These are lessons that I have learned from studying Propagation Planning in 2009. These lessons will help you understand the philosophy, review case studies and apply the method to your communication plans.

1. LESSONS IN
PROPAGATION
PLANNING
By Griffin Farley
With some of the best examples from 2009

2. A BRIEF HISTORY
Ivan Pollard from Naked Communications presented the theory of propagation
planning at the APG Battle of Big Thinking in October of 2006. Steve Wing from
The Guardian was in attendance and suggested to Ivan that he should call his
theory Propagation Planning.
http://theapg.typepad.com/battleofbigthinking/2006/10/thoughts_from_i.html
Since then, Faris Yakob (now at McCaan NY) has been sited with the most press
regarding Propagation Planning. In 2007 Faris wrote an essay on the subject that
was featured in Campaign Magazine.
http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/features/769167/IPA-Diploma-Presidents-Prize-Essay-Faris-Yakob/
In November of 2008 I wrote a presentation on Propagation Planning for
22squared based on a Blog post by Ivan that was posted on Naked
Communications Tokyo Blog (luckily it was in English). The presentation earned me
a trip to the Futures of Entertainment 3 conference at MIT where I learned more
about the subject.
http://nakedtokyo.blog98.fc2.com/blog-entry-1.html
In December of 2008 I created a Blog called Propagation Planning where I archive
articles, examples, jobs, theories and tools in propagation planning. For such a
narrow subject in one year the Blog has had 300+ posts, 100+ comments and
9,000+ unique visitors from 86 countries.
http://www.propagationplanning.com
2
Connection Planning has been around for 10 years and has been practiced at agencies like Fallon and Chiat Day. For our agency to be a part of the next shift in industry thinking we needed
to know, “what comes after connection planning?”

3. OUTLINE
1. PROPAGATION PLANNING THEORY
2. PLANNING FOR PROPAGATION
3. PROPAGATION PRINCIPLES
4. PROPAGATION TOOLS + PLATFORMS
5. PROPAGATION PLANNING IN AGENCIES
3
2009 was a fantastic year for propagation planning and I would like to share with you what I have learned about the discipline and my ideas for promoting the craft

4. PROPAGATION PLANNING THEORY
The new marketing landscape is paving the way for propagation planning to exist in ad agencies and communication planning shops.

5. TURN THE FUNNEL UPSIDE DOWN
5
Brandon Murphy from 22squared (along with Karen Evans and Evan Slater) talked about turning the awareness funnel upside down and creating multiplicity instead of subtraction. This
philosophy was the reason that I took the job at 22squared.

6. TURN THE FUNNEL ON ITS SIDE
http://www.slideshare.net/guest7e5b6a/the-new-marketing-landscape-by-dan-pankraz-presentation 6
A senior planner named Dan Pankraz from Clemenger BBDO Sydney created these slides that explain the shift in the marketing funnel even better.

7. A BROADER DEFINITION OF MEDIA
7
At the Miami Account Planning Conference in 2008, Group M spoke about three types of Media: Paid, Owned and Earned (thanks to Ed Cotton from BSSP for the photo). This broader defin
of media (particularly the term earned media) has been reinforced by articles in Adweek and Ad Age.

8. 36% OF PURCHASES COME FROM WOM
http://griffinfarley.typepad.com/propagation/2009/12/planning-media-that-generates-word-of-mouth.html 8
Universal McCaan and Keller Fay did a study where 36% of purchases were influenced by Personal Recommendations from Friends and Family. This was the highest influence compared to
other paid mediums that were also available to marketers. It makes sense to bring the most powerful medium into your marketing plan.

9. ALL THIS BUILDS TO THE THEORY
PROPAGATION PLANNING
Plan not for the people you reach, but the people that they reach
9
“Word of mouth has potentially exponential power for a brand. What marketers are less confident about though is building this channel into plans and making it an
accountable component. When the phase ‘Word of Mouth’ is bandied around, more often than not, what is being referred to is an immeasurable yet highly desirable
campaign ‘side effect’. But things have moved on: the muddy and mystical times that once defined attempts at harnessing it are changing. Propagation planning - a
technique capable of kick-starting, controlling and exploiting the WOM affect - is moving the area forward.” - Nikki Stammers for B&T

10. PLANNING FOR PROPAGATION

11. THE GREAT SCHLEP: DROGA 5
YouTube
Fact Sheet PDF
Facebook
PRODUCT: REAL TARGET: INFLUENCER TARGET:
Jewish PAC Older Jewish Voters Grandchildren of Older
Jewish Voters
WOM 11
Instead of marketing directly to Older Jewish Voters, a media strategy that would have been expensive and likely to included direct mail, newspaper and television they decided to target a
segment that had more influence over the prime audience... the grandchildren. The Great Schlep was born and produced and spread with zero paid media dollars.

