FizzBlog - Word of Mouth Marketing » WOMMA

School of WOM with a side of tamales!

tanya — Fri, 27 May 2011 19:44:07 +0000

We’re still reeling from the fantastic time at this year’s School of WOM. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, School of WOM is a biannual conference attended by the foremost thinkers and educators in marketing today. Ted Wright hosted an interactive workshop both extolling WOMM’s many virtues and enlightening attendees on the practical wisdom behind the marketing buzz words floating around the industry.

And who but our very own fearless leader would choose to teach a seminar on his birthday? We knew we wanted to celebrate in style, so we brought the party to Chicago. Fizz hired the best food truck in town to whip up an original gourmet menu for the soirée We even prepared a batch of special limeade to quench our thirsts and laid out a patchwork of Mexican rugs for comfortable picnic seating. We placed these around the hotel so that School of WOM attendees and friends of Fizz would have party details at their fingertips:

To ensure none were lost on the grueling block and a half commute, Vanessa dotted the sidewalk with balloons leading to the truck.

Tamalli Space Charros spared no one. Slain by the Lucha Libre masks, top notch ceviche, and endless tamales, our party in the park lasted well into the night.

Big thanks to everyone who came out. We all left with big guts and bigger smiles. We’ve already had many a request to turn this shindig into an annual event. From where we stand: year one down. Next!

Ted’s B-day w/ Gourmet Street Food at WOMMA

tanya — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:24:16 +0000

It’s Ted’s birthday and Fizz is celebrating with bells on. Look forward to Lucha Libre masks, elevated street food and a fabulous evening in the park. Going to WOMMA’s School of WOM? Don’t miss it! Check out Tamale Spaceship’s mouth-watering menu:

See you there!

Fizz wins “Humanitarian” WOMMIE

Ted — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:13:11 +0000

In November of 2009, Fizz was honored to win the Humanitarian/Environmental WOMMIE. Fizz would like thank the good folks at PepsiCo for their support of this vital area as well as their embracing of WOMM as the most effective means of commercial communication. Fizz would also like to thank Jef Wallace, CEO of PureRay, and the rest of his team for being great clients to work with. Finally, all of us at Fizz would love you to stop by the PureRay website, www.pureray.com, and see for yourselves how to get involved.

PureRay Case Study

Background:

Grid electricity in developing countries is scarce and expensive. Many homes can neither access nor afford it, so they rely on fuel-based lamps for their lighting needs. These lamps, filled with kerosene and often made of cheap and unstable materials, are inefficient, dangerous and present a daily threat to those who use them. Kerosene lighting alone causes 2.5 million deaths a year; 20% of those deaths are from direct burns and house fire incidents. In order to read and study at dusk, children often sit in very close proximity to these dimly lit lamps. This translates to 1000 children dying each day from accidents caused by these lamps. Moreover, 244 million tons of CO2 is released into the atmosphere annually from the use of these fuel based light sources.

With the intent of reducing the dependence on hazardous fuel-based lighting, PureRay, an Atlanta based lighting technology company, developed rechargeable energy efficient lighting systems to safely illuminate households at an attainable price. These systems include three LED high-intensity light bulbs, each with emitting enough to light an entire room, and a console base that can recharge up to three bulbs at a time using solar power or a very minimal electrical draw. Self-contained and portable, the new technology promised to cut energy expenses significantly, and provide a much needed lighting alternative to households using fuel based lamps.

Business Problem:

PureRay’s marketing strategy involved selling the lights directly to the consumer which resulted in very limited success. Their story was one of innovative technology, safety, and reduced toxic emissions. While interesting and authentic, the relevance was lost on the targeted consumer concerned with day-to-day survival. Furthermore, the price of each unit, while 2/3 cheaper than fuel based lighting, still equaled 30% of an average impoverished household’s annual earnings.

