Emanuel Rosen, the author of the very much talked about book “The Anatomy of Buzz” and expert of word of mouth marketing, gave an eye-opening talk with examples from his books and life experience. He claims that there are two main factors that contribute to the success of generating word of mouth – how contagious the product is and what action are made to accelerate its buzz. Rosen shared his top list of characteristics that will ‘make it contagious’ including compatibility, making things simpler, allowing for creativity and also evoking emotional response. Note that many of these are internal factors that derive from the product itself.

Emanuel Rosen on Buzz at WOM UK

What about the external factors? What could we do to accelerate contagiousness? Here are a few actions that could help in increasing word of mouth for your product:
•    Wide scale seeding. We live in small social clusters, so by seeding the product into multiple social clusters in different areas will increase the chance of the product getting buzz.
•    Surprise. This may seem old and used but it always works! The element of surprise will always catch people’s attention.
•    Find a hook. Introduce an interesting or unique conversation piece about the product and people will talk about it.
•    Uneven distribution of information.  When you know something that others don’t know about, word of mouth will happen. Secrets tend to spread…
•    Stimulate interactions.  Whether in forms of competitions or viral campaigns, if you can get people to interact with each other then buzz will emerge.
•    Connecting to passion. Take the example of American Express’ and their campaign to renovate local landmarks in different cities in the US. By introducing a poll to the public they were able to get communities that are passionate about landmarks to gather up and vote.

Do you have any other useful hints and tips for creating buzz? Do you think that the effort marketers put in to producing buzz will see results if the product itself is not contagious?

Journalists trying out the next Assasins Creed game 'Brotherhood'

Part from a great atmosphere the event also offered popcorn and icecream stands, Pimms and a proper BBQ, bringing back fond memories of childhood fun fairs. I was extra excited about the new Xbox game called ‘Your Shape’ which scans your body and offers a high level of personal training and guidance. I burnt off 41 calories in a few minutes which made me feel all the better after having eaten a very big hamburger! Our thanks to Ubisoft for a great evening, and stay tuned for more updates on the games…

The Neoco team enjoys the 3D skating game 'Shaun White'

Lovely pastries from the Foxcroft and Ginger

On Wednesday last week, Soho experienced the first (of the new series of) Neoco breakfast event, which took place downstairs at the funky Foxcroft and Ginger. We were delighted to see the RSVP’s roll in – until the point when we realised that we would have to turn a lot of people down… If you were one of them, we are sorry! The details for the next event are coming soon so please do get in touch and let us know if you can make it and we will make sure to get your name on the list.

At 8.30am (we will have a later start the next time, we promise…) it all kicked off. Apart from offering amazing coffees and homemade pastries, attendees were given food for thought on several different aspects of the digital and online social environment with Brad Little from Nielsen as the first speaker. Brad gave a comprehensive overview of the ‘value of social collection’ and several examples of how organisations will benefit from incorporating social into advertising and marketing campaigns.

Attendees enjoying speakers and breakfast

Next, we listened to Claire O’Connell who joined us from Facebook. She explained how social applications have grown rapidly, and how different brands apply these tools onto their website and into their marketing mix to increase their reach and build communities. Last but not the least was our own Benn Achilleas who gave his perspective on why organisations need to seriously consider their social CRM and identify how they can make best use of the social environment, tailored for their own specific needs.

The event was hosted by Steve Barton (thanks Steve!) who is a key figure (with Benn) of the Word of Mouth UK association – he regularly contributes to the social and digital debate in the UK and abroad. If you are curious to find out more about WOM UK and their work pop over to www.womuk.net.

Claire O'Connell from Facebook talking about Social plugins

We want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all who came along and made it such a memorable event! If you missed out, or want to recap on all of the fantastic insights then the speakers’ presentations and also a video of the event will be available at neoco.com in a few days time!

