( e. g

l i v e. c

o m ) 4

. 3 5

C o m p a

n y / b r

a n d W e

b s i t e

4 . 3 3

S h e l i n

o r m a

t i o n a

n d p r o d u c t d

i s p l a y

s i n s t o r

e 4 . 2

B l o g s / W

e b l o g

s - p r o e

s s i o n

a l b l o

g e. g e n

g a d g e t.

c o m 4 . 2

P e r s o

n a l r

e c o m

m e n d

a t i o n

s r o m

r i e n d

s / a m

i l y 6 . 7 7

R e a d

e r s l e t t e r

s p a g e i n a

n e w

s p a p

e r 4 . 1 6

0

0

B l o g

s / W e b l o g

s - p e

r s o n a l b

l o g w r i t t

e n b y

p e o p l e

y o u k

n o w

. 9

H i g h t r u s t

l o w t r u s t

37



It might be assumed that age will be a big actor in

determining levels o trust o strangers. The assumption

would be that the younger you are and the more amiliar

you are with social platorms, the more likely you are to

trust consumer opinion online. As this research shows, it is

simply not true – age is not a signifcant actor. Looking at

the channels o inormation that consumers can project their

opinions through by age group in Figure 18, it is clear

that the dierence in trust by age is marginal particularly

when that opinion is seen inside another environment such

as an e-commerce store.

Gender (Figure 17) is even less o a actor, with identical

levels o trust. Interestingly the only demographic that

inuences in a major way is the fnal level o education; the

more educated the more you trust the opinions o strangers

(Figure 16), particularly on blogs.

Figure 17: Trust by gender, Global Average

igure 18: Trust by age, Global Average

Trust by age

Trust by gender


, Global Average

Trust by fna education eve

Blogs/Weblogs-blog written

y people you do not know

6

4

5

2

1

3

0

Peoples wish/av lists on retail

websites e.g amazon.com

Consumers reviews on retail

sites e.g amazon.com

Comments/viewpoints on social

network sites e.g acebook.comBlogs/Weblogs- personal blogwritten by people you know

Blogs/Weblogs- proessional

log e.g engadget.com

User reviews on an online

uction site (e.g ebay.com)

16-24

25-34

35-44

45-54


y people you do not know

chart

6

4

5

2

1

3

0



Consumers reviews on retail


omments/viewpoints on social

etwork sites e.g acebook.com

Blogs/Weblogs- personal blog

written by people you know


log e.g engadget.com

User reviews on an online

auction site (e.g ebay.com)Male

Female


by people you do not know

chart

6

4

5

2

1

3

0



onsumers reviews on retail



network sites e.g acebook.com



Blogs/Weblogs- proessionallog e.g engadget.com

User reviews on an onlineauction site (e.g ebay.com)

Post Graduate

University

ollege

Secondary

Primary School

Venus, Philippines

39



6

7

4

5

2

1

3

0

How much you trust strangers online is more likely to be

determined by nationality and the resulting cultural, social

and technological dierences as demonstrated in

Figure 19 – the levels o trust or social recommendations

in some key developed and emerging markets and the

dierences are very clear.

Levels o trust are signifcantly higher in South Korea, where

massive government investment has created the most

connected and broadband profcient country in the world,leading to the highest levels o social media and content

generation o any o the developed markets. The result is an

ecosystem o inuence, where the opinions o strangers are

extremely well trusted.

Trust is next highest in China and Brazil where uptake o

social media is also extremely high. Trust here is signifcantly

higher than in the US, UK or Japan. There are also cultural

actors at play: in China the collective is still important

despite the in-roads o capitalism while in Brazil culture is

more shared and open.

Japan, despite very high levels o technology, shows that

culture and social actors are also important as levels o

trust are much lower than South Korea. Friend networks in

Japan tend to be much smaller and there are stricter rules

o conduct about interacting with people not amiliar to you.

The UK and the US have almost identical levels o trust and

both are signifcantly lower than the average particularly

in the unregulated environments o blogs and social

networks. This reects lower levels o participation in

content generation and a culture where strangers have been

increasingly depicted in the mass media as a threat.

Figure 19: Trust by country , Global Average

Trust by country


by people you do not know

Peoples wish/av lists on retailwebsites e.g amazon.com

onsumers reviews on retail

ites e.g amazon.com


network sites e.g acebook.com




blog e.g engadget.comUser reviews on an online

auction site (e.g ebay.com)

Brazil

hina

Japan

South Korea

UK

US


What’s the best digital camera atthe moment? How much can youget it for in Japan?

