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When did we
start trusting September 2008
strangers?
29 countries
17,000 internet users
Contents
Introduction
➜ No strangers anymore
Welcome to the new influence
landscape
➜ The rise of social media
➜ Digital friends
➜ Proliferation of influencer channels
The impact
➜ The influence economy
➜ The democratisation of influence
➜ The new super influencers
5
Methodology
This unique perspective comes from data collected in Every market is representative by age and sex to the
the third instalment of Universal McCann’s global digital 16-54 Active Internet Universe. Quotas and universe sizes
research programme “Wave”. The research was completed were established from local data sources such as TGI
among 17,000 active internet users in 29 countries – and Simmons.
making it one of the most wide reaching investigations into
the subject of influence and word of mouth. Respondents To qualify as a member of the Active Internet Universe the
are provided by the world’s leading online panel companies, respondent needs to be using the Internet everyday or every
all recruited to strict ESOMAR standards. other day. They are the audience that matter to current
and future of marketing communications and represent the
consumer that are driving the new influence landscape.
Australia Mexico
Austria Netherlands
Canada Romania
China Pakistan
Czech Republic Philippines
Denmark Poland
France Russia
Germany South Korea
Greece Spain
Hong Kong Switzerland
Hungary Taiwan
India Turkey
Italy UK
Japan USA
7
No Strangers Anymore
Long before the concept of marketing existed our sources Today the web is driven by its’ users and peoples’ thoughts
of information were limited. What we now tag “Word of on everything are found across the web, personal blogs, to
Mouth” was the only source of information outside religion, reviews on price comparison sites and wish lists on Amazon
the monarchy and the state. People’s lives were localised are just some examples. It is now incredibly easy to share
and the information that impacted on their main decisions opinions and cultivate influence, often without even trying.
in life came from friends, family or perhaps the man in the The result has been the democratisation of influence to
market. Then came the mass media age: newspapers, radio the masses.
and the television set created exposure to influences beyond
the ancient controllers of information. This is a fundamental change in the way we source and
share opinions and today anyone can wield influence far
However this influence was still professional and top down – beyond their immediate social group. In the old days the
the news reader, the columnist and the expert. Mass media conversations we had with our immediate peers generally Graham, UK
offered little in terms of consumer recommendation; readers’ stayed inside that network. Today opinions and experiences Agnes, France
letters in newspapers and magazines or phone-ins on TV are shared worldwide. Never before have we been exposed
and radio shows were as far as consumer influence went. to so many opinions and recommendations from so many
Peer to peer interactions remained localised and face to face. people - most of whom are complete strangers, without the
aura of expertise or celebrity recognition. Carlos, Brazil
Then along came the web and a revolution began. In the
early days, bulletin boards, chat rooms and home brew The result is an influence economy that is forcing everyone
websites allowed those technically in the know to project their in the public realm including the owners of products and
thoughts and opinions. More recently social media such as brands to become more transparent, open, conversational
blogs, social networks, photo or video sharing sites and wikis and honest. They have to rethink the way that influence is
have opened the door to consumer publishing and hundreds distributed and the role of marketing communications in an
of millions have embraced it. information landscape dictated by consumers.
Dmitri, Russia
9
Teresa, Canada
Brendan, Hungary
11
% Ever done
50% Watch video clips online
Create a profile on a social network
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Wave 1 Sep 06 Wave 2 Jun 07 Wave 3 Mar 08
Figure 1: “Social Media adoption over time (Waves 1 – 3)” Global Average
Source: Universal McCann Social Media Tracker – Power to the People
13
The scale of this revolution is demonstrated by Figures 2 They are also sharing content; 55% are sharing photos, 22%
and 3, which show the extent of content that social network are uploading videos and 23% are uploading applications,
users and bloggers are uploading. It is clear that social all of which project opinions and endorse brands if included.
media has become a platform for directly sharing opinion
and thoughts; 34% of social network users are sharing
opinions on music, 31% are writing a blog inside their profile
and almost 10% have promoted a band. What I do with my social network profile
Monica, Spain
Install
applications
Favourite / 23.3%
Glen, UK currently
listened to music
33.6% Promote
a band
Hugh, Canada 9.8%
Upload photos
Write a blog 55.1% Upload
30.8% videos
21.9%
What do I post
on my blog?
