The 36 Reasons Why People Talk - The TV Version - © Agent Wildfire Inc. – 2009 www.agentwidfire.com

No Matter What The Interest – TV has Talk Value Embedded In It

The Same Reasons We Talk About TV are the Same Reasons We Talk About Brands

Six Core Human Instincts on Why We Talk To Survive To Connect To Make Sense of the World To Reduce Risk & Uncertainty To Benefit Economically To Relieve Tension

To Survive

To Connect

To Make Sense of the World

To Reduce Risk & Uncertainty

To Benefit Economically

To Relieve Tension

Step back…Word of Mouth (WOM) = A Higher Art Form of Business-Building Value

Setting WOM Wildfires - A Distinct Marketing Approach Different Than a Century of Marketing Efforts Different Brand Stories Different Approach To Market Different Audience Different Tactics Different Commun- -ication Different Outputs/ Measures

Still Need Convincing on WOM? Word of mouth is the most persuasive influence on action & sales Word of mouth is the fastest growing marketing vehicle Word of mouth is the most trusted of 15 influences One influencer has 182 word of mouth conversations weekly

Word of mouth is the most persuasive influence on action & sales

Word of mouth is the fastest growing marketing vehicle

Word of mouth is the most trusted of 15 influences

One influencer has 182 word of mouth conversations weekly

So Which Flavour of Word of Mouth Would You Choose?…

Why We Word of Mouth? 36 Reasons - TV-Style

The Short Version - The Three Basic Reasons Why Ideas Spread through Word of Mouth “ It’s Who They Are” “ It’s What You Do” “ It’s Who You Are” 10 Audience Attributes 15 Buzz Firestarters 11 Inescapable Traits

Explicitly Motivated Extrinsic-ally Motivated Intrinsic-ally Motivated The Brand/Product The Experience The Person THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF WORD OF MOUTH – THE 36 REASONS WHY PEOPLE BUZZ - Passionate About the Topic Logo Lovers Knowledge Seekers Social Brokers Altruistic Self-Expressives ReciprocityDealers Ego-Driven Involved/ Committed $$ Social Currency Brand Experience Fame VIP treatment/ Customization Scarcity Intimacy Influence Visibility Tight Boundaries Rallying Cry Rewards Expertise Bite-Sized Participation Network Effects Memes Remarkable/ Outrageous Innovative The Best At What You Do Authentic Liberating/ Problem Solving Trustworthy Edgy Likable Easy to Talk About Sensory Ritualistic Feedback Seekers

The Who It’s because of them #1 - Passionate about the topic #2 - Logo Lovers #3 – Knowledge Seekers #4 - Social Brokers #5 – Altruistic #6 – Involved/Committed #7 – Feedback Seekers #8 – Ego-driven #9 – Reciprocity Dealers #10 – Self-Expressives

I. It’s Who They Are – The 20-10-1 Rule                   “ A small percentage of your audience is responsible for a majority of your word of mouth” The 20-10-1 Influencer Rule In most markets, your audience comprises of: 20% - Referrers, 10% - Advocates, 1% - Zealots

The Law of The Few: “The answer is that the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.” Malcolm Gladwell, the Tipping Point The Influencers – Word of Mouth Powerbrokers

#1 – Passionate About The Topic “ Make it Right”

# 2 – Logo Lovers “ D’OH!”

# 3 – Knowledge Seekers “ Just another day of blowing something up”

# 4 – Social Brokers “ You wanna hug it out?”

# 5 – Altruistic “ Move that bus!”

# 6 – Involved / Committed “ We're not the only people on this island and we alllllll know it!"

# 7 – Seeking Feedback "What does that mean when the fitness instructors are ahead of the mayors?"

# 8 – Ego Driven “ Show me someone without an ego, and I`ll show you a loser.You’re Fired.”

# 9 – Reciprocity Dealers “ But we can only offer this level of programming with your help.”

# 10 – Self – Expression “ SOME PEOPLE THINK BEAUTY IS SOMETHING YOU'RE BORN WITH......AND NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN CREATE......HOW NAIVE!!!!”