Matsui, Japan

Henry, Australia

41

The new inuencer andscape:



The rise o socia media

•Hasturnedhundredsofmillionsofusintocontent

creators and placed billions o opinions online

•Theworld’scollectivethinkingisnowonlineand

published, a frst in history

•Atotalrevolutioninthewayconsumersshare

inuence and opinion

Digita riends

•Digitalchannelshavemovedmoreofoursocial

interactions into the virtual space and into text and the

written word

•Thewebhasexpandedournetworkstoincludepeoplewe

don’t know and people we used to know and in a pre web

age we would have lost contact with

•Digitalchannelsencouragemorefrequentinteractionand

make it easier to share inuence e.g through sending

links, videos or pictures

Proieration o inuence channes

•Thecontinualriseofsocialmediaandthegrowthof

mechanisms or user input have created an incredible

wealth o outlets to share opinions and thoughts

•Thereisanewformofcasualinuence–Itisnow

incredibly easy to share opinion, rom voting buttons,

to wish lists to comments. These are powerul orms

o inuence that do not require much commitment

•Wenowtrustastrangersrecommendationasmuchas

our closest riends

•Wetrustrecommendationsinsocialmediachannels

more than paid-or communications

pthe summary

43

The new inuencer andscape:43



i l i i ii l i i ii l i i i

il i l

i I i l i i

i l- l i

li l li

l

www.stylehive.com ww . i

www.wists.com . u.

ecommendation Aggregation

Services are evolving to transmit your recommendations into

one place, pulling them rom across the web.

articipating sites share your purchases an l i ns intoi i i i l i i

your Facebook news stream. For example i you buy a movie

ticket on Fandango, watch it appear as news on Facebook.

Highly controversial on launch due to privacy concerns –

watch what you buy your girlriend as a birthday surprise.

i ll i li ll i lri ll i l

i i l i ii i l i i

i li r li –i li li –

i i l i l rii i l i l ii i l i l i

ill iill iill ii i t l i i i ii i l i i i ii i l i i i ii i l i i i i

i i ii i i

li i t i i

Netfix: The US DVD rental r i l il r i e has launched a $1m prize

to improve it r i l ii i recommendat ion algori thm that works out

li lwhether you’d like a flm or not.

l bal retailer uses collaborative fltering

l i i e you relevant product reco ndations

based on real lie purchasing. One reason why Amazon has

stayed on top.

pthe uture

Shashi, India

Somyot, Thailand

Manpreet, China

Hayley, UK

45

Th i Th i t



➜ The inuence economy

➜ The democratisation o inuence

➜ The new super inuencers

The inuence economyThe impact

The social web has enabled every web user to have the

chance to contribute their opinions on products and services.

But this impact is not uniorm across all types o inormation,

products and services. Figure 20 shows the impact the

social web has had on our ability to share opinions and

inormation by category. The most striking observation is that

the participation rates or reviewing online are extremely high

across all categories.

The leading categories are those which are highestparticipation; flms, music, technology and books. Subjects

we all experience, have made a major impact in e-commerce

and all have an opinion on, regardless o expert knowledge.

The big surprise is the high levels o contribution in sectors that

you would traditionally consider low interest, such as utilities

or fnancial services. In addition consumers are just as willing

to comment on services and products they can’t buy online.

Categories such as alcoholic drinks, groceries and cosmetics

are still heavily reviewed, indicating that the impacts o

consumer opinion are being elt regardless o the sector.

The implication o this is that all products are now exposed

to higher levels o consumer scrutiny pre-purchase; theyhave to be more open, transparent and honest. Bad practice

or poor service will be reported and will enter the purchase

decision process. Brands today are involved in social and

conversational media, whether they like it or not.