Insight:

Armed with a remarkable product, after two years without much success in sales, PureRay contacted Fizz for a different approach to marketing these lighting stations. Fizz recognized first that if the consumer needs the product, they likely cannot afford it, and would not be moved by the technology behind it. Second, that there are people out there that can afford the product, that would love to give it to those in need, but demand for their attention is great. To sell more systems and save more lives, PureRay needed word of mouth marketing rather than broadcast or direct marketing. Fizz identified Non-Government Organizations (NGO) as advocates for social change. NGOs not only have the power and the ability to bring these lighting stations to the people who need it, they would also be moved by the humanitarian cause. These organizations would be outspoken and influential in getting the word out about these potentially life-saving products.

Design:

Fizz’s strategy was the following: Insert PureRay into global NGO and governmental discussion so that tens of thousands of bulbs can start flowing to those in need. The largest obstacle to being heard by NGOs is that competition for their attention is fierce. In an arena with so much noise, we would have to find some way to communicate the significance of their innovation. Fizz and PureRay developed a new story, one that was interesting,relevant and authentic to capture the interest of international NGOs to get people talking. They defined the Pure Ray story from one of engineering marvel to one of humanitarian relief; rather than talking about the system’s technology to the consumer, the story would tell the NGO community of its end benefits.

Solution:

Fizz and PureRay attended several NGO conferences including the Clinton Global Initiative, TED, and a number of UN, World Bank, OAS and IDB conferences. They walked around holding brightly lit bulbs with no obvious power source (think Uncle Fester’s magic light bulb trick). This curious sight attracted attention. Rather than interrupting or intercepting conference attendees, Fizz and PureRay engaged in conversations with those who asked questions. People who revealed themselves in conversations to have the “storyteller” personality were tagged as “Influencers” and were contacted by PureRay staff. These callers were all knowledgeable about the product and used this opportunity to establish relationships with the Influencers. Quickly, these Influencers became fans of PureRay’s product/solutions and turned into brand advocates. The word spread exponentially and lives were saved.

Results:

Through the NGO community we were able to tap into their resources to make PureRay more affordable and available. Due to the power of WOMM, PureRay now installing 5,000 PureRay stations and plans to provide another 110,000 stations to the developing world as early as 2010. Governments around the world are investing in the cause and Grameen bank, developers of collateral free micro-lending for the poor, is working towards providing direct to end consumer lending to finance the systems as essentials for impoverished rural communities. This all translated to an influx of PureRay bulbs in the field and less children dying while trying to study by the light of a kerosene lamp.

ReFuel with Chocolate milk wins national WOMMIE

Ted — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:25:17 +0000

CATAGORY: MOMENTUM – Word of mouth program to juice existing products/services.

TITLE: REFUEL WITH CHOCOLATE MILK

WINNER - BRONZE WOMMIE

The American Dairy Association (ADA) of Ohio wanted to sell more milk. AcrossAmerica, milk consumption had dropped by half since the 1970s and Ohio was no exception. Milk simply had become less and less a part of peoples’ daily lives. It was old-fashioned. There were newer, flashier alternatives. The ADA decided to make a change. Study after study has shown that today’sconsumers are cynical; they just don’t trust commercial messages like they used to. Whatever was to be said had to be “real.” Instead of relying on broadcast media, the ADA turned to word-of-mouth marketing and asked Fizz to help them sell more chocolate milk. So what could be done to revitalize the milk sales?

The first step for Fizz was to immerse itself in the client’s business. Nine boxes full of almost everything imaginable–posters, T-shirts, presentation materials–arrived at Fizz from the ADA. Within one of the nine boxes wasa study by the University of Indiana. Researchers and nutritionists at Indianafound that chocolate milk, the drink of little kids, was the perfect beverage to drink after strenuous activity. It was, in reality, a better for you, high tech sports drink.

Next, Fizz traveled to Ohio for ethnographic field research. Fizz knew going in that over 65% of Ohioans live in cities under 50,000 people; 22% live in towns under 10,000. During its research process, Fizz discovered that in addition to being the local sports guru, high school football coaches are the de facto source for nutritional and performance information across Ohio. This knowledge dovetailed perfectly with the Indiana research. Few garner such esteem and respect by young adults as “coach.” These men are Influencers across Ohio from small towns to large metro communities. As such, coaches are one of the few groups addressed according to their honorifics (“Coach Smith says…”) by even the most skeptical high school teenagers. The strategy became obvious: Win over the support of the high school football coaches and the rest will follow.

