some evidence! social engagement's financial impact, presented by tom collinger
DESCRIPTION
In his Brands-Only Summit presentation, Northwestern University's Executive Director of the Medill IMC Spiegel Digital and Database Research Initiative, Tom Collinger, provides evidence that links individual social engagement to individual purchase behaviors.TRANSCRIPT
SOCIALMEDIA.ORG/SUMMIT2013ORLANDO
Some evidence! Social engagement’s financialimpact
TOM COLLINGERNORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
DECEMBER 9–11, 2013
Industry Impacting, Applied Research that improves marketing communications performance
Some evidence!
Social engagement’s financial impact 2 studies
10 insights
December 9, 2013 Tom Collinger
Executive Director Spiegel Research Center
We believe there may be a hierarchy to customer engagement. . . And it’s not entirely obvious
• Engagement that’s
– Good and bad
– Relevant and not
• Financial Impact that’s
– Significant
– Not
STUDY #1: SPIEGEL RESEARCH STUDY 1.0
CREATING SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT THAT DRIVES PURCHASE BEHAVIORS
Kudos to Edward C Malthouse
Sills Professor of Integrated Marketing
Northwestern University
Mark Vandenbosch University of Western Ontario
Su Jung Kim Research Associate Northwestern University
Canadian Air Miles Reward Program • Coalition Loyalty Program
• Operating in Canada since 1992
• 67% of Canadian households
• 100+ Company sponsors
• “Community” website in 2009
– 99,000 unique posts
• Mile accumulation = proxy for financial impact
The Data
• Random sample of 10,000 collectors as control group
• Accumulation and redemption history from Mar09 – May11
• All who posted
• Stratified sample of those who post
Research Questions • How do branded prompts impact
social media engagement and purchase behavior?
• Do different types of posts affect behavior differently?
• Is viewing a form of engagement that translates to financial impact?
Analyzed engagement and purchase impact from 5 prompts
• Block Party – Rate a “tip or memory” – Issue a tip – Chance to win 25,000 miles
• Epic Cruise – Answer 6 questions (one per week) – Chance to win a Cruise
• Winter contest – Tell us what you’re saving for – Incentive is 10 miles
• Mommy Moments – Share a mommy moment – Incentive is chance to win 25,000 miles
• Living Greener – Share a “living better” story – Incentive is 5 bonus miles
8
Relevant community posts linked perfectly with prompts
Less relevant prompts get little attention
Share your stories, tips and advice on how you help the planet and receive 5 BONUS AIR MILES reward miles. Make sure you post before April 25th to get your 5 miles! Post your comments in the Living Greener forum.
“Mommy moments”
Posters (engagers) spend more immediately, and over time
Contest Incentive # of Posters Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Party Chance to win 25,000
miles 5627
42%
increase
43%
increase
12%
increase
35%
increase
Winter 10 miles 2105 54%
increase
27%
increase
72%
increase
29%
increase
Viewers of Winter contest increased
spending > 40%
Low spenders
Medium spenders
High spenders
week 1 week 2 week 3 week 1 week 2 week 3 week 1 week 2
42% incease
43% increase
46% increase 20% increase 20% increase
11% increase
10% increase
10% increase
• Low spenders the most • A “co-creation” effect
Word
Count
(Number of
words)
Low spenders Medium spenders High spenders
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3
Q1=8
49%
increase
39% increase 23% increase 5% increase 5% increase 7% decrease 7% increase 5% decrease 7% decrease
Q2=13
55%
increase
45% increase 28% increase 7% increase 8% increase 5% decrease 11% increase 2% decrease 5% decrease
Q3=21
62%
increase
51% increase 34% increase 9% increase 11% increase 3% decrease 13% increase No change 2% decrease
P99=73
80%
increase
67% increase 49% increase 16% increase 17% increase 3% increase 21% increase 7% increase 4% increase
Elaboration correlates with purchase
13
Experiences (not stuff) lead to greater financial impact*
*Winter Contest Redeeming Event
Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4
Experience (vs. "stuff") 15% increase 19% increase 24% increase 23% increase
8 Insights worthy of further tests 1. Social engagement without prompts is very low 2. Relevant prompts link to (far) greater engagement 3. Posters spend more in short and longer term 4. Viewers spend (far) more when viewing relevant posts 5. Low spenders who engage impacted most (% not $)
6. The right message causing co creation can be more valuable than greater price-oriented incentives.
7. Posters who elaborate spend more 8. Elaboration on experiences implies higher future
accumulation
SPIEGEL RESEARCH STUDY 2.0
How Negative is Negative Word-of-Mouth (NWOM)?
