…because I believe brands should only invest in marketing communications through existing users of their brand
Collateral: Why building it is no guarantee they will come
One response to media abundance has been the creation and deployment of a whole range of collateral designed to add value to customers. In their own right the examples of collateral described above are largely designed to, and therefore may very well function as, opportunities to mitigate defections (ie increase loyalty). In some instances they may also function as pre-cursors for word of mouth. The creation of such collateral however is not enough.
Let me say that again. Creating the collateral is not enough.
Advocacy – through word of mouth – works when one individual has knowledge or information about a branded product or service that someone else doesn’t. Even in the case of two individuals being aware of the same brand or branded collateral, there is increased incentive to discuss it if one person knows more about it than the other.
For example two individuals may both be aware of Orange Wednesdays; but only one knowing about a recent movie release creates the incentive to discuss. Or whilst both may be aware of Orange Wednesdays, one may think that the number of tickets is limited. They are not. The other would have the opportunity to correct them. Word of mouth is sparked by a knowledge differential.
Currently brands largely and unwisely rely on the individual with that knowledge or information to volunteer it to another individual. By themselves. With everything they’ve got going on in their content-abundant time-poor lives. Brands at best encourage word of mouth on an individual basis and at worst just pray that the positive experiences they create for their customers will be shared.
We’re relying solely on Gladwell’s law of the few; the connectors, Mavens and Salespeople “with a particular and rare set of social skills” (see note 1), to instigate word of mouth. Instead, we should be creating the potential for every existing customer to become an instigator. Rather than limiting ourselves to Pareto’s twenty percent (see note 2) we should be encouraging advocacy through word of mouth amongst all one hundred percent of existing customers at our disposal.
And that is only addressing one side of the equation. The other side of the equation are the potential customers who aren’t given reasons to specifically ask their peers – their influencers (see note 3) – about a brand, because brands and their agencies don’t give them reasons to do so. Collateral, when it is deployed, is only delivered to existing customers. Potential customers remain unaware of its existence.
Planning for Transactions
This is the final and most crucial element of the holistic planning process being proposed in this paper. That it’s not enough to create and deploy collateral to existing customers. In addition to broadcasting the existence of collateral to existing consumers, we must also deliberately expose potential consumers to the existence of that same collateral.
I call it Transaction Planning; communicating to existing customers – via mass media - the existence of collateral with the deliberate intention that its existence is overheard by potential customers. The result being that we create the conditions within which existing customers are best placed to ‘transact’ with potential customers.
Figure 3: Transaction Planning; communicating to existing
customers – via mass media - the existence of collateral with the deliberate
intention that its existence is overheard by potential customers
We turn the (perceived) inefficiency of broadcast media to our advantage by using the same communication to publicise customer collateral to existing customers (thereby reinforcing its existence and credibility) as well as to potential customers (thereby communicating its existence). Every impact we plan and buy becomes valuable; as Sameer Modha put it when I discussed this theory with him “you’re releasing media planners from the tyranny of CPTs” (see note 4).
In planning for Transactions; not only are existing customers encouraged to discuss and advocate a brand, and not only are potential customers encouraged to enquire about said brand; but communications provide them with a common precursor and language to do so (see note 5).
Launching a brand
The principles outlined in this essay also support creation of a brand from scratch. Franzen established that smaller brands are largely dependent on increasing their penetration to drive growth (see note 6). The Loyalty approach would see creation of a small critical mass of consumers – either via sampling or by partnering with a distributor – to which we apply the collateral / communication paradigm.
In Microtrends Mark Penn argues that once you have one percent you have enough of a base to “create new markets for a business, spark a social movement, or produce political change” (see note 7). It is possible, and I believe preferable, to establish then grow a small audience; you just need to understand how.
Notes
1. Malcolm Gladwell. The Tipping Point.
2. The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
3. The term given by Blades and Phillips to the individuals to whom information about a branded product or service is sought. Fiona Blades and Stephen Phillips. Decision Watch UK. MRS Conferences 2005
4. Sameer Modha, planner at Partners Andrews Aldridge - as quoted in an interview for this essay.
5. In addition a significant leap we have to make is in how as planners we categorise consumers. With Transaction Planning they are not an undifferentiated mass to which we broadcast branded messages, but nor are they distinct segments of like-minded individuals who will be most responsive to our message. With Transaction Planning, people are a channel in their own right.
6. Giep Franzen. Brands and Advertising: How advertising effectiveness influences brand equity.
7. Mark Penn (Author), E. Kinney Zalesne. Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes. Penn and Zalesne argue that the biggest trends in America are the microtrends -- the smaller trends that go unnoticed.
Tomorrow: the Transaction Planning agency
Thursday: A holistic approach to metrics
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