Stories from
other blogs
Videos 23%
24%
Favourite/
currently listened Photos
to music 50%
29%
Widgets
14%
Since its inception as a closed academic and military and communication is much more frequent and casual.
network the web has had a major impact on the way its What is interesting is the extent to which social media
users communicate and the nature of the social contacts is beginning to rival its more established equivalents,
they maintain. In 2008, 1.5bn people are online and the with nearly 58% having joined a social network. But
impact of the internet has spread into the way we interact more importantly, as Figure 5 shows, these users are
and communicate as a society. communicating in new ways, with 66% using them to stay
in contact with existing friends, 42% using them to meet
Figure 4 shows the penetration of different communications new people and 18% for dating.
platforms; email is universally used and instant messenger Stay in contact
is adopted by more than 80% of users world-wide. This has It is extending our definition of friendship and with existing
moved billions of personal interactions into the virtual and is a fundamental shift towards a virtual friends
58%
written word, where it is much easier to spread influence communications platform.
Dating
18.3%
Email
99% Instant messenger
81.6%
VOIP
51.3% Meet new
friends
42%
Social network
58%
Figure 4: “Thinking about the Internet, which of the following have Figure 5: “What do you do with your social networking profile?”,
you done?”, Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Social Media Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Social Media Tracker –
Tracker – Power to the People Power to the People
19
The rise of social platforms has created important new our friend networks to include new people and old friends thanks to a multitude of factors including low cost of entry, in the UK and 24% in the US. These are differences that
channels for peer to peer interaction. Figure 6 and Figure we would have previously lost contact with. less competition from traditional media, a poor legacy of reflect broader patterns of adoption of social media and
7 show the global response to the statements, “blogging fixed line communications and a younger and relatively cultural differences in role of the web in life.
is important to socialise with friends” and “I use social The global impact is not geographically uniform and there more affluent profile. This has driven enthusiasm for these
networks to meet new people”, which indicate the social are large distinctions by country, with fast-growing emerging platforms as social channels. The key factor is that the social web is increasingly adopted
impact of both these platforms. Both are now perceived internet markets leading the way, such as the Philippines, as a core social platform by hundreds of millions of users
as important platforms for socialising with friends, pushing Mexico and India. In these countries social platforms There are also large distinctions in developed internet worldwide. This dramatically affects the exposure to channels
more of our interactions into the virtual world and expanding have been enthusiastically embraced among web users, markets, 58% of South Korea web users and 66% in Italy of influence and the nature of the social groups we maintain.
see blogging as a platform for socialising compared to 26%
Blogging is important to socialise with friends Use social networks to meet new people
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100 100
% Agree
% Agree
0 0
Figure 6: Agree with the statement Figure 7: Agree with the statement
“Blogging is important to socialise with friends” “I use social networks to meet new people”
21
networks with 30 and Instant Messenger with 29. Brazil Social network
51.5
Instant Messenger 48.5
Email 45.3
Face to face 38.2
Graeme, USA My personal blog 26.2
Phone 24.4
Text Message 17
Post/letter 8.6
Face to face
35
CHINA Instant Messenger
49
Email 32 Phone 33.6
Social network 30 Email 32.2
Instant Messenger 28 Text Message 31.7
Phone 26 Social network 31.3
Text Message 21 Face to face 27.5
My personal blog 13 My personal blog 26.1
Post/letter 9 Post/letter 12.6
Figure 8: “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in Figure 9: “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in
your personal life through the following means?”, Global Average your personal life through the following means?”, key internet markets
23
India – Email and mobile lead the way as Indians leapfrog Japan – Significantly smaller friend networks reflect the UK – Social networks now equal the number of face-to-face US – Email just leads face-to-face relationships, but SMS yet
fixed line networks, embracing functional communications structure of society, although it one of the most virtualised relationships reflecting the massive growth of Facebook. to catch on.
platforms over social ones. with email and social networks leading face to face, but SMS usage is level with phone calls demonstrating the
Instant Messenger lags. popularity of messaging.
