Are Brand Ambassador Movements Recession Proof?
January 10th, 2008
It seems like everywhere you turn right now, everyone is talking about a coming economic recession. The news, politicians, financial forecasters, etc, etc. A lot of people agree. And a lot of people don’t agree. (Personally, I think the easiest way for a recession to happen is to have a lot of people talking about a coming recession.)
But I digress.
Historically, when a recession DOES, in fact, happen, what’s the first budget to get cut within companies? That’s right, the marketing and advertising budgets. It never fails. But what about those programs a handful of companies put into place that engages and empowers their customers to own the message and ultimately own the brand? What happens when there’s no money or at least a budget that gets cut? Well, built from the beginning with sustainability as a focus, they can not only survive, but thrive.
We’ve watched, first-hand, a program that went from over a half-million dollars in spending shrink to $50,000. And what happened in the tiny budget years? The activity and numbers actually GREW. Why? Because the people owned it. They had the tools and methods (and invented the tools) to keep on going. But more importantly, they had the desire and the sense of ownership to keep on going.
In fact, we’ve all seen that when remarkable companies that have a special place in their customer’s hearts, those passionate evangelists will pick up and carry the cause of that company long after the budgets dry up - and sometimes, even when the product itself is gone.
So I would venture to say that creating a fascinating, inspiring, rewarding and engaging movement that’s transparent, honest and invites your customers into the fold is, in fact, recession proof. And if those reports, politicians and doom-and-gloom forecasters are right, would you rather bank on a wing-and-a-prayer method, or integrate something into those efforts that can stand the test of time (and budgets)?
Other posts by Spike.
Mike Wagner says:
Thoughtful observations.
You’ve got my mind racing…and that’s a good thing. Grin.
Thank you for sharing from your experience of developing sustainable programs.
Keep creating…a daring adventure,
January 10th, 2008 at 11:15 amMike
olivier blanchard says:
The answer to your question is yes.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:46 pmSpike says:
Thanks for the kind words, Mike.
O, I love it when you get right to the point!
January 10th, 2008 at 1:51 pmBilly says:
Ever been to Disney?
“…those passionate evangelists will pick up and carry the cause of that company long after the budgets dry up…”
I’ll say!
January 10th, 2008 at 2:43 pmScott White says:
The problem with a recession is all those people (insert marketing departments) are first to be let go. After 911 I watched 70% of my clients go to the unemployment line. Someone still needs to work with and guide the movement you have in place. Because if there is no business to talk about a movement may stall.
Smart companies understand that bad times are the best times to do marketing and advertising. But I’ve lived through a few recessions and you are correct when you say that our general field is the first to go.
Let’s hope we don’t have to test your theory.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:26 amKen Gasque says:
I find it interesting that your readers responses are so enthusastic since you did not tell us anything. A budget somewhere belonging to someone was cut from half million to $50k and activity grew and numbers grew. What kind of activity? And what were the numbers? Its all fluff and feel good. I want WOM to work. I want to believe. But I don’t see transparent I see fog and smoke.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:18 pmSpike says:
Howdy Ken,
The client was a youth-led anti-tobacco movement called “Rage Against the Haze.”
Activities included:
• Convinced the mayor of one of the state’s largest cities to ban smoking at the city zoo.
• Developed, funded and produced local smoke-free dining guides.
• Made evangelists of reporters and adults that now support them and their cause.
Numbers went from 92 original, trained in the curriculum, members to more than 1500 during that time.
I hope that helps add some context and is what you were looking for. I have other examples and results as well if you’re interested.
And it IS “feel good.” It’s meaningful relationships. It’s connecting and becoming a part of individual lives. And it just happens to also increase sales, “loyalty” and awareness…which never hurts.
January 11th, 2008 at 2:27 pmbaxwrtr says:
What are examples of the tools and methods that might be employeed by a company in hard times?
January 11th, 2008 at 6:50 pmPhillip says:
Yes but this example is not for profit. There are no sales involved. It was about enlisting youth to fight tobacco companies (absolutely give my support to this by the way). But it did not generate sales - in fact from the tobacco companies POV it degenerated them (which is a good thing in anyone’s book) but do you have an example of where you were able to increase sales?