Figure 20: “Thinking about the oowing types o products, brands or services. Can you pease indicate

whether you have reviewed them onine, either a positive, average or negative opinion” , Global Average

What I have recommended onine

U t i l i t i e s

e. g . g a s

3 7 . 3 8 %

A l c o h o l i

c d r i n k s

3 8 %

N o n a

l c o h o l i c

b e v e r a g

e s 3 8

. 6 4 %

G r o c e r i

e s 3 9

. 4 6 %

P e r s o

n a l h

e a l t h

c a r e

4 1 . 7 9 %

F o o d

4 3 . 1 %

F i n a n

c i a l p

r o d u c t s

4 3 . 1 4 %

H o m e

a p p l i a n

c e s e

. g . F r e

e z e r s

4 3 . 9 5 %

F a s h i o n

e. g .

c l o t h i

n g / s h

o e s 4 5 . 7 2

%

C a r s /

a u t o m

o b i l e

s 4 6 . 4 4

%

G a m e

s c o n s o l e s

/ g a m i n g

4 7 . 1 4 %

H o l i d

a y s / d

e s t i n

a t i o n

s 4 9 . 7 1

3 %

C o m p

u t e r s o t w a

r e 5 3

. 0 9 %

T r a v e l e

. g . f i g h t s

/ t r a i n

s 5 0 . 4 8

%

B o o k s 5

3 . 2 1

%

M o b i l

e p h o

n e s e r v i

c e 5 4

. 3 2 %

P o r t a b l e

t e c h n o l o g

y e. g . M P

3 5 4 . 3 8

%

H o m e

t e c h n o l o g

y e. g . T V

’ s / P C

5 6 . 8 %

M u s i c

5 7 . 1 7 %

F i l m s

5 9 . 2 8 %

P r o p

e r t y / r e a l e

s t a t e

3 6 . 9 3 %

C o s m

e t i c s 4 0

. 8 9 %

70

0

% E

v e r r e v i e w e d o n i n e

Hugh, Canada

47

Th i



The inuence economy cont.

Figure 21: “Thinking about the oowing types o products, brands or services.

Can you pease indicate whether you have reviewed them onine, either a positive,

average or negative opinion”, Films Category

Have you ever reviewed a fm onine?

G r e e c e

5 1 . 2 %

R o m a n i

a 3 7 .

2 %

J a p a n

4 0 . 5 2 %

100

0

A u s t r i a

6 7 . 7 3 %

I t a l y 5 8

. 1 %

P o l a n d

6 5 . 5 9 %

M e x i c o

6 7 . 2 7 %

G e r m a n

y 6 9 . 6 7

%

P h i l i p p i

n e s 8 7 .

0 4 %

C h i n a 7

8 . 2 6

%

P a k i s t a

n 8 1

%

I n d i a 8

2 . 2 %

H o n g K

o n g 8

8 . 0 4

%

S o u t h K

o r e a 9 5 . 5 3

%

T a i w a n

7 4 %

B r a z i l 8

7 . 6 8

%

U K 4 8 .

9 %

H u n g a r

y 3 6 . 9 9

%

N e t h e r l a

n d s 4

1 . 4 2

%

C a n a d a

5 0 . 9 7

3 %

T u r k e y

5 2 . 6 %

R u s s i a

5 2 . 7 6 %

C z e c h R

e p u b l i c

5 2 . 8 %

S w i t z e r l

a n d 5 3

. 6 %

U S 5 4 .

3 3 %

A u s t r a l i

a 5 5 %

F r a n c e

3 6 . 8 5 %

S p a i n 5

5 . 8 4

%

D e n m a

r k 4 9 . 6 %

Using flms as an example, a clear global pattern emerges

demonstrating the places where the inuencer economy

is currently strongest (Figure 21). As flms are universally

viewed worldwide, regardless o income, this is a sensible

measure to pull out the extent o involvement in the

inuence economy.

The leading markets are predominately Asian; South Korea,

Hong Kong, Philippines, India, Pakistan and China.

This shows that extremely high participation rates in social

media are spilling over into direct recommendations

on products and brands. The only exception to the Asian

dominance is Brazil, a country that is obsessed with

social networking.

Participation rates all dramatically or Europe and North

America, which is not due to any less love or flm but moreo an indication that the more developed web markets

haven’t embraced the consumer inuence revolution with

the same level o enthusiasm. Factors in this include a more

developed mass o traditional media to provide inuence,

a legacy o passive web usage prior to social media and

the growth o experts on to the web to share their opinions

in a manner more like traditional media. It’s no coincidence

that blogs in Asia have been employed as a social channel,

while in the US and Europe they are more likely to be

a channel to project your opinions to the many, a reason

why thousands o micro-publishers have emerged in the

blogging environment.