INDIA Email
51.6
UK Face to face
30.9
Phone 45.1 Social network 30.5
Social network 42.9 Email 25.2
Face to face 42 Phone 21.1
Text Message 35.5 Text Message 20.8
Instant Messenger 33.2 Instant Messenger 20.1
Post/letter 23.8 My personal blog 9.7
My personal blog 17.9 Post/letter 7.1
JAPAN
Email 8.5
USA
Email 21.1
Text Message 8 Face to face 20
Social network 7.4 Phone 16.9
Phone 7 Social network 16.6
Face to Face 6.5 Instant Messenger 12.4
Post/Letter 6.3 Text Message 8.9
My personal blog 3.8 Post/letter 7.4
Instant Messenger 2.9 My personal blog 7.1
The impact of virtual networks and digitised friends can interactions tend to be more formal. Also social networks are stay in touch with a partner face to face. Staying in touch amount of interaction is text-based and remote.
be seen on our core day to day interactions with partners, beginning to become important as the boundaries between with children is a very similar pattern, remarkably 16% stay The impacts on the way we interact, communicate and
friends, work colleagues and children. There has been professional and personal continue to disapear. in touch by text and 13% by email, which again are very build our networks are substantial and they have a major
a significant shift to virtual communication as shown in significant numbers considering just 34% have children and effect on the way we interface, receive and transmit
Figure 10. This is particularly marked within friend networks The most remarkable trend is the influence of the virtual stay in touch face to face. recommendations.
where 79% keep in touch by email, 70% by SMS, 67% by connection on our most personal of relationships. Nearly
messenger and 46% by social networks. Interacting with 38% of respondents say they keep in contact with their This is a big shift. Think back 10 years, email was just
current work colleagues is led by phone and email, where partner via SMS, 30% via email and 10% via Instant emerging as a business tool, IM and social networks were
Messenger. All very significant compared to the 55% who yet to exist and SMS was nowhere. Today an increasing
How do I keep in contact with my friends How do I keep in contact with my partner How do I keep in contact How do I keep in contact with my children
with my current work colleagues
Social network
Social network
31.1% 45.7%
7.2% Post/letter Instant Messenger
My personal Social network
79.4% 9.8% 25.7% 15.1% Instant Messenger
9.6%
blog 34.1%
Email
My personal blog 5.8% 43% Face to face
Social network 3.4%
30.1% 8.1% Email
37.9% 15.8%
Email
Instant Messenger
22% 2.2% Text Message
66.9%
Text Message
44.4% My personal blog 3.7%
39.2% My personal blog
Instant Messenger
58% 24.4% Post/letter
Post/letter Phone Phone
82.4% Face to face
13%
Phone 48.8% 29.3%
Phone 54.9% Email
Text Message
Face to face
70.1% 8.1%
Post/letter
Text Message
86.3%
Face to face
% stay in contact
Figure 10: “How do you keep in
contact with the following people”,
Global Average
27
Consumer influence channels – mass market age versus social media age
Talk face to face Talk face to face Personal blog Comments on blogs
The extent of adoption of the new influence channels can Significantly social channels are also extremely popular and
be seen in figure 12, which shows the monthly reach. Over have very similar levels of penetration. More than 30% of
44% of users have shared an opinion about a product or people have commented on a product or service review on a
service by Instant Messenger with a friend in the last month blog, just above the 29% that have recommended a product
and 42% by email. These two show that the web is an or brand on a blog in the past month. Amazingly, both now
extension of the existing relationships. rank above writing a review on an e-commerce site, a much
Hi Alistair, more accessible and mainstream social channel.
I’ve found this amazing golf hotel.
I’ll send you details later.
Monthly Average
0 50
Figure 12: “Thinking about how you can share an opinion on a product, brand
or service via the Internet. On average how often do you do the following?”
