We Sell Conversations

Unleashing the power of online word of mouth

Today:

1. Overview: WOM

2. How to: Harnessing the power of online WOM

3. Case Study: The proven power of online WOM for

Tooheys Extra Dry

1. Overview: WOM

Soup and Online WOMThe current market

What is WOM?

Soup: Advocacy Agency

We sell conversations

THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

Media Fragmentation & Cost

Rise of Internet

The World is Networked

Current marketplace

THE MARKETPLACE

Level of Differentiation Low

Short Term Financial Pressures

Distribution of Competition

Globalization of Competition

Pace of Technology Faster

THE CONSUMER

Scarcity of Time

Scarcity of Attention

Scarcity of Trust

The Heterogeneous Consumer

Mass Marketing Less Effective

Credibility of Conventional Tactics

Low

Established Brand/Business Models

Under Threat

Number of Choices/Brands Up –

More Confusion

Product Lifecycles Shortened

Tuning Out

Want Authenticity, Intimacy,

Remarkability

Rise of Word of Mouth

Need for breakthrough vehicles

Need for Remarkable Brands / Contagious

Ideas

Importance of

Influential Consumers

RISE OF WORD OF MOUTH

MARKETING

© Copyright 2009

Defining Word of Mouth

• Genuine & honest

• Individual

• Direct or indirect

• The most trustedmedium

The Power of Online Word of Mouth

IT’S THERE FOREVER

IT CAN BE FOUND

REACHES MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER

MEDIUM

Even the hard to reach guy down here

LEADS TO BEHAVIOUR CHANGE –

SALES!

IT’S HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE

INFLUENTIALS:

Offline Word of Mouth

Online Word of Mouth

Most trusted medium

Highly relevant

Speeds through strong ties (days)

Highly trusted

Highly relevant

High speed of dissemination (seconds)

One to one (or few) Ability of one to many

Temporary Permanent

Difficult to seek exact match Can search for it (web)

Source mostly known Source unknown and known

Types of Online Word of Mouth

WHAT DIRECTConversation, comments, reviews etc

INDIRECTBadges, fan page, tagging, viral, buzz etc.

HOW MESSAGEfriends/ followers, mentions, readers, tagger etc

MEDIUMTwitter, Flickr, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon, Facebook, blogs, community etc.

ONLINE WOM HAS COMMUNITY

AT ITS HEART

A virtual community is a communication and information system of social networks whose participants share a common purpose, interact in a virtual society and are able to develop personal relationships.

Wikipedia 2009

We are in a community when we find somewhere we belong.

(Community, The structure of belonging, Peter Block 2008)

Facilitate Information Sharing

Part of something greater, belonging

Builds hope and raises expectations

Community Altruism:

For the good of the

community

Strong communities: Irvin Yalom

Yalom, Irvin (1980) Existential Psychotherapy

Strategic Word of Mouth Ingredients

1.Understand Network

2.Who

Influences

3.

Engagement platform

5.Motivat

e to spread

4.Sticky

Messages

BIG EXCITING Tooheys Extra Dry (TED)

CASE STUDY!!

Tooheys Extra Dry (TED)

Brand background and context

TED Background

• Part of a broader getting closer to consumers strategy.

• Intrinsically a brand aimed at 18-24 years olds – digital natives.

• Live with them not advertise at them.

• TED is a brand owned by the consumer but custody awarded to LNA.

Communication Context

• Activity is based around the consumer– 6 beers of sep, 696, uncharted,

festival sponsorship, tedconnected

TED and Digital

Digital provides the best pathway for two way communication and immersion:– Immediate – personal – influential – easy

The OpportunityThe Brief

The Insights

The Opportunity

To live our “mantra” – let the consumer own the brand, influence it’s direction.

The Opportunity

Live in their world – don’t tell them what is cool but let them tell us.

The Brief

• Explode our impact in the Victorian market.

• Let them tell the story – credibility.

• Have a start, middle and end.

• Give them something to hang their hat on.

The Insights

1. Start with summer locations: a place for people to try new things,

2. Don’t tell people what to do, let them do it in their own way.

3. Online is where they communicate and share but real world is where they experience.

The Soup Strategic Ingredients

1.Understand Network

2.Who

Influences

3.

Engagement platform

5.Motivat

e to spread

4.Sticky

Messages

Experience offline

Communicate online

Key Social Organisers

Digital Creators

Record your summer

Share it online

Personal briefing

Direct from the brand

Flip VideoBeer cards

RecognitionSocial kudos

• Melbourne: 18-24 years olds. • Key social influentials (the people who

organise the others for summer). • Exhaustive face to face research in

Melbourne to discover them. • They need to be found, they won’t find you. • Creators of online content.

The 1% that will influence the 99% offline and online.

Focus on the creators to spread

Focus on the creators to spread

Our Influentials

Their Friends

Facilitate Information Sharing

Part of something greater, belonging

Build hope and raise expectations

Community Building Blocks: Yalom

Co-create community and take ownership

Summer Communityname and identity. Video compilation.

Expect a great Summer (festivals, VIP) then surprise.

Facebook tags – part of their life

Name withheld

Facebook tags – authentic conversation

The online network effect

25 Key Social Organisers17,000 Friends CombinedUploads videos, authentic conversations

Tags friendswho are in his video

‘tagged’ friend then broadcasts to his friends

The Impact

Next steps for the program

Incredible Results• Digitally tracked:

– 777,000 highly credible brand impressions

• Independent 3rd party research:– early data demonstrates a 12% shift in

adoration for the product in Melbourne.

• Brand impact: Natural branding pieces that are credible among the target market.

• Long-term impact: Adorers for life – harder to get a lover than keep a lover.

1. Creation of a Extra Dry Panel (TED Connected) – the first to know.

2. Natural migration for the community – don’t dump them.

© Copyright 2009

Next Steps

Summary: to unleash the power on online WOM!!!

Be HumanBe

Versatile

Be F

luid

Be Immediate

Be ResponsiveBe Brave

Thank you!

For a copy of this paper, email:

Sharyn@thesoup.com.au

Or

Visit our Ad-tech stand