This analysis indicates that levels o opinion contribution

are a reection o overall usage o social media. It is also

clear that culture plays a actor. In Asia and even more so

in Chinese inuenced communities, hierarchical societiespredominate and sharing opinions ace to ace is not as

accepted as it is in the more individualistic societies o

Europe and North America. The web has acted as an outlet

or these opinions allowing the new inuencer landscape to

bypass traditional hierarchies.

I sa w Ha nco

c k a t t he

c i ne ma la s t F r ida y.

W i l l S m i t h i s a

we so me.

Yo u m u s t

go to see i t!

Diederik, Netherlands

% E

v e r r e v i e w e d o n i n e



Democratisation o inuence

51



Democratisation o inuence

Figure 23 shows the impact o the new inuencer landscape

– when asked whether we see ourselves as inuencers or

receivers on a number o product categories, we now claim

to be inuencers or receivers across a huge number o

categories both on and oine.

Firstly the extent to which we consider ourselves inuencers

is much higher across all categories than would be expected

and is now similar to the extent that we consider ourselves to

be receivers – this is a direct result o the ease o access orsharing inuence. Secondly there is a correlation between

the categories that are most popular or sharing inormation

online and the ones that we now consider ourselves to be

inuencers in – music, flm, books and technology. These

are the categories most dependent on personal taste. This

shows how important the web is in shaping the inuence

economy.

Groceries and drinks prove the exception to the rule as

they are products that we are all knowledgeable about

and consequently have always been rich in our verbal

conversations, however they don’t ft into our online

conversations, mainly because they are impulse products

without a long purchase process.

Looking at the categories where we are predominately

receivers, it is the categories that are less dictated by

personal choice and more about in-depth knowledge. They

are the felds that are traditionally low interest and dictated

by experts, such as property, fnance, cars and cosmetics.

However the impact o the new world o inuence can

even be seen here: although they rank last, they are still

all over 40%; a reection o a consumer who has access

to unprecedented volumes o knowledge, opinion and act

online. This will no doubt increase over time, eroding thepower o the experts and bringing consumer inuence into

all categories.

Figure 23: “Thinking about the oowing type o products, brands and services, which o the oowing statements appy?

oten inorm others on what to buy / I sometimes inorm others on what to buy / I sometimes ask others what products

to buy /I woud aways ask others about what products to buy ”, Global Average

The categories I inuence in

Receivers Inuencers

-80 800

Groceries (ood)

Non alcoholic beverages

Music

Films

Books

Mobile phone service

roceries (non ood e.g cleaning products)

Home Technology e.g TV’s/PC

Fashion (clothing/ shoes)

Portable technology e.g MP3 players/ Mobile Phones[Always ask

Holidays/ Destinations

lcoholic drinks

Home appliances e.g Fridges/ reezers

ravel

Personal Healthcare (e.g medicines contact lenses etc)[Always ask

Computer Sotware

Utilities e.g gas electricity etc[Always ask others]

Games Consoles/ Gaming

Cosmetics

Cars/ Automobiles

Financial products (e.g credit cards/ banking/ insurance)[Always

Property/Real Estate[Oten inorm others]

Always ask

Sometimes ask

Sometimes inorm

Oten inorm

Rolandas, Lithuania

53

Democratisation o inuence cont



Democratisation o inuence cont.

The true picture o the democratisation o inuence can be

seen in the number o categories that we claim to inuence

in. Figure 24 shows that we consider ourselves to be

inuencers across several categories. The peak o inuence

around 12-14 categories is much higher than would have

been expected beore the advent o the web. Visually it can

be seen that the pattern o inuencers is top heavy, the

majority inuence in 10+ categories, which is much higher

than the mid point or sourcing inormation - we now claim

to share more than we receive.

More importantly this contradicts the idea that we live in a

simplistic world where there is a small group o “inuencers”

who dictate their agenda to everyone else. The truth is

everybody inuences and receives inormation across a

huge number o categories and thanks to social media

this trend has been amplifed. The reality today is much

more complicated.

