Conversational Capital
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| Conversational Capital: How to Create Stuff People Love to Talk About | |
| Author | Bertrand Cesvet Tony Babinski Eric Alper |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Marketing |
| Publisher | Financial Times Press |
| Publication date | August, 2008 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-374-29288-4 |
Conversational Capital: How to Create Stuff People Love to Talk About is a book about engineering word-of-mouth into brand experiences. Contrary to the critical mass of marketing literature, the authors speak not of how word-of-mouth is transmitted, but of how it can be created to begin with. Published by Financial Times Press, Conversational Capital will hit shelves around the world in August 2008.
Developed by a trio of international brand architects, they share the insights behind their creative and strategic leadership for word-of-mouth success stories including adidas, Cirque du Soleil, Red Bull & MGM Grand.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Based on their experiences with some of the world's recognized generators of word-of-mouth, the authors behind Conversational Capital began to realize that experiences had residual value — value that extended further than mere memories but instead resided in the realm of identity-shaping and storytelling. With this in mind, Bertrand Cesvet, Tony Babinski & Eric Alper began to deconstruct the antecedents to word-of-mouth. Invariably, they found that the elements that gave rise to the conversations of consumers consisted of eight possible drivers. Critically, these elements fed into doing two things for the experience in question: 1) making it meaningful and 2) making it intense.
The authors of Conversational Capital share these eight key ingredients to embedding the makings of word-of-mouth into every consumer encounter with brands. They term these elements the Eight Engines of Conversational Capital.
[edit] The Eight Engines
1. Myths are the narratives that become part of the very fabric of consumption because they provide important clues as to fundamental meaning of that act.
2. Rituals are an essential part of how human beings create and formalize meaning. The presence of ritual marks out an experience as deeper in meaning - a phenomenon that is true for consumer experiences, as well.
3. Exclusive Product Offering (E.P.O.) is about allowing consumers to create an experience that asserts and actualizes their individuality; to, in a world of six billion people, feel and be unique.
4. Relevant Sensorial Oddity (R.S.O.) is about challenging our senses with something extraordinary, marking an experience as unique.
5. Icons are signs and symbols that clearly demarcate a consumption experience from any other.
6. Tribalism is about the power of a brand experience to inspire the association of like-minded people.
7. Endorsement is not about celebrity — it's about how the meaning and intensity of a brand experience naturally lead to credible people organically endorsing it.
8. Continuity is a strong harbinger of reputation, a fact that rests on the unity between what you promise, what people expect and what you deliver.