Global Monthly Average
31
There are clear motivations for online users to share their Interestingly for the mass market, a brand being fashionable What motivated me to share my opinion?
opinions. When asked to rate different factors on a scale of 5 or discovering an unknown brand is not a major driver to
for importance a definitive pattern emerges among the mass recommend and users would much rather comment and
market as Figure 13 shows. The most important factors pass judgement on something that is already known and
Good personal experience 4.1
being a good experience, a friend having a good experience familiar. This is because we are more familiar with these
and a quality product – demonstrating the importance in the products and we feel safer in recommending it. This shows Someone you trust having a good personal experience 3.7
new influence landscape of investing in a quality product. that the majority of us do not want to dictate trends, but The brand is high quality 3.7
These both rank above negative experience, rebuffing the respond and evaluate what is already established. A friend’s recommendation 3.4
misconception that people just use the web to complain. Bad personal experience 3.3
These motivations indicate two things; firstly companies that A free sample you receive 3.2
All aspects of personal experience and personal invest in quality product will succeed and will get a much Your friends like the product or service 3.2
recommendations are stronger influences than any greater exposure through consumer content than their Someone you trust having a bad personal experience 3.2
traditional paid for communications except sampling. A clear marketing budget allows; secondly it means that companies The product or service is discounted 3.1
demonstration that being active in social media will become with a bad product or trying to cover up bad behaviour will The brand is popular 2.9
increasingly important for brands. suffer in the transparent world of the influencer economy. An advertisement you find interesting & inspiring 2.8
A promotion you see in a store 2.7
A recommendation in the media (TV/newspapers/mags/radio) 2.6
A recommendation you receive in a store 2.5
The brand is fashionable 2.4
The brand is unknown amongst social group 2.1
I’ve found the coolest trainers ever. Seen used by a celebrity/well known figure 1.8
Federico, Panama I’ll show you on Saturday. Spyros, Greece
0 Average Score 1-5 4.5
Figure 13: “The following are a list of reasons and motivations for you to talk about a product, brand or
service. Please can you consider how important they are in motivating you to talk to others? Where 5 =
very motivating and 1 = Not at all motivating.” Global Average
33
As Figure 14 shows, these new channels have become The other validation for the impact of social channels How I source opinions on products, brands and services
an essential part of our repertoire for sourcing information is the 55% of the active Internet universe claiming to
on products and brands. When asked which ones were have sought product and brand information on personal
consulted for information on products and brands in recommendations on social networks and 51% on personal
Search for a specific product/service on a search engine 82.1%
an average month, all remarkably had a penetration of blogs in an average month. This compares with 55%
more than 40%, with all social channels competing reading reviews on a news website for product and brand Read an email from a friend/colleague 80.2%
extremely well. information in the last month and the same number reading Visit official company/brand website 69.6%
reviews on price comparison sites. Instant Messenger conversation with a friend/colleague 69.2%
Search is number one, but an email recommendation Bookmark products & services interested in 63.3%
is virtually the same with 80% monthly reach. Instant It’s clear that social and consumer-generated channels, Visit an Internet auction site 58.1%
Messenger conversation with a friend has the same regardless of environment are consumed at the same level Read comments on a personal profile on a sn e.g Facebook.com 55.1%
penetration as visiting a branded website. Both of which as professional content - a big development in the growth of Read official reviews on retail/price comparison websites 55%
demonstrate the increasing reach of digitised direct the new influencer landscape. Read reviews written on news websites e.g bbc.co.uk 55%
communication channels as a form of influence. Read a personal blog/weblog by someone you know 51.4%
Read reviews by consumers on retail sites e.g Amazon.com 49.9%
Visit online Chat rooms/message boards 47.8%
Hayley, London Read a blog/weblog by someone you do not know 46.6%
Read peoples wish/fave lists on retail websites 43.1%
Read a blog/weblogs managed by a brand/private company 42.3%
Figure 14: “Thinking about the process of looking for opinions on a product, brand
or services online. On average how often do you do the following when looking for
information on products, brands and services?”, Global Average
35
The common perception is that today’s society is more brands and services, proving that online strangers simply • We trust strangers online almost as much as face to face • Blogs are becoming a trusted form of opinion, blogs from
dangerous and less community orientated than it has ever aren’t perceived as a threat, quite the contrary. Today we recommendation people you know rank at number 7 and those by from
been. If you read the more hysterical newspapers, you trust the opinions of strangers from all round the world professionals or micropublishers, number 15. Blogs are
could be forgiven for thinking that every stranger is going almost as much as the people we know. • We would much rather trust a stranger than a celebrity, by almost as trusted as their written word counterparts,
to kill you and steal your credit card. But as this research a long way magazines and newspapers
demonstrates, this is simply untrue, at least in the world of • The top four trusted forms of recommendation are all
the web. Figure 15 shows the extent to which global web direct conversation – significantly two of these are now on • We trust a stranger over any paid-for communications or • Not everything online is trusted: emails from companies
users trust different sources of information on products, internet channels: email and Instant Messenger advertising are only marginally more trusted than celebrities
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determining levels of trust of strangers. The assumption when that opinion is seen inside another environment such Trust by gender by people you do not know
6 6
would be that the younger you are and the more familiar as an e-commerce store.