Figure 24: “Thinking about the oowing type o products, brands and services, which o the oowing

statements appy? I oten inorm others on what to buy / I sometimes inorm others on what to buy /

I sometimes ask others what products to buy /I woud aways ask others about what products to buy” ,

Global Average cumulative number o categories

The number o categories I inuence in

Number o categories inuence/source

-15 -10 -5 00 5

0+

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

9

8

6

4

3

2

0

Source

Inuence

Michael , Denmark Tara , USA

Arne-Inge, Norway

Riham, Egypt

Jennie, UK

Urban, Sweden

Mihai, Romania

Tadek, Poland

55

The new super inuencers



Index aginst a active internet users

100 110 120 130 140 150 160

First amongst riends/amiy to try new products/services

I ike taking risks

I spend a ot o time out and about with riends

When buying products, riends oten ask my opinion

I pursue a ie o chaenge, novety and change

Aways ooking or new products/services to try

I have a keen sense o adventure

I oten do things on the spur o the moment

I want to get to the very top o my career

I seie opportunities when they arise

I try hard to stay in contact with riends/acquaintances

I’m an optimist

I’m interested in other cutures

Peope must take me as they fnd me

I enjoy good quaity things

Important to keep we inormed about things

The new super inuencers ft the typical profle o early

adopters who are likely to try new products, take risks and

share their opinions with riends. The top statements are as

you would expect; frst amongst riends to try new products;

I like taking risks; I spend a lot o time out and about with

riends; when buying products my riends ask my opinion.


Now we all inuence – the real indication o a true inuencer

is someone who does it regardless o category, so i we

look at respondents who claim to strongly inuence in

15+ categories, we can see the emergence o a super

inuencer. This is a new kind o inuencer who, thanks

to social media and the tools it provides to create and share

inuence emerges above the clutter o mass inuence

to spread opinion ar and wide.

Figure 25 shows how they are more likely to be male, 25-34

and be mid or senior inuential ofce workers. They are also

more likely to be highly educated.

Essentially in the knowledge heavy, written world o the

web, intelligence and computer literacy are major actors in

spreading signifcant inuence.

Super Inuencerdemographic

Figure 25: Super

Inuencer demographics

indexed agsinst a

respondents Figure 26: liestye statements indexed against a respondents

Super inuencer attitudes

Index against a active internet users50 70 90 110 130 150 170 190

Mae

Femae

16 – 24

25 – 34

35 – 44

45 – 54

Student

Ofce Junior

Ofce (Mid Manager)

Ofce (Senior Manager)

Non Ofce

Housewie

Unempoyed

Other

Primary Schoo

Some Secondary Schoo

Fu Secondary Schoo

Coege

University

Post Graduate

57





The most defning aspect is that they are extremely heavy

users o social media, particularly in terms o content

creation. Figure 27 demonstrates that they are much more

likely to blog, upload videos and photos and comment on

sites and social networks. Social media is providing them

with the tools to create and share inuence and they are

doing so in massive numbers regardless o subject matter.

The top indexing social media channels or content creation

are uploading video, writing blogs and leaving a comment on

a blog site.

The new super inuencers are also the lead content

generators. Social media both enables the sharing o

inuence and attracts those who wish to publish and have

their opinion shared and they are utilising this opportunity

to the maximum. They are also embracing the new

channels o inormation such as RSS and

podcasts to bypass conventional media

channels and also listening to those that

create more than established media.

This is a real world phenomenon, which has been

demonstrated recently in the US presidential election in

2008. It has been widely credited that the creators or

creative class, as they have been tagged, helped Obama

get the democratic party nomination. The creators through

prolifc blogging, twittering, social networking and content

creation generated massive inuence helping to raise unds,

getting people out to vote and changing the opinions o

mainstream media.

Super Inuencer socia media usage

Figure 27: Super Inuencer socia media usage indexed against a respondents

Index against a active internet users

00 120 140 160 180 200 220

poad video cip to video sharing website

Subscribe to an RSS eed

Start my own bog/webog

ownoad a podcast

leave a comment on a bog site

poad my photos to a photo sharing website

Make a phone ca using your computer

Create a profe on a new socia network

Visit a photo sharing website

hare a video cip with a riend

Manage profe on existing socia network

Read bogs/webogs

Visit a riend’s socia network page

l sten to ive audio/radio onine

se instant messenger

Watch video cips onine

Federico, Panama

Funda, Turkey


59



Seen used by a celebrity/well known fgure 130

The brand is ashionable 121

The brand is unknown amongst social group 119

A recommendation on the internet 116

A recommendation in the media (TV, newspapers, mags, radio) 116

An advertisement you fnd interesting & inspiring 114

A recommendation you receive in a store 113

The brand is popular 112

A promotion you see in a store 111

A ree sample you receive 108

Your riend’s like the product or service107

The product or service is discounted106

A riend’s recommendation 104

The brand is high quality 103

Someone you trust having a good experience100

Someone you trust having a bad experience 99

Good personal experience 97

Bad personal experience93

p

Super inuencers are much more likely to be motivated by

overt commercial messaging; celebrity endorsements and

direct recommendations online and in the media. Most

importantly, however, they are much more likely to want

to share opinions because a brand is ashionable or their

riends are not aware o the brand, basically they are more

overt about trying to cultivate external opinion.