12. CORALINE THE MOVIE: W+K
YouTube
Direct Mail
Website
Facebook
PRODUCT: REAL TARGET: INFLUENCER TARGET:
Movie People that love Animation Bloggers
Animated movies
WOM 12
W+K sent out 50 handmade boxes with items from the movie to their favorite bloggers. Coraline is an animated stop-motion fantasy film directed by Henry Sellick (The
Nightmare Before Christmas and James and The Giant Peach). The Coraline boxes contain items from the highly anticipated film such as dolls, wigs, suitcase, etc. and each is
housed in a one-of-a-kind handmade box.

13. OASIS STREET PERFORMERS: BBH
Website
Documentary
Google Maps
PRODUCT: REAL TARGET: INFLUENCER TARGET:
New Album People that love music Street Performers
WOM 13
Most artists that launch albums run ads in magazines like Rolling Stone and Spin, with some television ads for retailers like Target or Wal Mart. Oasis launched an album by training street
performers in NYC to play their songs prior to the launch of the album. These performers went back to the streets and spread the words of the product and invited Oasis fans to see them play
learn what the new songs might be about. This launch became their second best album launch ever.

14. PROPAGATION PRINCIPLES

15. UNIQUE PRODUCTION
PRODUCT:
Evian Bottled Water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQcVllWpwGs
PRODUCT:
Google Chrome Web Browser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VjDuJaxkSQ
15
In a world where content can be spread and enjoyed outside of paid media space, this is not the time to pull back on production budgets. In fact, good production by itself can be propagation
material. Sometimes production can be expensive and sometimes it can be inexpensive but very unique.

16. STRONG TALENT
PRODUCT:
Johnny Walker Whiskey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnSIp76CvUI
16
Known talent can give a nice needed push with online videos like Robert Carlyle in this Johnny Walker Whiskey video. This also had a unique production technique of capturing the footage
in one take.

17. ENGAGING CHARACTERS
PRODUCT:
Dos Equis Beer
http://www.facebook.com/DosEquis
PRODUCT:
Compare the Market Car Insurance
http://www.facebook.com/Comparethemeerkat 17
Both Dos Equis and Compare the Market do a great job on their respective Facebook pages by writing status updates in the tone and voice of the branded characters that they invented.

18. DEMONSTRATE THE SPREAD
PRODUCT:
Vaseline Skin Moisturizer
http://www.prescribethenation.com/
18
BBH won the APG award with the Prescribe the Nation campaign showing how one person in Alaska can spread word of mouth about a product that would actually help people in that
environment.

19. PERSONAL TOUCH
PRODUCT:
Office Max
http://www.elfyourself.com/
PRODUCT:
Discovery Channel Shark Week
http://dsc.discovery.com/sharks/frenzied-waters/ 19
While most people can’t remember the brand that Elf Yourself is attached to, however, what is powerful is the personal touch that EVB first developed with the ‘upload your photo’ option.
This gave people a vested interest in participating with the experience and sending it on to friends. Facebook Connect is the new tool for marketers to tap into personal information that is
embedded in the narrative. Campfire used this technology in their Frenzied Waters web site.

20. COMMUNAL PARTICIPATION
PRODUCT:
Oprah 25th Anniversary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvljD0toJmU
PRODUCT:
2009 Presidential Inauguration
20
http://mashable.com/2009/01/20/cnn-facebook-inauguration-numbers/
In recent years we have seen events that draw people to participate. We have seen the worlds largest single city flash mob with the Black Eyed Peas in Chicago and we have seen millions of
people participate on Facebook and Twitter during the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. Branded events like this promise communal participation and the active engagement is something that f
will remember for years to come. T Mobile and Nike Human Race are brands that are tapping into this cultural shift.

21. REAL VALUE AND WORTH
PRODUCT:
Ikea Facebook
http://adland.tv/commercials/ikea-facebook-tag-2009-135-sweden
PRODUCT:
Alice Bond Handbags
http://desedo.com/blog/the-alice-bond-bag/ 21
Forsman & Bodenfors recently devised a Facebook campaign for a new Ikea store in Malmo, Sweden. People were told to be the first to tag their name on any item and they would win it.
Desedo Films worked with a high end handbag designer who had a following in NYC. They placed bags all over the city and provided clues on Twitter where these bags could be found. Be
the first to find it and you keep it.

