1. SOCIABILITY OF THE BRAND //
“HOW TO WIN THE SOCIAL
MEDIA GAME”
A framework and some research
© Kurio 2012

2. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CORNERSTONES
Customer insight in digital channels
Business aspect Sociability of the brand
© Kurio 2012

3. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CORNERSTONES //
BUSINESS ASPECTS
Customer insight in digital channels
Desired output
Planned input
Sociability of the brand
Metrics
© Kurio 2012

4. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CORNERSTONES //
CUSTOMER INSIGHT IN DIGITAL CHANNELS
Target groups’ online behavior
Target group profiles Target groups’ channel choices
Business aspect Sociability of the brand
© Kurio 2012

5. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CORNERSTONES //
SOCIABILITY OF THE BRAND
Customer insight in digital channels
Business aspect Sociability of the brand
© Kurio 2012

6. Little by little brands are
learning to walk the walk
in social media
Image CC: Kalexanderson

7. Social media marketing
An activity that prompts
action in the recipient that
is visible to others
Image CC: HolySkittles

8. Brands are in-between
people. They play a role in
interpersonal
communications.
Image CC: Brandon Christopher Warren

9. The role of a brand
depends on various things.
And those things are
usually stable, rooted at it’s
DNA.
Image CC: flickrolf

10. SOCIABILITY OF A BRAND
• Traditional brand management tools lead
to traditional thinking
• In social media brands need to be social
– Interactivity
– Openness
– Transparency
– Real-time reactions
• The sociability of a brand offers a good
approach to strategic and tactical planning
© Kurio 2012

11. Master of
ceremony
Idol Sage
Sociability
of the brand
Volunteer © Kurio 2012 Muse
Host Pitchman
© Kurio 2012

12. THE BASIS OF THE FRAMEWORK
1) Academic research*
2) Frameworks and tools of
international consulting firms and ad
agencies
3) Our own experience with a wide
array of national and international
B2C and B2B companies
*Füller, Johann 2006. Why Consumers Engage in Virtual New Product Developments Initiated by Producers. Advances in Consumer Research, 33 (1), 639–646. //
Hars, Alexander & Ou, Shaosong 2002. Working for Free? Motivations for Participating in Open-Source Projects. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6 (3), 25–39.
// Wiertz, Caroline & Ruyter, Ko de 2007. Beyond the Call of Duty: Why Customers Contribute to Firm-Hosted Commercial Online Communities. Organization Studies, 28
(3), 347–376. // Dholakia, Utpal M. & Bagozzi, Richard P. & Pearo, Lisa Klein 2004. A social influence model of consumer participation in network- and small-group-based
virtual communities. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 21 (3), 241–263. // Gruen, Thomas W. & Osmonbekov, Talai & Czaplewski, Andrew J. 2005. How e-
communities extend the concept of exchange in marketing: An application of the motivation, opportunity, ability (MOA) theory. Marketing theory, 5 (1), 33–49. // Hennig-
Thurau, Thorsten & Gwinner, Kevin P. & Walsh, Gianfranco & Gremler, Dwayne D. 2004. Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates
consumers to articulate themselves on the internet? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18 (1), 38–52. // Simmons, Richard & Birchall, Johnston 2005. A Joined-up Approach
to User Participation in Public Services: Strengthening the “Participation Chain”. Social Policy & Administration, 39 (3), 260–283. // Paswan, Audhesh K. & Troy, Lisa C. 2004.
Non-profit organization and membership motivation: An exploration in the museum industry. Journal of Marketing, 12 (2), 1–15. // Ko, Hanjun & Cho, Chang-Hoan &
Robert, Marilyn S. 2005. Internet Uses and Gratifications. A Structural Equation Model of Interactive Advertising. Journal of Advertising, 34 (2), 57–70. // Funk, Daniel C. &
Ridinger, Lynn L. & Moorman, Anita M. 2004. Exploring Origins of Involvement: Understanding the Relationship Between Consumer Motives and Involvement with
Professional Sport Teams. Leisure Sciences, 26 (1), 35–61. // Mowen, John C. & Sujan, Harish 2005. Volunteer Behavior: A Hierarchical Model Approach for Investigating Its
Trait and Functional Motive Antecedents. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15 (2), 170–182.
© Kurio 2012

13. KURIO MODEL //
SOCIABILITY OF THE BRAND
Which role is best for your
brand to connect people with Master of
others via social media? ceremony
// Identifies which kind of social
Idol Sage
interaction is best suited for the
brand and its fans
// Directs thinking towards right Sociability
questions, such as “why would of the brand
someone want to spend time Volunteer Muse
with our brand online?” © Kurio 2012
// Helps choosing one clear,
primary role for the brand
// In addition, 1 or 2 supporting Host Pitchman
roles can be chosen
© Kurio 2012

14. Master of
ceremony
Idol Sage
Sociability
of the brand
Volunteer © Kurio 2012 Muse
MASTER OF CEREMONY Host Pitchman
// Ask: “Does the brand offer entertainment?”
“Does the brand offer fun pastime?”
// Motivators: entertaining oneself, killing time
// Stereotypes: An everyday low-interest
brand, such as FMCG brands.
© Kurio 2012

15. Master of
ceremony
Idol Sage
Sociability
of the brand
Volunteer © Kurio 2012 Muse
SAGE
Host Pitchman
// Ask: “Does the brand provide relevant and
scarce information?” “Can people learn with the
brand?”
// Motivators: curiosity, thirst for knowledge
// Stereotype: information-intensive brands, or
brands that deal with “never-solved” questions
(like those of wellbeing).
© Kurio 2012