YouTube blogger Chris "Lomasca" made an appearance

After work on Friday last week the Neoco team headed up to Oxford Street and the re-launch of the TOPMAN Stylist Service. From now on TOPMAN will invite all style-hungry Londoners on the last Friday of each month for free style advice, live DJ, limited edition goody bags to grab, complimentary beer and some decent super brand discounts on offer.

We had a real good time browsing around the shop, drink-in-hand, mingling with the trendy people and checking out the S/S 10 collections. Sharps, the barbershop from New York located next to the Stylist Lounge on the 2nd floor, offered haircuts on the house, which seemed much appreciated by all involved.

If you missed it this time around, tune in on the 30th April when the next Fashion Friday is due, or for more info head over to www.topman.com/stylist

The main act, Chris Thorpe from Jaggeree, delivered a presentation on his views of the social landscape, something he described as odd shaped, in constant change and… very hard to describe! Having been a chemist prior to starting to play and work with computers/digital and online he likes to refer to the different elements of social media as our new ‘raw materials’. Examples of these materials, which are all based purely on data, include Identity [ID], Intention [In], Attention [Atn] and Location [Lc]. These building stones shape the foundation of what we call social media. He continued with asking:

But where does ‘media’ enter the picture? Is social media not in fact separated from media, and something solely produced and spread by social people?

I think that Chris is on to something here – this is why social media does not equal advertising, just as talking doesn’t equal broadcasting. The great thing with social media is how it is authentic. We find ourselves in a world where the digital life is very much identical with real life – there is just a keyboard in-between.

After the key act followed a number of 30 sec introductions by members of the audience, intended to stir up conversation. Sadly, many took this opportunity for throwing out a 30 sec sales pitch, which can only be blamed on them. I felt a little sad looking at the faces of the organisers. Cold beer and cold pizza followed, all in all a pleasant evening. Well done to Chris and Mashup*!

October Espresso Briefing: Global PR leaders Porter Novelli present their latest WOM case studies

topman ad in lights

Topman store launch for London Fashion Week went really well last night – well done to all involved. Some of the Neoco team went down and quaffed quite a lot of Moet by all accounts  They also hooked up with other agency peeps from Evoke and In Mobile before trying out the digital keycard booth to get some great freebies and Topman discount. A big thanks to all at Topman for working with us on this so far (and everything to come)

You can keep up to date with the store re-launch and beyond using these channels:

Twitter
http://twitter.com/topmanUK

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/TopmanBlog

Facebook
http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Topman/99634526926?ref=ts

Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/topmanuk/

Twitpic

http://twitpic.com/photos/TopmanUK

Check out some more photos and video from the night:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7YzBOMu-Sc]

topman stairwell

ecommerce expo banner type graphic of lurve

Ecommerce Expo hits Earlys Court of exhibition space ten days before Halloween. Don’t give your FD a fright – we can get you discount tickets to their seminars. Sorry, that was an awful joke. Anyways, we’ll be down so at least hook up with some of our team for a coffee and chat.

This year should be good as industry looks to take ecommerce beyond the obvious and monetise new channels.

"you got more chance of getting in Wimbledon, son"

Our summer event for I Love Design with Quark and Design Week has already sold out – 3 weeks before the event! That’s how we roll at Neoco – if we’re behind the scenes it’s going to get traction!

With a fabulous line up and some great social media coverage the event looks to be something very special.

We’ll be posting lots of content here during and after the event from some of the most inspirational speakers around.

Pats on back to:

Quark XPress

Design Week

Live Union

make 2009 a very merry Xmas

Online has demonstrated non-stop growth every Christmas in the retail sector and never has this been more important than in the current economic climate. Luckily for you, it can be even more cost effective…

We’ve teamed up with SheerLuxe to offer our clients a massive discount of the full day conference… and now we’ve managed to negotiate coverage for all followers of Neoco. The full agenda is below, including how to get your discount but the important thing to remember is that if you are planning on any selling this Christmas, this is a must-attend event. Neoco will be down there too to help out with any additional questions you may have.