This is a new creative class who are going beyond the tools

o casual inuence to create rich and deep content in the

orm o videos, blogs and photos. They are exercising their

right to create and spread inuence and as the channels

o peer to peer recommendation and the social media grow

their role will become more important.

Super Inuencer motivations

Super inuencers are ound across the globe , but there is

a clear skew towards the emerging internet markets o Latin

America and Asia Pacifc. In Brazil a stunning 24% o active

internet users all into the super inuencer category. They

are ollowed by India, Mexico and Pakistan – demonstrating

how internet users have ound their voice thanks to their

massive use o social media in these markets.

The leading developed web markets are Italy, Japan and

Spain, where just under 8% o active users all into super

users. The Anglo markets o the US, UK and Australia have

5% o their users alling into the super inuencer category.

It’s these dierences that highlight how social media

adoption and levels o content creation mirror and impact

the rise o super inuencers.

Super Inuencers by country

Figure 29: Super Inuencers by country, share o active users

J a p a

n 7 . 8 %

M e x i c

o 1 5 . 2 %

C z e c h R e

p u b l i

c 7 %

G r e e

c e 1 1 . 8 %

S o u t h

K o r e

a 7 . 7 %

P h i l i p

p i n e s

1 3 . 3 %

S p a i n

7 . 7 %

P a k i s

t a n 1 5 %

I t a l y 7 . 8 %

C h i n a

8 . 1 %

B r a z i l 2

4 . 7 %

T u r k e

y 1 1 . 2 %

I n d i a

1 7 . 6 %

30

0

C a n a

d a 4 . 3 %

% s

h a r e o f a c t i v e i n t e r n e t u s e r s

N e t h

e r l a n

d s 2 . 2 %

H u n g

a r y 2 . 3 %

H o n g

K o n

g 3 . 3 %

A u s t r i a

4 %

R u s s i a

4 . 5 %

U S 4 . 8 %

A u s t r

a l i a 5

%

U K 5 %

P o l a n

d 5 .

4 %

R o m a

n i a 5 . 5 %

F r a n

c e 5 . 6 %

S w i t z

e r l a n

d 5 . 6 %

T a i w

a n 5 . 8 %

D e n m

a r k 2 %

G e r m

a n y 6

. 3 %

80 130100

Figure 28: Super Inuencer motivations to recommend indexed against a respondents

New inuencers

61

The impact:summary



y

The inuence economy

•Overall participation rates for contributing opinions,

thoughts and content on products and brands is extremely

high. This means all brands have to react to the inuence

economy – becoming more open, more transparent and

more active in social and conversational media

•Different product ategories have signicantly different

exposure to the power o the inuencer landscape

•Even low interest, expert ategories uch as nance,real estate and insurance have high participation rates

•Music, lms and technology are the categories

most talked about online

•Holidays and ravel are the most sought after

or inormation

•Asia and merging internet markets are leading the way

in contributing opinion to the inuencer economy

The democratisation o inuence

•We are more likely to be inuencers than receivers in the

age o social media

•Consumers the world over now laim inuence in a huge

number o categories

•The key categories for broad inuence are the same as the key categories or online recommendation with the

exception o groceries and ood


Are the most the active in ocial media

They r much r likely to create nd share

rich content

As the channels they contribute to ontinue to rise in

importance so does their impact in the universe

inuence

This is he new creative class; the bloggers, he video uploaders, the photo sharers

Their inuence is now very real. Look at impact of bloggers

n the proessional media and the impact creators had on

the election o Obama and the French elections

Michelle, UK

Jai, Dubai

Charlotte, UK

Dorota, Poland

63

63

Fina thoughts



New word o transparency

There are no ecrets in the new world of inuence

brands, products and services are under constant scrutiny

The truth cannot be managed in the way it was when

ew gatekeepers controlled the distribution

inormation

The only path is honesty, openness and transparency.