January 12th, 2008 at 12:42 amJake McKee says:
Spike, one of my mantras at my last big company job was “Spending money is for fools”. I regularly declined increases in budgets. I tried to convince colleagues that marketing success isn’t dependent on the size of your budgets. I feel ya on this one.
The thing to point out here (or perhaps to hammer home HARD) is that you had to do the hard work of creating that movement up front. I fear some might read this story as “you didn’t need to spend half a million in the first place, $50k would have worked just as well”. Not so, as I’m sure you’d agree. You have to do the hard work, the planning, the creation, the strategy. THEN if your project has legs, it doesn’t take much to keep it running.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:14 amCommunity Guy - Jake McKee » Big success from small budgets says:
[...] reminds us that big success don’t necessarily require huge budgets. We’ve watched, first-hand, a program that went from over a half-million dollars in spending [...]
January 12th, 2008 at 11:21 amGeno says:
Ken, I just want to add to Spike’s comments. RAGE is a wonderful “feel good” WOM study. It’s a perfect case of someone caring enough “an editor of The State newspaper” writing editorial about something that made her anger. Her words kicked some South Carolina folk in the butt to use their own funds to keep a teen program afloat. The problem with brands at times is when the times get tough they circle the wagons. Allowing your customers, your fans into the conversation can recession proof your brand. Loyal brand fans have shown over and over that they will go to great lengths to change opinion, and convert conversations into customers.
January 13th, 2008 at 11:55 amSpike says:
Michael - great question… to which there is no one answer. As some out there may lead you to believe, there is no “magic bullet” for building sustainable WOM movements. There is no machine that you feed a product into and it spits out the answer on the other end. In other words, every community is different. Every company. Every culture. Every product or service. To slap the same tools and the same on everything might help you get a one-time bump in sales that slide right back down into oblivion. There are a number of tools, but it’s about finding the combination that works best - online (which is the “easy” part) AND offline. If you’d like to talk further, send me an email.
Phillip - ah, I was wondering when someone would point that out. Well, we’ve seen the same thing happen with for-profit companies that sell consumer products as well. The budget was cut by 3/4 the second year and we watched as the membership almost tripled nationwide and in regions where the ambassadors had face-to-face contact with stores, sales grew 3x the rate as our “control” stores. In other words, for-profit or not-for-profit. It works.
Jake - GREAT POINT!!! And thanks so much for bringing that up. It’s like the old Kathy Sierra chart that shows as you build, engage and involve a community of kindred spirits, and that involvement and engagement goes up, the marketing dollars you have to spend go down. Thanks for the that very important call out.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:08 pmelt.lt » Blog Archive » Brandų ambasadoriai: galimybė stiprinti brandą net su menku marketingo biudžetu says:
[...] pirmiausiai? Taip, ko gero, tai bus marketingo išlaidoms skirta eilutė. Šių įžvalgų autoriai Brains on Fire tokiu atveju siūlo vykdyti vartotojų įtraukimo programas, t.y. leidžia vartotojams patiems [...]
January 14th, 2008 at 3:58 amScott White says:
Well the question is will it be recession proof. There is not much that is. Trust me, people won’t be running around talking about other companies if they are looking for work themselves. If we go into a recession and unemployment skyrockets being an evangelist for anyone will not be a priority.
Which is why having a strong brand is the answer. Strong brands whether through recessions.
January 14th, 2008 at 6:23 amKristofer Mencáks tankar kring… » En säkrare sits inför lågkonjunkturen says:
[...] Brains on Fire inleder med samma sak när de frågar sig: Are Brand Ambassador Movements Recession Proof? [...]
January 14th, 2008 at 1:09 pmJACKIE BRAZIL says:
My perception is that quality branding does not need to cost a lot of money. We use small budgets that has given us large media coverage. Building up our brand from the bottom to the top via the right channels (wholesale and retail trade shows in five countries). We are passionate for what we do, service comes with that passion and drive off course!! Great to have a forum to share ideas. Congratulations to all.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:52 amword on what street? | Jono Fisher - Photographer says:
[...] Spike at Brains on Fire wrote an insightful post about this kind of thing earlier this year. [...]
March 14th, 2008 at 4:50 am