Fizz and the ADA decided to have conversations with coaches wherethey naturally convene–football clinics. Every year, high school footballcoaches attend intensive training clinics to gain a competitive edge on the field throughout the season. During these sessions, coaches learn and share valuable information to improve their team’s performance. Fizz and the ADA positioned themselves at these clinics to facilitate conversations about chocolate milk. Fizz mailed high school football coaches throughout Ohio with the valuable information they’d found, as well as an invitation to discuss it and to find out more. How does direct mail relate to word of mouth marketing? Coaches are accustomed to receiving poorly executed and cheaply printed marketing material, so Fizz designed interesting luxurious high-end mailers. They were not only cool, they were packed with information about chocolate milk’s benefits. It worked. The coaches were so delighted by these mailers (some brochures “mooed” as they were opened, others used luxe printing techniques)that after reading the information inside, they shared it with their whole staff. The mailers were so successful at generating conversation among coaches that they brought these mailers with them to the clinics with yellow Post-it note questions attached.

To drive the message home, Fizz found NFL and MLB alumni and state championship athletes (who we called the “We Won a Ring” gang) who read, digested, and believed in the chocolate milk story. The gang, armed with this remarkable information, attended football clinics across the state interactingwith coaches at all levels. They sent a strong nonverbal message; the bright gold rings these former athletes wear needed no explanation, they tacitly convey that the wearer knows what it takes to win the championships. Some of the noted athletes included Mark Inkrott, 3-year NFL veteran, Pete Shier, former MLB player with the Orioles and the Phillies, and Tyson Yirak, Ohio State basketball champion. Their presence supported the verbal message that chocolate milk is the drink to drink after strenuous physical activity. In fact, many coaches shared their own chocolate milk story (see ADA video)with other coaches.

The message these champions conveyed to the highschool coaches was simple: Chocolate milk is a terrific beverage for their playersto drink after practice and weight training. It is the equal to higher pricednutritional supplements. And, best of all, it can already be found in the highschool cafeteria. The best sports drink has been there all along: it’s chocolatemilk.

Soon after the clinics ended, Fizz followed up by sending members of the “We Won a Ring” gang to the high schools loaded with chocolate milk and a story. The coaches got the message and they passed it along. Chocolate milk sales skyrocketed. Kroger’s chocolate milk sales in the Cincinnati region increased an incredible 475%. That is a Kroger system-wide record for increase in milk sales; Kroger management could not believe so much milk was being sold. In markets across Ohio, milk consumption increased 12-28% YTD as verified by IRI Scandata. This was 10 times the rate of the rest of the country. The sales rise was so dramatic that concerned convenience store owners even contacted the agency staff about chocolate milk’s possible illicit use because of the unprecedented sales to teenage boys (remember “Whipits?”). Of course, they were quickly reassured that that was not the case.

Even Big Ten colleges got in on the act as their strength and training coaches heard of the power of chocolate milk. They researched it themselves, agreed with our conclusions and started not only using chocolate milk in their own programs, but began spreading the gospel of chocolate milk too! Players at the University of Minnesota, the University of Michigan and the University of Iowa were drinking chocolate milk after workouts. It has become a sports drink phenomenon. ESPN caught wind of this and produced a four-and-a-half minute feature story on the once unassuming beverage for its “College Gameday”program. It sent a camera crew to the University of Washington for the story. Chocolate milk had, tongue-in-cheek, become the football team’s secretweapon. At the end of the feature, Lou Holtz, the famous college coach andcommentator, turned to camera and said, “Had I known this, my kids would have drank chocolate milk.”

Throughout the entire campaign, the message stayed interesting, relevant, andauthentic. And the results show. Chocolate milk, once the drink of children isnow the refuel source for athletes at every level.

Fizz party at WOMMA Miami

Ted — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:20:01 +0000

Hi Folks. Here’s the invite. See you all at WOMMA.

For more information on WOMMA-U go to www.womma.org