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Ed Keller is talking about the "influentials" in the word-of-mouth world of communications. It's germane and interesting in the hard-to-get-past-the-gate-with-advertising world of today. He's starting with a description of who these people are and how they are recognized. Oddly enough, I read Rosen's book The Anatomy of Buzz, on the airplane down here. Most of the first half of his presentation is in that book. Probably in Keller's own book, The Influentials.
We're not yet half way through the presentation, and I'm wondering if the audience -- good sized one too -- hasn't heard all this before. And, if they haven't, why not? (They're in marketing!)
I think I'm most enjoying what I've seen and who I've talked with so far because it is all confirming the research and thinking we've done on Fetch. This, of course, means that in a universe of about 4,000 attendees from around the world (met a guy here from Germany this morning), our little group at the post office has a level of expertise in tomorrow's world of marketing that is well beyond the second standard deviation on the right hand side. That's fulfilling.
This presentation is chock-a-block with data supporting the contention that word-of-mouth (a.k.a. "buzz") is important, getting more important, and is pervasive. So, marketers, don't ignore it. I know I'm repeating myself, but it's not very enlightening -- for me. The topic right now is that influentials have a lot of knowledge and are taking control of what goes on about them. The example is that the influentials will complain and demand that their "problems" with products and services be remedied by the marketers.
Making the transition from "what" and "who" to "how" -- as in how to get to influentials. He notes that the best brands develop "trust" with their customers in addition to providing excellent service and a great product. [Yawn] "TV" is the number one item on the list of how to reach these people. The next three are: (2) magazines and Internet; (3) Direct-to-consumer marketing; and (4) Customer contact points. That's pretty standard fare, no?
OK, now we're getting somewhere. The slide on the screen is titled, "Your Message Needs to be Right." The first point is a big one: not sure if the audience understands how big. It says, "Invite them in." This presumes that the marketer/advertiser has to stop pushing messages at unwilling and uninterested "influentials." They have to send them a message that invites them in to learn more through (and here's bullet no. 2) "a dialogue; allow them to interact." I firmly believe that this is applicable to all marketing at all consumers; not just to the influentials sub-market. I wouldn't say that the whole presentation was worth being here for this one slide, but it is seriously important. The audience really needs to dwell on it and think about it because it is a shift that will bite them on the ass.
Posted by Grayson at May 24, 2004 04:15 PM