I you make a mistake in the new world o inuence –

you admit it and make good

Control has to be loosened – let onsumers discuss,

hare and interact with your brand

All categories of goods and services re now impacted

by the new economy o inuence and have to respond to

world where consumer opinion shapes the agenda

Be part o the conversation

•The new world of inuence needs a more onversational

approach; advertising should encourage interaction, input

and community

•This means having a blog, being in social networks,

creating content such as photos, videos etc – generally

being part o the conversation

•Exist inside the social media services that onsumers

spend their time in and source their inuence rom

•Don’t be scared to advertise in bottom up onversational

media that consumers are generating.

•Advertising has a big role in the future world of inuence –

it provides the revenue or most o the services that enable

and cultivate consumer recommendation

Everybody matters

•Today verybody should be considered an inuencer to

some extent – we all inuence and receive to some degree

•Every target audience hould be encouraged to share

opinions and inuence

Reaching out to the creators

The creators are the new super inuencers, the ones that

make the most o the tools o social media. Bloggers,

video creators, podcasters etc should be considered as

some o the most powerul voices in the uture

Hello Hayley, do youknow where I can get

tickets for Madonna Tour?I love the new albumalso thanks for telling meabout it

Hi Spyros, you mentionedyou were buying a TV –check out www.reevoo.com <http://www.reevoo.com/> beforeyou do

hi, check out www.xbox.com <http://www.xbox.com/> – “Too Human” is going to be released onthe 29th August 2008 I recently purchased 10

CDs online and saved asmall fortune.

did you see that top KateMoss was wearing? haveyou seen anything like

that anywhere? Who do you bank with?I have just waited on thephone for 20minutes mybank are driving me crazy

Monica, Spain

Hugh, Canada

Federico, Panama

Gianranco, ItalyHayley, UK

Spyros, Greece

Moving orward

65



i i i i li i i r i li i i i ln i i i i li i r s i i li i strang i i li rt trusting i i l

i l l ii l l ii l l ii l l ii l l earch pr ii g global re i

l i i il i i il i i il i i il i i massivel i i acts o the i

i i i l ii i i l ii i i l ii i i l gies.i i i s technolo ii i i l i .i i i l i

i i i i i - ii i i i i - u i . ri i i i s o in-de ii i in a serie i - ii i i i i - ii i i i i - i

i - ime, Anypl l ili - udy “Anyti l l ili - i l l il

l l i i ll l i i ll logy i i lble technol i i ll l i i ll l , in par ticu la r dl l i i l

i l i ii l i ii l i ii l i ii l i ii and th r l i ii r l i ii l i ii l o adver ti sing .

I ll l in-dept i l i lI ll l i - th topi l i lI ll l i - ics we also run i lI ll l i - i l Social

i cce i i i l ii s the o i i i l ii n i i ct i l ii oing im i l ii i i o soci l ii i i i l media.

i rvey l ii was r l ii l ii leased in Marchi l i 2i l i 08 and

i led oi l ri l uar te r 4 2008.

ll lll lll lll lll orts ca lAll rep l

niversawww.u

iiiiiiiitiy qu iFor an ii

ll nch plearesear l

[email protected]

Tom SmithHead o Consumer

Futures EMEA

Sue, UK

Yvonne, SwitzerlandHanley, Czech Republic

67

What does this mean or your business?

67



“When did we start trusting strangers?” is an in-depth study

and there are many aspects o analysis that we are unable to

cover in this report.

I you want to know how to operate in the new inuencer

landscape and what this means or your business please

contact us at [email protected] we can share

the key results and impact or your brand or business:

Who is the inuencer in your business category?

What marketing communications work for

your inuencers?

What they do online?

What they create, what they view, what they share?

What does it mean or your marketing communications?

r i li i r r i

P e r s o

n a l

H e a l t h c

a r e

C o m p u t e r

S o f t w

a r e

A l c o h o

l i c D r i n k s

H o m e T e c h n o l o g y G r o c e r i e s M u s i c

F a s h i o n U t i l i t i e s B o o k s

F i n a n c

i a l

P r o d

u c t s

P o r t a

b l e

T e c h

n o l o g

y M o b i l e

P h o n e

S e r v i c e

C o s m e t i c s

o n e

c e

e t i c s

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l i d a y

D

e s

t i n a

t i o n s

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/

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t o m o

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s

P r o p e r t y / R e al E s t at e Game s C o n s o l e s F i l m s

H o m e

A p p l i a n c e

s

T r a v e l



Universal McCann © 2008

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Universal McCann Wave Report: When Did We Start Trusting Strangers?

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