Peer to Peer Marketing (Drexel Presentation)

Drexel University Marketing Study Strategies & Tactics Peer-To-Peer & Viral Marketing Monday, January 22, 2007

P2P Viral Marketing Implementation Ideas and Practices Eric Haeker, Consultant Ben Camp, Education & Artistic Coordinator, Arts in Motion, Inc.

Implementation Roadmap
Understanding the P2P Paradigm
Five Stages of Successful Activation
Finding Activators
Motivating Activators
Enabling Tools
Implementation Strategies
Post Activation Essentials
Challenges & Lessons Learned

A. How is this different?
Goal is to motivate resellers, not direct sales
Leverages social context and values, not product
Relies on word of mouth (sticky factor)
Assumes late buying (exponential curve)
Gives control to consumers (Brand Hijack)

The viral analogy
Brand “infection”
Carriers and transmitters
Benevolent mutation
Exponential propagation

Two examples
Red Bull
Arts in Motion

Example 1: Red Bull Concerto for Turntable DJ Radar at Carnegie Hall, Oct. 2, 2005

Red Bull Results
“ The hall was packed with people in their 20s, brought there by what Red Bull calls ‘viral marketing,’ which (with obvious success) relies on word of mouth.”
Greg Sandow, Wall Street Journal (10/13/05)

Example 2: Arts in Motion Visual Music and Classical Fusion in Philadelphia

Arts in Motion Results: Press
It was strange how natural it all seemed. I turned around in search of the suits and Playbills in hand that over run any orchestra hall, but all I saw were pints and sneakers moving around on the dance floor.
www.paperstreet.com , (January 2004)
The point was proved: there is a home for classical music in the future of DJs and musical computer programs.
www.paperstreet.com (January 2004).

Arts in Motion Results: Attendance Data
Official capacity of Mighty, a club in San Francisco: 500
Tickets pre-sold during ten days of viral marketing for DJ Radar with Arts in Motion String Quartet (12/16/05): 500
Total attendance when doors closed at midnight: over 1,000
Number still outside trying to get in at 1am: over 300

B. Types of Activators
Chief Activator
Lead Activators
Activators
Embedded Activators (Hot Spots)
Field-Rated Activators (Outreach)

Activator Pyramid & Powers of Ten 1 Chief Activator 10 Lead Activators 100 Activators a) embedded; b) field-rated 1,000 Responders Activated Attendance 1 11 111 1,111 Activated Total 1,111

C. Types of Activation
1. In-Person (“Touch Points”)
At least one to two minutes of in-person conversation about your project between an Activator and a target demographic prospect
Previous relationship, legitimacy in eyes of prospect, and genuine shared values are key
Eye contact and confidence are critical
Usually facilitated by promo card

C. Types of Activation
2. Electronic
E-mail
Text messaging
Message boards
Blogging
MySpace.com
Evite.com

Five Stages of Successful Activation
Stage I: Finding the Activators
You talk to potential Activators every day…
Patrons and subscribers
Single ticket buyers
Your volunteers
The guy behind the Starbucks counter
Your hairdresser
Taxi cab drivers
Hotel concierges
Marketing students looking for field study projects

Three strategies
Recruiting embedded Activators in “Hot Spots”
Recruit your hairdresser to talk up event and hand out promo cards to clients
Recruit the cashier at the trendy coffee shop to talk it up at the register

Three strategies
2. Converting volunteers into Field-Rated Activators
Send dedicated volunteers into the field to achieve Touch Points with promo cards
Train them in your brand but give them the license to mutate it as needed

Three strategies
Online Social Networking (MySpace, etc.)
Huge potential to reach thousands who have already self-selected into your Friend Space
A patron-driven incubator for viral propagation
Must let consumers drive brand evolution as policing consumer content will kill the buzz

The Online Social Networking Phenomenon
Proliferation of online social spaces
MySpace.com, Friendster.com, Care2Connect.com, CrowdFactory.com, Tribe.net, LinkedIn.com, Gather.com
Google “MySpace Press” or similar topics for more information

Stage II: Motivating the Activators
Three strategies
1. Leveraging Social Leadership Status
Activators are “early adopters”
They like to show off their “finds”

Three strategies
2. Inside Access and Freebies
Strategic comps as incentive
Leverage corporate partnerships for freebies

Three strategies
3. Cash Incentives?
Activators keep a percentage of their activated sales
Tiered: Lead Activators get more
Use with caution… may disrupt the volunteer spirit if improperly implemented

Stage III: Enabling the Activators
Three activation aids
1. Promotional Cards
Can be given “cash value” via discount
Can be tagged to help gather market data

Red Bull Artsehcro Example

Simple promo cards invite web inquiry

Web fulfillment: consistent branding

2. Web Reinforcement
Branding consistent with promo cards
Detail not appropriate for card is online

3. Electronic Messaging
Engineering viral replication via pass-along e-mails, evites, MySpace messaging, etc.
Message mutation (Brand Hijack is encouraged… your Activators know their targets better than you do)

Pass-along emails with special offers

Stage IV: Implementation
Pre-planning is key
1. Project Timeline
Viral growth curves are exponential with a steep ramp up at the end of the promotions (late buying)
Promotional efforts are front loaded but results are hard to measure in early stages
Requires advance planning and faith in eventual viral replication

The “Late Ramp Up” Timeline
Goal: Optimize the viral growth curve
Most promotional energy invested early Most sales occur at end

Pre-planning is key
2. Optional Launch Strategy: The Kickoff Event
Pick a Hot Spot and bring Activators
Mini performance sampling, promo card distribution, etc.
Builds WOM buzz early

Pre-planning is key
3. Fueling Viral Propagation
Keep checking in with Activators on status
Continued Pass-Along e-mails, evite pushes, message boarding, etc.

Stage V: Post Activation Essentials
Gathering data and retaining capacity
1. Buzz Check
Post event blogging
Patron publications online

Buzz Check: Post Event Blogging

2. Number Crunching
Analyze promo card and/or electronic tracking results (evite replies, etc.)
Each Activator needs to track their own results (out of those you invited, who actually came?)
Identify best performing groups and tactics (What gave the best percentage return?)

3. Follow Up with Activators
Kudos to all, positive reinforcement is key
Graduating top performers up the pyramid

Graduating Up the Activator Pyramid Lead Activators Activators a) embedded; and b) field-rated Responders

Challenges & Lessons Learned
Realistic expectations are critical…
Adaptation of P2P model to arts is in infancy
For now, P2P works best with younger audience that is already plugged in to P2P tech culture
For-profit successes are not always replicable in the arts (different budgets & products)
Recruiting and training Activators takes time
Developing effective tactics takes trial & error

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Peer to Peer Marketing (Drexel Presentation)

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