The What It’s because of what you provide #11 – Social Currency #12 – Brand Experience(s) #13 – Fame #14 – VIP Treatment/Customization #15 – Scarcity #16 – Influence #17 – Intimacy #18 – Visibility #19 – Tight Boundaries #20 – Rallying Cry #21 – Rewards #22 – Expertise #23 – Bite-Sized Participation #24 – Network Effects #25 – Memes

# 11- Social Currency “ I thought it'd be great, you know? have some time alone with my thoughts... turns out, I don't have as many thoughts as you'd think."

# 12- Brand Experience(s) “ I think it’s really down to the wire, and we’re afraid we’re last.”

# 13 – Fame “ I genuinely believe with all my heart that we have found (a worldwide star) with you.”

# 14 – VIP Treatment / Customization “ Sophie gets what Sophie wants and Sophie is always right”

# 15 – Scarcity ” Watch out—I’m coming to town and bringing my fast-paced life with me. I can’t bring all my friends, so I’ve decided to look for a new BFF. I need a best friend who is hot, who can keep up with me, and most of all, who is real and won’t be a backstabber.”

# 16 – Influence “ You can only vote for him, you can't actually adopt him. Call now."

# 17 – Intimacy “ Will you accept this rose?”

# 18 – Visibility “ More than 100 million people worldwide have seen the TV movie. The High School Musical juggernaut is still going strong .”

# 19 – Tight Boundaries “ Yeah, I'm obnoxious, yeah, I cut people off, yeah, I'm rude. You know why? Because you're busy. “

# 20 – Rallying Cause “ And remember you can make a difference…”

# 21- Rewards “ DEAL OR NO DEAL”

# 22 – Expertise “ So now America, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of my uncle: Allez cuisine!”

# 23 – Bite-Sized Participation “ There’s no such thing as 110%. It stops at 100.”

# 24 – Network Effects “ Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.”

# 25 – Memes “ No soup for you! There was shrinkage! Vanderlet Industries! Man hands The bro and manziere. Happy Festivus. Yada, yada, yada.”

It’s because of who you are #26 - Innovative #27 –Remarkable/ Outrageous #28 – The Best at What You Do #29 – Authentic #30 – Liberating/ Problem Solving #31 - Edgy #32 – Trustworthy #33 – Likable #34 – Easy to Talk About #35 – Ritualistic #36 - Sensory

What Product Traits Makes Stuff Word of Mouth-Able? Agent Wildfire Research Something with which you personally associate 25.7% Innovative 22.5% Exciting 13.1% Solves problems 11.0% Easy to talk about 9.9% New 8.0% Newsworthy 2.9% Exclusive 2.7% Other 2.7% Fashionable 1.3%

# 26 – Innovative "The following takes place between ??:?? and ??:?? pm"

# 27 – Remarkable/Outrageous “ XO XO, gossip girl”

# 28 – The Best At What You Do “ That was unbelievable.”

# 29 – Authentic “ This is NOT fashion camp!”

# 30 – Liberating / Problem Solving “ Dead body, Bonus!”

# 31 – Edgy “ Tell me what you don’t like about yourself”

# 32 – Trustworthy “ I understand that you want to make finance entertaining, but it's not a f***king game ”

# 33 – Likeable “ Just go up to somebody on the street and say "You're it!" and then run away.”

# 34 – Easy To Talk About “ You’re engaged ?”

# 35 – Ritualistic “ This is going to be legen …. wait for it.. Dary”

# 36 – Sensory “ Who will speak for Planet Earth?”

Summary - The 36 Reasons Why People Word of Mouth It’s because of them It’s because of what you provide It’s because of who you are #1 - Passionate about the topic #2 - Logo Lovers #3 – Knowledge Seekers #4 - Social Brokers #5 – Altruism #6 – Involved/Committed #7 – Feedback Seekers #8 – Ego-driven #9 – Reciprocity Dealers #10 – Self-Expression #11 – Social Currency #12 – Brand Experience(s) #13 – Fame #14 – VIP Treatment/Customization #15 – Scarcity #16 – Influence #17 – Intimacy #18 – Visibility #19 – Tight Boundaries #20 – Rallying Cause #21 – Rewards #22 – Expertise #23 – Bite-Sized Participation #24 – Network Effects #25 – Memes #26 - Innovative #27 –Remarkable/ Outrageous #28 – The Best at What You Do #29 – Authentic #30 – Liberating/ Problem Solving #31 - Edgy #32 – Trustworthy #33 – Likable #34 – Easy to Talk About #35 – Ritualistic #36 - Sensory

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