5 5
you are with social platforms, the more likely you are to Consumers reviews on retail Peoples wish/fav lists on retail
4 sites e.g amazon.com 4 websites e.g amazon.com
trust consumer opinion online. As this research shows, it is Gender (Figure 17) is even less of a factor, with identical
3 3
simply not true – age is not a significant factor. Looking at levels of trust. Interestingly the only demographic that
chart
2 2
the channels of information that consumers can project their influences in a major way is the final level of education; the 1 1
opinions through by age group in Figure 18, it is clear more educated the more you trust the opinions of strangers
17
0 0
18
(Figure 16), particularly on blogs.
Blogs/Weblogs- personal blog Comments/viewpoints on social
written by people you know network sites e.g facebook.com
16 17
Blogs/Weblogs-blog written
by people you do not know
3
sites e.g amazon.com
3
websites e.g amazon.com
Trust by age Blogs/Weblogs-blog written
Figure 17: Trust by gender, Global Average
chart
by people you do not know
2 2
1 1 6 6
0 0 5 5
Consumers reviews on retail Peoples wish/fav lists on retail
3 3
written by people you know network sites e.g facebook.com
2 2
1 1
0 0
Comments/viewpoints on social
Blogs/Weblogs- personal blog
User reviews on an online Blogs/Weblogs- professional network sites e.g facebook.com
written by people you know
auction site (e.g ebay.com) blog e.g engadget.com
Post Graduate
University
16-24
College
25-34
Secondary
User reviews on an online Blogs/Weblogs- professional 35-44
Primary School
auction site (e.g ebay.com) blog e.g engadget.com 45-54
Figure 16: Trust by final education level, Global Average Figure 18: Trust by age, Global Average
39
Matsui, Japan
What’s the best digital camera at Henry, Australia Brazil
the moment? How much can you China
get it for in Japan? Japan
South Korea
Blogs/Weblogs- professional UK
User reviews on an online
auction site (e.g ebay.com) blog e.g engadget.com US
Hayley, UK
Participating sites share your purchases and selections into
your Facebook news stream. For example if you buy a movie
ticket on Fandango, watch it appear as news on Facebook.
Highly controversial on launch due to privacy concerns –
watch what you buy your girlfriend as a birthday surprise.
Somyot, Thailand
45
➜ The democratisation of influence products and services. Figure 20 shows the impact the
social web has had on our ability to share opinions and
to comment on services and products they can’t buy online.
Categories such as alcoholic drinks, groceries and cosmetics
information by category. The most striking observation is that are still heavily reviewed, indicating that the impacts of
➜ The new super influencers the participation rates for reviewing online are extremely high
across all categories.
consumer opinion are being felt regardless of the sector.
5%
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70
Figure 20: “Thinking about the following types of products, brands or services. Can you please indicate
whether you have reviewed them online, either a positive, average or negative opinion”, Global Average
47
Using films as an example, a clear global pattern emerges The leading markets are predominately Asian; South Korea, Have you ever reviewed a film online?
demonstrating the places where the influencer economy Hong Kong, Philippines, India, Pakistan and China.
is currently strongest (Figure 21). As films are universally This shows that extremely high participation rates in social
viewed worldwide, regardless of income, this is a sensible media are spilling over into direct recommendations
measure to pull out the extent of involvement in the on products and brands. The only exception to the Asian
influence economy. dominance is Brazil, a country that is obsessed with
social networking.