22. EMBEDDED GOOD
PRODUCT:
Lands End Big Boston Warm Up
http://creativity-online.com/work/lands-end-the-big-warm-up-personalized-video/17798
22
When spreading the word has embedded good built in, the action has positive value to the person who is sharing the cause. In today’s propagation campaigns, Public Relations is a big
component of making things successful. The Press is likely to pick up things that are helping other people in our society and reward brands for sponsoring such events.

23. KNOWLEDGE WHERE I SOCIALIZE
PRODUCT:
Best Buy Twitter Page
http://twitter.com/twelpforce
PRODUCT:
GAP Facebook Page
23
http://www.facebook.com/gap#/gap?v=app_115708094525
Brands are doing a great job with providing knowledge in social networking platforms. This makes it easy for people to ask questions and it makes it easy for brands to be the solution to
questions.

24. PROPAGATION TOOLS + PLATFORMS

25. STORY OVER PLATFORM
25
LINK TO DOWNLOAD http://griffinfarley.typepad.com/propagation/2009/02/storytelling-in-a-digital-age.html
The core story or narrative should be strong enough not to depend on one platform. The Center for Digital Storytelling has a great document on this subject.

26. DESTINATIONS + CONVERSATIONS
26
We Are Social out of the UK posted this great chart on their Blog that describes the role of driving people to destinations and driving people to conversations.

27. MOVEMENT AND PURPOSE OF TOOLS
27
A Blog called Hit Singularity has been working on this framework that describes the role and purpose of using a community platform in your social media strategy. I’m sure
some of these platforms could do more, but this is still a nice example.

28. TOOLS AS ACCELERATORS
28

29. THE USUAL SUSPECTS
29
I think out of the usual suspects, Facebook will be the most compelling because 1. the consumer behavior of frequent Facebook checking 2. the creative opportunities on the
platform and 3. Paid Media options which clients and agencies are comfortable purchasing.

30. SOME YOU MAY NOT HAVE HEARD
30
I really like Monitter’s ability to search Tweets by
Zipcode

31. PROPAGATION PLANNING IN AGENCIES

32. PROPAGATION PLANNING AGENCIES
32
As far as I know, only two agencies have hired people as propagation planners. Naked Communications and The Population (which I believe is a start up funded by Naked). I like how Naked
describes themselves: Set in the slums of Surry Hills, Sydney, Naked Australia is carrying on the proud traditions of its British father. Since storming onto the Australia communications scene in
September 2004, the agency has managed to locate (and employ) the majority of brilliant misfits working in the Australia communications industry. Surprisingly this absurd recruitment strategy
has paid off and the agency is producing ground breaking work for some of the world’s biggest brands.

33. A CONTROLLED EXPLOSION
1. RECRUITMENT OF PARTICIPANTS
2. INCREASING THEIR CONTROL
3. MOTIVATION FOR PARTICIPATION
4. MEASUREMENT OF EFFORTS
http://www.bandt.com.au/blog/blogposts.asp?postid=629 33
In 2008 Nikki Stammers, a propagation planner for Naked Communications wrote a Blog post on B&T about the discipline and how it was used at that agency. She sited a four step method that made
propagation planners different from other Word of Mouth experts. She says that recruitment of the right people is key and that consumers are the departure point, not the end point. Nikki is now a
member of The Population.

34. A PROPAGATION PLANNERS ROLE
1. MODERATE SOCIAL NETWORKING COMMUNITIES FOR BRANDS
2. ROLE PLAY AS THE BRAND OR AS BRANDED CHARACTERS ONLINE
3. DEVISE PROPAGATION STRATEGIES FOR NEW CAMPAIGNS
4. IDENTIFY INFLUENCERS AND CONTEXTUAL COMMUNITIES
5. HELP CHOREOGRAPH THE ROLL-OUT OF REAL WORLD AND DIGITAL ASSETS
6. MEASURE AND REGULARLY REPORT ON THE EFFORTS
7. BRIEF CREATIVES ON NEW PLATFORMS AND TRENDS IN PROPAGATION
34
If I was asked to describe the role of a propagation planner in an agency today, I would say these seven things would be a part of that job description.

35. GRIFFIN FARLEY - Sr. Brand Planner
GRIFFIN.FARLEY@22SQUARED.COM
WWW.PROPAGATIONPLANNING.COM
CONTACT