A highly esteemed array of industry experts are presenting, including:
• Nick Robertson – founder of ASOS
• Nick Wheeler – founder of Charles Tyrwhitt & other half of The White Company founder Chrissie Rucker
• Emilie Carson – More2 & the founders of Isabella Oliver Vanessa Knox-Brien & Baukjen de Swaan Arons
• Vicky Lovell – Head of Operations at Astley Clarke, previously x7 yrs at John Lewis Direct
• Paul Sheehy – Chillifish & Peter Levenspiel – Chillifish & Ex Net-A-Porter e-commerce manager
• Andrew Wilson – The Catalogue Consultancy

Topics to be covered include planning your Christmas Strategy / Budget / Timings, your Christmas PPC campaign, viral marketing to grow your database cost effectively whilst driving sales, Christmas online merchandising, PR & standing out from the crowd, as well as the invaluable opportunity to network with likeminded businesses in your sector.

Wednesday 8th July, 2009 9am – 5pm Fulham, London SW6

9.30 – 10.10 Ecommerce Lessons from an Entrepreneur
Nick Wheeler (founder of Charles Tyrwhitt)

10.10 – 10.50 Your Christmas PPC Campaign
Piri Ramazanoglu (founder of MinuteSteak)
- When to start
- Allocating your PPC budget
- Finding the right key words in this competitive period
- Writing the right copy
- Bidding on Christmas competitors

10.50 – 11.20 COFFEE

11.20 – 12.05 Strategy / Timings / Budget this Christmas
Anne Stagg(more2)
- When to start planning your Christmas activity
- How to allocate your budget between existing and prospective clients
- Incentives and choices beyond discounting
- Co promotions and joint marketing
- Can you recruit through a sale?

12.05 – 12.45 Viral Marketing to Grow Your Database
Paul Sheehy (Chillifish) & Peter Levenspiel (Chillifish & Ex Net-A-Porter e-commerce manager)
- What is Viral Marketing and why does it work?
- Looking at ways to grow your database in the run up to Christmas to ensure you are communicating to a larger audience during this crucial trading time.
- Pssst, pass it on: a look at successful viral campaigns

12.45 – 13.45 LUNCH

13.45 – 14.35 Online Merchandising
Andrew Wilson (The Catalogue Consultancy)

In this fast paced session Andrew will cover how you can get the most of your merchandising this Christmas to increase your sales and profits with no extra expenditure.
- “Long Tail” or “Paradox of Choice” which applies to your range?
- How to use analytics to inform your merchandising
- Creating the correct price hierarchy for your site
- Getting the correct relationship between navigation and merchandising
- The small changes that can make a huge difference to your profits

14.35 – 15.15 PR, Marketing, Standing Out From the Crowd
Emilie Carson (more2) & Founders of Isabella Oliver
- Recognition: Who are your target markets & how to find them
- Repetition: Getting maximum impact from your campaigns / creative approaches to pr and media
- Reputation: How to influence what people think of your brand / tips to bringing your brand to life
- Recommendation: How to encourage customers to become brand advocates

15.15 – 15.45 COFFEE

15.45 – 16.25 Planning & Executing Successful Christmas Trading:
The rules are the same whether you are large or small
Vicky Lovell (Astley Clarke, Ops Director & previously John Lewis Direct, Head of Customer Service)
- Stock, Delivery, Customer Communications: What should you be thinking about – now
- Which strategy best fits your business?
- A unified approach
- Pulling it off!

16.25 – 17.00 Q&A Session
Nick Robertson (founder of ASOS)

17.00 – 19.00 DRINKS @ Chateau 6

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Interested in your discounted entry:

Simply email georgiecoleridgecole@sheerluxe.com quoting NEOCO to book at the early bird rate ( only £155 for independents).

Don’t say we never give you anything!

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