“How to Initiate Offline Word of Mouth”
WOMMA meeting April 17,2007

Just 1 study out of 35 we could
have sited
In 2005 an AdAge study of 542 youths (11-21 yrs.) in 36 states asked: .
What makes you buy
Are you more likely to buy a Of the 44% that said
something for the first time?
product you see advertised via "Somewhere Else“
a?
1. Sporting event (0%) 1. Heard from Friends
1. Word of Mouth/Friends
(67%)
2. Billboard (1%) (72%)
2. Seen a print ad (14%)
3. Commercial (24%) 2. Favorite Celebrities
(18%) 3. Commercial (11%)
4. Magazine (31%)
3. Window Shopping (6%) 4. Other (5%)
5. Somewhere else (44%)
4. Radio (2%)
Source: Westin Rinehart/AdAge study

Great offline WOM
starts with in depth research
• Determine the demographic target for
your brand
– Quant Research (potential stickiness)
– Qualitative Research (Brand Tentpoles)
READ READ READ. Eat and breathe
them.

Aim at the aspiration to hit the target
“FANS”
“ADDICTS”
Aspirational Target = ideal for the brand. MAY NOT BE A CONSUMER OF YOUR
PRODUCT, but reflects the values, practices, attitudes and need-mindset that
you want to become and that your target groups ASPIRE to be like.

Be interesting or be gone
• Create a true Purple Cow aspirational
brand that attracts people.
• Determine Influencer Hubs for your
demo.
• Target Influencer groups in initial
DMAs.
• Constantly redefine approach.

Use the “Treasure Hunt” to your
advantage
Make sure to give consumers either a
TRADE UP or TRADE DOWN option.
Don’t get stuck in the middle.
Ask – “Who is the most adoptive to
new concepts and likes to talk?

“Trading up” in the beverage world

important factoid
96.2 % of the population will “pay
more” for at least one type of
product that is important to them,
and almost 70% identify as many
as ten categories they will trade-up
Source: Trading Up: The New American
Tradition, Silverstein and Fisk 2003 (p.23)

Cultural
Creatives

Let’s talk Cultural Creatives
• A group of 50 million individuals
• Book buyers. “…literate, discriminating and dislike
most of what’s on TV.”
• Desire for Authenticity
• Not “consumers” but “shoppers”
• Technologically savvy
• CCs are Foodies. “…experiment with new kinds of
food…natural foods and health foods.”
• Home is very important. “Nesting” with “eclectic” décor.
• Transportation is “safe and fuel efficient.”
• Experiential Consumers. “Questing” vacations to food.
• “Holistic Everything”

Jumping the “chasm”
Mass Market
Progressive Users
‘Tastemakers’
These consumers “follow the leader.”
These consumers take their lead
These consumers discover new
Will purchase what’s familiar, and validated
from “Tastemakers.”
products.
by upstream consumers.
They make up the majority of our
Their tastes define “what’s cool.”
target consumers.
We must Act and Talk on their They are:
level, One to One. •Beginning to expect a bit more from the products
They believe:
they buy
•That they are individuals making
They have:
individual choices
•Discriminating tastes
•They want to feel ‘smart’
•High expectations
This group holds This group vaults IZZE This group provides the volume and
the key to creating a to a powerful trade-up acceptance that enables IZZE to be
powerful Brand. Brand. successful in traditional grocery.
An Authentic,
One-to-One connection is
key to creating a
relationship.
THE CHASM

Getting the buzz going off line
• Great products sample, average products advertise so “sample,
sample, sample”
• Invite people to sample. Never interrupt or intercept
• PR is important. It validates the WOM but remember . . .
“Earned media (aka “PR”) has to be earned, so make the story good”
• Work with the Influencers you have identified early. Teach them your
brand story and they will share.
• Stories are shared if they are
– Interesting
– Relevant
– Authentic

Just a small recommended reading list
• The Cultural Creatives by Rey & Anderson
• The Purple Cow by Godin
• Free Prize Inside by Godin
• Trading Up by Silverstein
• Rise of the Creative Class by Florida
• The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR by Ries & Ries
• The Influentials: One American in Ten Tells the Other Nine How to Vote,
Where to Eat, and What to Buy by Jon Berry and Ed Keller
• Tipping Point by Gladwell
• No LOGO by Klein
• Beyond the Brand by Winsor
• Brand Hijack by Wipperfurth
• Shameless Exploitation by Newman
• Let My People Go Surfing by Chouinard
• Lovemarks by Roberts

Thank you
Ted Wright Lance Gentry
Fizz 303-669-8444
ted@fizzcorp.com
404-638-1066

Handy summary page
• WOMM is the most resource • Great products sample,
efficient marketing tool in your average products advertise
arsenal. Use it!
• Earned media (aka ‘PR’) has
• Great offline WOMM to be earned, so make the
starts with deep consumer story good
research
• Work with the Influencers you
• Be interesting or be gone have identified early. Teach
them your brand story and they
will share.
• Use the “Treasure Hunt” to
your advantage
• Stories “go viral” if they are
• Aim at the aspiration to hit the – Interesting
target – Relevant
– Authentic
• Invite people to sample. Never
interrupt or intercept
Contacts for more information: Ted Wright, Fizz. 404-638-1066 Lance Gentry, 303-669-8444