%
.8
2%
3%
4%
4%
52
%
Participation rates fall dramatically for Europe and North
7%
%
.4
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9%
.6
.0
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7%
73
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ic
41
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95
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53
88
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87
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.6
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69
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37
%
s
pu
81
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a
.6
55
36
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.2
%
nd
ng
.6
s
nd
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America, which is not due to any less love for film but more
50
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51
67
36
65
67
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40
52
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Diederik, Netherlands
h
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n
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a
of an indication that the more developed web markets
et
r
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Ja
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i
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Gr
Ta
In
Fr
H
M
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U
haven’t embraced the consumer influence revolution with 100
the same level of enthusiasm. Factors in this include a more
developed mass of traditional media to provide influence,
Figure 21: “Thinking about the following types of products, brands or services.
Can you please indicate whether you have reviewed them online, either a positive,
average or negative opinion”, Films Category
49
When it comes to sourcing information, there are significant Interestingly the products that are low in terms of sourcing
differences by category with larger variations by category information are also low categories for e-commerce, such
than for the sharing information. The result being that some as groceries, beverages, healthcare and cosmetics – all
categories are very high in sharing and low in sourcing and impulse or immediate need products that rarely have a
vice versa. The leading category, ‘holiday and destinations’ significant consideration period. However these are all
is the lead category for sourcing information but very few categories we have reviewed online – showing a disconnect
people actually share their own experiences. in contribution versus sourcing, The Azores are absolutely
The leading products after holidays and destinations are The other interesting observation is the number of people
fantastic! I’ve seen some
home technology, travel and portable technology; not only who have researched ‘big ticket’ items such as cars whales today...
high interest, but products that have been strongly impacted and property is still significant. This is important as it
by e-commerce. Following travel and technology films, demonstrates that consumer influence on the web is also
music and books are the next most popular, all important impacting long-term branding.
in the sharing of information, making them very active
categories in the influence economy. Theresa, Azores
.1
.1
%
31
24
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56
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Tom, UK
et
es
ra
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9.
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16
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56
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70
% Researched online
Figure 22: “Which of the following types of products and services have you researched online before choosing to buy?”,
buy?” Global Average
51
Democratisation of influence
Figure 23 shows the impact of the new influencer landscape Looking at the categories where we are predominately The categories I influence in
– when asked whether we see ourselves as influencers or receivers, it is the categories that are less dictated by
receivers on a number of product categories, we now claim personal choice and more about in-depth knowledge. They Receivers Influencers
to be influencers or receivers across a huge number of are the fields that are traditionally low interest and dictated Always ask Groceries (food)
categories both on and offline. by experts, such as property, finance, cars and cosmetics. Sometimes ask Non alcoholic beverages
However the impact of the new world of influence can Sometimes inform Music
Firstly the extent to which we consider ourselves influencers even be seen here: although they rank last, they are still Often inform Films
is much higher across all categories than would be expected all over 40%; a reflection of a consumer who has access
Books
and is now similar to the extent that we consider ourselves to to unprecedented volumes of knowledge, opinion and fact
Mobile phone service
be receivers – this is a direct result of the ease of access for online. This will no doubt increase over time, eroding the
sharing influence. Secondly there is a correlation between power of the experts and bringing consumer influence into Groceries (non food e.g cleaning products)
the categories that are most popular for sharing information all categories. Home Technology e.g TV’s/PC
online and the ones that we now consider ourselves to be Fashion (clothing/ shoes)
influencers in – music, film, books and technology. These Portable technology e.g MP3 players/ Mobile Phones[Always ask
are the categories most dependent on personal taste. This Holidays/ Destinations
shows how important the web is in shaping the influence Alcoholic drinks
economy.
Home appliances e.g Fridges/ freezers
Travel
Groceries and drinks prove the exception to the rule as
they are products that we are all knowledgeable about Personal Healthcare (e.g medicines contact lenses etc)[Always ask
and consequently have always been rich in our verbal Computer Software
conversations, however they don’t fit into our online Utilities e.g gas electricity etc[Always ask others]
conversations, mainly because they are impulse products Games Consoles/ Gaming
without a long purchase process. Cosmetics
Cars/ Automobiles
Financial products (e.g credit cards/ banking/ insurance)[Always
Property/Real Estate[Often inform others]
-80 0 80
Rolandas, Lithuania
Figure 23: “Thinking about the following type of products, brands and services, which of the following statements apply?
