Understanding the power of advocacy

Last night's event was hugely instructive, inspiring and rather good fun; great speakers, excellent company and a chance to taste the next big thing in global spirits, Pink Pigeon.

Emmanuel Rosen, author of 'The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited' treated us to highlights from his recent book around generating and managing customer conversations. Key thoughts that emerged included:

• Whilst online channels has certainly played a role in accelerating buzz, offline (person to person) buzz continues to outstrip online buzz 7 to 1.

• Advertising and mass media still have a role to play when generating buzz. On any given day in the US, for example, 55% of people will have at least one conversation related to media or entertainment (Source: Keller Fay group). Brands such as Vaseline Intensive Rescue have simulated buzz as an integral part of their campaign and have encouraged over 3 million 'prescriptions' in the last year.

• Make no mistake, the biggest driver of buzz is your product itself. It's the basis for a great story, and brands that have stories are more likely to be talked about. Witness Tom's Shoes.

• Marketers looking to create buzz should bear in mind that buzz isn’t communication between a brand and a consumer but it is the conversations between consumers. It is not enough to have a blog and to open up dialogue with consumers. Make it easy for consumers to pass the story on with visual cues, materials and opportunities for self-expression.

• Given the show of hands, last night’s audience were surprised (but heartened) to learn that there is more positive than negative buzz circulating. Negative buzz, whilst spreading faster also tends to peter out faster. It is however critical to have contingency plans in place to help present a balanced argument.

• Not all hubs (influencers) are equal. Whilst some hubs may be very vocal they are not necessarily connected to other hubs so you still need mass media to broaden your reach and increase the intensity of buzz. The use of barbers in Chicago to publicise the importance of prostate screening to an Afro-American community proved the power of thinking laterally about who these hubs might be.

• Association with certain hubs of consumers can amplify or accelerate your campaign however if you are seen to be associated with the ‘wrong’ hub too early on then your success among other hubs may be negatively affected. Equally, brand loyalists may not be your most vocal advocates as they may have already done their buzzing. To reinvigorate these hubs you will need to find a trigger to get people talking again.

• People drop in and out of hubs. It is important to keep listening to your audience and refreshing your contacts – someone who was once an expert on digital cameras may have changed hobbies or lost touch with the market now that they have bought their camera.

• Make more of your assets. Brands often have material that they don’t use to its full potential – don’t just hold an event, film it, ask for attendees to contribute images and footage, invite them to the screening – create a virtuous circle. So, to demonstrate we’ve been good listeners, the film is coming soon and we’d encourage you to leave your thoughts and comments below please!

David King, Marketing Director at Berry Brothers & Rudd Spirits, in sharing with us the story of Pink Pigeon, provided a top draw example of how to hard wire advocacy into your brand. By making it a focus of everything they have done - from the brand story and name through to the packaging - they’ve created a product that not only changes the way people think about rum, but created a brand capable of creating the requisite buzz to help them take on high spending competitors.

P.S. Given how well received the event was we've decided to make it a regular feature - watch this space.