Moving from Faith to Facts Evidence on how posting and viewing NWOM on a social media
platform affect customer purchase behaviors
Faith: A generalized belief that NWOM really matters
• 3 Hypotheses
– NWOM is harmful (“disengagement?”) • Mostly about viewing NWOM
– What about posting NWOM? • Decrease or increase purchase behavior?
– Negative sentiment is nuanced • What types of emotions expressed?
• How do they impact purchase behavior?
William R. Wilson, Rice University Robert A. Peterson, University of Texas - Austin
Context and data for this study
• Airmiles data
• Trigger event was unpopular policy change announcement
• Reviewed posts, views and purchase impact
• Study period was 15 weeks • 4 weeks prior and 11 following
• The announcement generated 110 NWOM messages
• 75 customers posted
• 713 viewed the posts
We analyzed and coded messages for types of emotions and intensity
• Analyzed Emotions – Anger
– Disappointment
– Concern (i.e., doubt, surprise, confusion, etc)
• Coded Level of intensity for emotions – Increases with the number of emotional
keywords in a post
Viewing decreased future spending (“disengagement?)
Posting increased it, if given a chance to experience the value of the brand
• Viewing NWOM
Point accumulation by 12% Purchase frequency by 5%
• Posting NWOM & redeeming points (experiencing the value of a brand)
Point accumulation by 58% Purchase frequency by 16%
Strong negative emotions decrease spending Less intense ones increased spending
• Posting NWOM that has expression of anger
Point accumulation by 5% (N.S.) Purchase frequency by 3%
• Posting NWOM that has expression of concern
Point accumulation by 183% Purchase frequency by 65%
Our future work Better understand relevant
engagement • In-market experiments
• Other categories
• Compare across platforms & channels
• Analyze Relationship Engagement vs. Event engagement
Contact me if. . . • You’d like the academic
research report in greater detail.
• Journal submission
• Access to models and methodology
• You’d like access to future research
• You’re interested in sponsoring new research (Forgive me the shameless plug)
Tom Collinger is the Executive Director of the Medill IMC Spiegel Digital and Database Research Initiative at Northwestern University. Tom joined the faculty at Northwestern University in January 1998, served as Associate Dean and Department Chair from 2005 to 2011, and now leads a research center linking consumer engagement with marketing communications platforms to purchase behavior. He also serves as senior director of distance learning. He is a widely recognized expert in the areas of integrated marketing communications, direct, database and e-commerce marketing management, customer loyalty, customer relationship management, and channel integration. He is a former Senior Vice President of The Leo Burnett Company, former Vice President and General Manager of Ogilvy & Mather Direct/OgilvyOne, and former member of the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Consumer Marketing. Blog: http://about.me/tchere - See more at: http://socialmedia.org/summit/preconference/#sthash.VvXCBOyz.dpuf
Appendix: Engagement Insight from academic studies
• Conceptual roots of CE* draw on theory addressing interactive experience and value co-creation within marketing relationships.
• 2010 Journal of Service Research Special Issue titled ‘‘Customer Engagement’’ is of particular relevance to advancing engagement research in marketing.
• Premise 10 states ‘‘Value is always uniquely and phenomenologically determined by the beneficiary.’’
• Of particular note is that the terms ‘‘engage’’ and/or ‘‘engagement’’ appear to replace more traditional relational concepts, including ‘‘involvement’’ and/or ‘‘participation.’’
• The five propositions
– CE reflects a psychological state, which occurs by virtue of interactive customer experiences with a focal agent/object within specific service relationships
– CE states occur within a dynamic, iterative process of service relationships that co-creates value
– CE plays a central role within a nomological network of service relationships
– CE is a multidimensional concept subject to a context-and/or stakeholder-specific expression of relevant cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions
– CE occurs within a specific set of situational conditions generating differing CE levels
*CE = Customer Engagement
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