I often inform others on what to buy / I sometimes inform others on what to buy / I sometimes ask others what products
to buy /I would always ask others about what products to buy ”, Global Average
53
The true picture of the democratisation of influence can be More importantly this contradicts the idea that we live in a The number of categories I influence in
seen in the number of categories that we claim to influence simplistic world where there is a small group of “influencers”
in. Figure 24 shows that we consider ourselves to be who dictate their agenda to everyone else. The truth is
influencers across several categories. The peak of influence everybody influences and receives information across a Number of categories influence/source
around 12-14 categories is much higher than would have huge number of categories and thanks to social media 20+ Source
been expected before the advent of the web. Visually it can this trend has been amplified. The reality today is much
19 Influence
be seen that the pattern of influencers is top heavy, the more complicated.
18
majority influence in 10+ categories, which is much higher
17
than the mid point for sourcing information - we now claim
16
to share more than we receive.
15
14
Urban, Sweden
13
Jennie, UK Mihai, Romania 12
11
10
Arne-Inge, Norway
9
8
7
Michael, Denmark Tara, USA
6
5
4
3
Tadek, Poland
2
1
0
-15 -10 -5 0 5 10
Figure 24: “Thinking about the following type of products, brands and services, which of the following
statements apply? I often inform others on what to buy / I sometimes inform others on what to buy /
I sometimes ask others what products to buy /I would always ask others about what products to buy”,
Riham, Egypt
Global Average cumulative number of categories
55
50 70 90 110 130 150 170 First amongst friends/family to try new products/services
Super Influencer 190
Male
demographic I like taking risks
Female I spend a lot of time out and about with friends
16 – 24
When buying products, friends often ask my opinion
25 – 34
I pursue a life of challenge, novelty and change
35 – 44
45 – 54 Always looking for new products/services to try
Download a podcast
The new super influencers are also the lead content
generators. Social media both enables the sharing of leave a comment on a blog site
influence and attracts those who wish to publish and have Federico, Panama Upload my photos to a photo sharing website
their opinion shared and they are utilising this opportunity
to the maximum. They are also embracing the new Make a phone call using your computer
channels of information such as RSS and
Create a profile on a new social network
podcasts to bypass conventional media
channels and also listening to those that Visit a photo sharing website
create more than established media.
Share a video clip with a friend
Read blogs/weblogs
Figure 27: Super Influencer social media usage indexed against all respondents
59
7%
%
2%
7%
6%
3%
.3
ic
3%
5%
%
2.
7.
3%
13
%
%
5.
3.
3%
bl
%
2%
4%
6%
8%
A recommendation on the internet 116
5%
.8
.2
%
5%
8%
15
.2
s
pu
1%
7%
6.
5.
.7
2.
nd
s
4%
nd
ng
.6
re
11
15
4.
8%
ne
11
5.
5.
5.
4.
Re
24
8%
k
Ko
ia
7.
17
an
la
Ko
lia
8.
rla
ry
7.
ar
an
pi
da
5%
ce
o
an
er
ria
nd
ce
7.
n
ga
ia
y
ra
st
ic
h
nm
he
ilip
il
4.
a
n
wa
ke
rm
g
a
na
itz
ss
ee
az
ec
m
pa
an
ki
in
st
st
ex
ut
un
la
ai
on
A recommendation in the media (TV, newspapers, mags, radio) 116
di
ly
et
r
K
S
Ph
Ru
Sw
Pa
i
De
Au
Au
Ro
Ge
Ch
Ca
Po
Gr
Br
Sp
Cz
So
Ita
Tu
Ta
In
Ja
Fr
N
U
An advertisement you find interesting & inspiring 114
30
Figure 28: Super Influencer motivations to recommend indexed against all respondents
61
The impact:
summary
The influence economy The new super influencers
• Overall participation rates for contributing opinions, • Are the most the active in social media
thoughts and content on products and brands is extremely
• They are much more likely to create and share
high. This means all brands have to react to the influence
rich content
economy – becoming more open, more transparent and
more active in social and conversational media • As the channels they contribute to continue to rise in
importance so does their impact in the universe
• Different product categories have significantly different
of influence
exposure to the power of the influencer landscape
• This is the new creative class; the bloggers, the video
• Even low interest, expert categories such as finance,
uploaders, the photo sharers
real estate and insurance have high participation rates
• Their influence is now very real. Look at impact of bloggers
• Music, films and technology are the categories
on the professional media and the impact creators had on
most talked about online
the election of Obama and the French elections
Charlotte, UK
• Holidays and travel are the most sought after
for information
• Asia and emerging internet markets are leading the way
Dorota, Poland
in contributing opinion to the influencer economy
Michelle, UK
Jai, Dubai
63
Final thoughts
New world of transparency Be part of the conversation Everybody matters Reaching out to the creators
• There are no secrets in the new world of influence • The new world of influence needs a more conversational • Today everybody should be considered an influencer to • The creators are the new super influencers, the ones that
brands, products and services are under constant scrutiny approach; advertising should encourage interaction, input some extent – we all influence and receive to some degree make the most of the tools of social media. Bloggers,
and community video creators, podcasters etc should be considered as
• The truth cannot be managed in the way it was when • Every target audience should be encouraged to share
some of the most powerful voices in the future
a few gatekeepers controlled the distribution • This means having a blog, being in social networks, opinions and influence
of information creating content such as photos, videos etc – generally
being part of the conversation Hugh, Canada
• The only path is honesty, openness and transparency.