16. Master of
ceremony
Idol Sage
Sociability
of the brand
Volunteer © Kurio 2012 Muse
MUSE
Host Pitchman
// Ask: “Does the brand spur and challenge its
fans?” “Does the brand lead to a state of flow?”
// Motivators: Self actualization, self challenging
// Stereotype: recreational or hobby brands, like
those that deal with cooking, sports or interior
design.
© Kurio 2012

17. Master of
ceremony
Idol Sage
Sociability
PITCHMAN Volunteer
of the brand
© Kurio 2012 Muse
// Ask: “Are people willing to do something to get Host Pitchman
the brand at a discount price?”, “Are the brand’s
offers / deals interesting in some way?”, “Is the
brand’s product interesting enough to get
attention by shouting?”
// Motivators: monetary and non-monetary
compensation
// Stereotype: a low-involvement brand, that you
need more than want. Like detergent or
electricity.
© Kurio 2012

18. Master of
ceremony
Idol Sage
Sociability
of the brand
Volunteer © Kurio 2012 Muse
HOST Host Pitchman
// Ask: “Does the brand connect its fans to their
friends/acquaintances/family?” “Does the brand
help meet new people?”
// Motivators: Social reasons
// Stereotype: “A brand of the
moment”, event, artist, venue.
© Kurio 2012

19. Master of
ceremony
Idol Sage
Sociability
of the brand
Volunteer © Kurio 2012 Muse
VOLUNTEER
Host Pitchman
// Ask: “Can people help each other via the
brand?”, “Would someone care for the
brand?”, “Does the brand stand credibly for
some cause?”
// Motivators: altruism, helping others
// Stereotype: brands that have a connection to
a movement / NGO / ideology.
© Kurio 2012

20. Master of
ceremony
Idol Sage
Sociability
of the brand
Volunteer © Kurio 2012 Muse
IDOL
Host Pitchman
// Ask: “Can the fans be offered with
recognition?”, “Would the fans want to be seen
with the brand?”
// Motivators: Self-branding, visibility,
recognition
// Stereotype: An exclusive brand, which is
premium priced and scarce
© Kurio 2012

21. RESEARCH BASED ON THE
FRAMEWORK
1) Cannes Lions 2012 winners’ analysis
2) Finnish brands’ Facebook presence
© Kurio 2012

22. CANNES LIONS 2012 WINNERS’
ANALYSIS
“How to win the social media game”
519 winning campaigns analyzed, in the
following categories:
Cyber, Direct, Media, Mobile, PR, Promo &
Activation and Integrated & Titanium.
© Kurio 2012

23. © Kurio 2012

24. IMPLICATIONS FROM CANNES
• All roles can lead to success – identify the best one for your brand // All seven roles were
awarded, some more than others. This means that marketers need to revise if they really have thought
broadly about their brand’s sociability by digging deep into the brand’s persona.
• Altruism is the new black for brands in social media // Cases involved helping others were by far
the most awarded ones. Brands should think what they could do for their community or environment.
When a strong brand uses its power to do good, not even a commercial agenda does lessen the
engagement.
• Feeding fans’ creativity isn’t easy but will be rewarded // Campaigns that have successfully inspired
fans for creating various kinds of content lead to great success. It’s worth noting that crowdsourcing isn’t
as easy as 1, 2, 3. Brand that wishes to act as a muse for fans should keep the 1-9-90 rule in mind.
• Social media is entertainment just like other media are // Various kinds of brands from deodorants
to theaters have opted to entertain their fans on social media. This is in line with various consumer
studies that show entertainment as the no. 1 reason to spending time on Facebook and the like.
• Brands connecting people via social media – much ado about nothing? // Social media marketing
is usually said to strive to connect likeminded people, but in our study only 2 % of the awards went to
brands with this role. We see this more as an unfulfilled potential than something than simply doesn’t
work.
• Special offers on social media seem like a better idea than it is // Numerous brands are
continuously communicating about discounts, sales and other special offers on social media. This
research shows that those campaigns don’t stand out with recognition or results.
© Kurio 2012

25. FINNISH BRANDS’
FACEBOOK PRESENCE
“How did we lose brand’s uniqueness
and relevancy on Facebook?”
106 Finnish FB pages analyzed using in-
depth observing.
© Kurio 2012

26. SUPPORTING MAIN
NUMBER OF ROLES ROLE ROLE
SAGE MASTER OF CEREMONY PITCHMAN MUSE HOST IDOL VOLUNTEER
© Kurio 2012

27. NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS
SAGE MASTER OF CEREMONY PITCHMAN MUSE HOST IDOL VOLUNTEER
© Kurio 2012

28. IMPLICATIONS FROM FACEBOOK
• All is the same. Where is the uniqueness of the brand on
Facebook? Did we lose it somewhere between traditional
marketing and the Like button?
• Who cares? Most brands act like they have relevant
information to share, but is that really so?
• Let me entertain you. Numerous brands keep their fans
satisfied with entertainment and offers. Is that really at the core
of all these brands or have they taken the ”safe” short-cut?
• Social (?) media. After all these years, are brands really
embarcing the sociability of the medium at all? Only a handful of
brands have put the social dynamics at the core of their social
media presence.
© Kurio 2012

29. More information:
Bit.ly/KURIOinfographic
Bit.ly/KURIOinfograafi
Kurio.fi // jari@kurio.fi // @jarilahdevuori
© Kurio 2012