Guest Column - Influencers in a Multimedia World

McKinsey & Company has said it best: Consumers are moving outside the purchase funnel changing the way they research and buy your products. If your marketing hasn’t changed in response, it should. Traditional marketing remains important, but the change in the way consumers make decisions means that marketers must move aggressively beyond purely pushy-style communication and learn to influence consumer-driven touch points, such as word-of-mouth and Internet information sites.

 

Because of the change in the way consumers are making decisions, word-of-mouth is more important than ever. When GfK Roper asked subjects what touch point in their last major purchase decision was the single most impactful, consumers overwhelming cited a recommendation from someone they trust.

People leading these important discussions are defined as the Influentials. For over 35 years, GfK Roper has been tracking those Influentials, who are the most powerful opinion leaders in their communities. They are the most active 10% of the public, they are turned to for advice and opinion, they generate word-of-mouth recommendations, they are connected to more groups, and they are more educated and engaged in the world.  Influentials are twice as likely as the total public to recommend and be sought out for advice.

Influentials are Market Multipliers who are technologically connected consumers who are more active Internet users. With the rise of Internet and social media, Influentials can now influence many more by writing reviews on Websites, sending mass emails, and postings on social networks.  In the past, the Influentials were limited to impacting friends/family. Now their areas of influence have grown exponentially.

 

Augmenting this established research is the Keller Fay Group, who is delivering a new data source that provides expanded insights into word-of-mouth, such as what brands are being talked about in a positive or negative way and who is likely to buy the brand after the conversation. These data allow media buyers to better plan against influencers.

 

About 20% of word-of-mouth is stimulated by advertising. This equates to about 700 million ad-influenced word-of-mouth impressions for brands each day in America. It does not account for the advertising effect not specifically identified by the respondent. The effectiveness of word-of-mouth is substantially increased when stimulated, encouraged, and/or supported by advertising.

 

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was the first to sign on for Nielsen’s new Fusion data service, which measures TV and Web audiences against marketing targets that have been identified through MRI, including the GfK Roper Influentials. These data give usthe ability to analyze advertisers’ delivery among this key segment. Fusion data also show that Influentials are heavy news consumers and prefer CNN as their brand of choice. 

 

CNN reaches more Influentials than any other cable network. Fusion data provide quantifiable metrics from Nielsen that we then provide our clients to help them identify reach, and make more informed decisions about the true impact of their media plans. Fusion is the industry’s first true indicator of cross-media usage of a brand, and it helps identify brand users overall. 

 

Buying across Web and TV helps maximize the strength of CNN audiences at multiple touch points, at different times of day, and in different environments. CNN strives to connect to consumers wherever they are, helping fully activate our advertising partners’ messages, and word-of-mouth research is a key component in that mission.