If you make a mistake in the new world of influence – • Exist inside the social media services that consumers Hugh
you admit it and make good spend their time in and source their influence from
Federico, Panama
• Control has to be loosened – let consumers discuss, • Don’t be scared to advertise in bottom up conversational hi, check out www.xbox. Frederico
com <http://www.xbox.
share and interact with your brand media that consumers are generating. com/> – “Too Human”
is going to be released on
• All categories of goods and services are now impacted • Advertising has a big role in the future world of influence – the 29th August 2008 I recently purchased 10
by the new economy of influence and have to respond to it provides the revenue for most of the services that enable CDs online and saved a
small fortune.
a world where consumer opinion shapes the agenda and cultivate consumer recommendation
Spyros
Spyros, Greece
Hayley, UK Hi Spyros, you mentioned
Monica Monica, Spain
you were buying a TV –
Hayley
check out www.reevoo.
Gianfranco, Italy
com <http://www.
reevoo.com/> before Gianfranco
did you see that top Kate
Hello Hayley, do you you do
Moss was wearing? have
know where I can get you seen anything like
tickets for Madonna Tour? that anywhere?
I love the new album Who do you bank with?
also thanks for telling me I have just waited on the
about it phone for 20minutes my
bank are driving me crazy
65
Moving forward
“When did we start trusting strangers?” is part of Universal All reports can be downloaded at
McCann’s ongoing global research programme aimed at www.universalmccann.com
exploring the impacts of the massive changes
in communications technologies. For any questions on the
research please contact
This is the second in a series of in-depth studies. The first tom.smith@umww.com
major in-depth study “Anytime, Anyplace” looked at mobile
phones and portable technology, in particular demand for
content , services and the role of advertising.
Yvonne, Switzerland
In parallel to the in-depth topics we also run a Social
Tom Smith Hanley, Czech Republic
Head of Consumer
Media tracker to access the ongoing impact of social media. Futures EMEA
Wave 3 of this survey was released in March 2008 and
Wave 4 is scheduled for quarter 4 2008.
Sue, UK
67
l
• What marketing communications work for
a
cover in this report.
n re re
your influencers?
If you want to know how to operate in the new influencer • What they do online?
s o
r hca wa
landscape and what this means for your business please
contact us at consultancy@umww.com and we can share
• What they create, what they view, what they share?
e
P alt ft ks
l o
He ter S rin
the key results and impact for your brand or business: • What does it mean for your marketing communications?
• What
What are the implications for your business?
c a
i s
a n ct u ic D
i n du le p
m hol
Phone F ro b g y o
Prope
Real Esrty/
M o b i l e
Service P rta olo C lco
Po hn A
H
Tech ome
tate
ics
Cosmet
no
Groc logy Fash Games
i
Utili on
Console
c
s eries
e
Film Musi
tie
s
T
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Boo s
on o
H ncesm
Ph e l i a
c
vi ics Ap p ks
l
sm
et Trave
s
iles
on
Destinatai y
Cars/
Automob
Holid
Universal McCann © 2008