Buzz Canuck

Top 11 Most Buzzable Places at Work

Let's face it - as worker bees, we love to talk and gab, gossip and cajole, schmooze and rant with our fellow workers. It's frequently our best part of the workday.

When I first joined P&G out of school,  I remember the maddening effect of sitting in a cube under fluorescent lights and uncomfortable modular furniture for more than an hour. The lack of sensory stimulus drove me to participate in the 8th floor gossip circles from where I learned some of my most profound insights about marketing and group dynamics (and engaged in the occasional game of Attends tag ...don't ask).

Although the periodic research study  will site the lost people hours from this pasttime, it really is the "social grease" that makes workplaces work that much better. We're even favourable to talking about less career-advancing topics in work environments like  reality shows (see Monster's poll on the subject). 

So as an interested  leader, manager and employee, you need to be part of this whispering conversation network or be left "out the loop".

And today's key question " Is the watercooler still the centre of buzz within your workplace?".  We asked our BzzAgents - here are the top 11 places where they most consistently buzz at work:

At lunch	52.6%
Through email	52.1%
In hallway discussions or office drop-bys	51.4%
At social events	41.4%
On the phone	41.2%
In meetings	36.3%
At the watercooler	28.5%
Through instant messaging	26.7%
At the coffee shop	24.7%
Through public postings	22.5%
In closed-door discussions	19.8%
Other	14.9%
Through public speeches or statements	11.1%

The learnings:
- don't skip that Roast beef sandwich at Druxy's - you'll miss out on valuable info about the innovation in sector 7G and that just-breaking personnel move in 4B

-the PDAs and Blackberries are winning - to stay connected to & in your office, keep it at the ready in your holster to hear and send the latest e-buzz

- the office drop-by  - we hate it when we have 5 minutes to blast out of office and get to our next appointment, spinning class or hot dinner date but it still has pretty good "buzz" currency (for evidence, see the iconic and Dilbertian film Office Space - a classic flick on cube life)   

- for those working at remote sites, you're missing out - live face to face social events and meetings are providing a rich breeding ground for buzz

- for managers, of particular importance, valuable word of mouth is not happening through public postings, behind closed doors or through public speeches and statements (speeches were our last ranked area at 11.1%) - 30 years ago, the valuable stuff  travelled behind mahogany desks, oak doors and big podiums. Now it's more democratically located at the local Tim Horton's, on Razr's and in worker pods

We have plenty of insight in the coming months on buzz in the work environment (look for future over-the-top headlines like  Buzz - The Invisible Career Killer). Heck, we should - our research among our Canadian BzzAgent panel suggests that buzz occurs more frequently in a work environment than any other place.   

Two cavaets on the data above  - our closed-ended question did not include "washrooms" or "elevators" as survey responses. Given the reaction received to date on this survey and the captive nature of these two places - we think this was a big oversight.

Now get out of your cubicle, grab your ofice posse and head down to the coffee shop to talk about this article...    

Federal Laziness - Word of Mouth Hits a Dead End

One final word of mouth comment about our our recent federal election campaign In Canada before we  move onto other higher brow debates ie. Gretzky vs. Lemieux, Myers vs. Carrey, Lightfoot vs. Young. 

Reg Alcock (pictured above) is this campaigns' winner of "best word of mouth blunder in a 6 week campaign". With a high profile position as the Head of the Treasury Board and a riding that he won handily less than 2 years ago by 6,500 seats how did poor old Reg lose by 110 seats to a political neophyte - see article from the Winnipeg Sun for the gory details).

Sure, incumbent Liberal party arrogance was pivotal in losing seats across the county but two much more vulnerable ridings adjacent to Reg's still pulled through. The real story and tragedy (or perhaps insanity) is that Mr. Alcock spent exactly 3 days campaigning in his own riding. Just enough effort  for 2 kindergarten class photo-ops, 1 Kiwanis bakeoff and 1 glad-handing past Portage and Main.

It's comforting to know that even in this mass advertised, three party, "hero leader" world, local ties and commitment still matters for something. Lyndon Johnson used to say a "handshake was worth about 250 votes". If only Reg Alcock had heeded this insight.

Why Do Bees Buzz?

...."because they don't know the words". 

If you've ever walked by a hive of bees, it's uncanny how their buzzing intensifies as you approach (apparently they buzz even more if your wearing dark colours). It's a simple and perfect communication system; workers and queen bees alike know what the buzzing means - danger.

If we could only bottle what cues drives human buzzing, oooohh the power we could reap (sound effect: evil demonic laugh).!

Well maybe we haven't received the final answer but In the hive of word of mouth, we've just received some interesting research back from our panel of crack evangelists on what ONE aspect of a product, service or retailer makes them buzzable - the eyebrow raising results ranked top to bottom below:

                                           

Something   with which you personally associate	25.7%
Innovative	22.5%
Exciting	13.1%
Solves problems	11.0%
Easy to talk about	9.9%
New	8.0%
Newsworthy	2.9%
Exclusive	2.7%
Other	2.7%
Fashionable	1.3%
Expensive	0.0%

Claimed responses sometimes blur the psychology behind why we do something but taken on face value, the five takeaways I have from our panelists' responses above:

1) buzzing is about what we love and therefore very category specific. It intensifies when we feel passionate about a particular topic, in fact - buzz is self-identity itself (take the advocacy of a restaurant -the #1 ranked word of mouth category  - can typically reveal a lot about a person's tastes)   

2) buzzing rewards brands that bring something new to the world  - wondrously new and innovative always trumps improved and better (Prius > Camry, Chrysler 300 > Chrysler Malibu)

3) buzzing is less about the sizzle and more about the steak - fashion without function at best has a short buzz lifespan and at worst doesn't excite the hive at all (Apprentice Trump> Apprentice Martha, )
4) buzzing is very democratic and not very status-driven - perhaps if this survey was conducted in the 80s, the results would be reversed - however in 2006 buzz embraces authenticity, inspiration and original experiences over high end attitude and privileged exclusivity  (Southwest > British Airways,  Lounge > Club,  Costa Rica > Las Vegas)

5)  buzz rewards the sender and receiver - for the sender, its exciting to show special stuff, mavenism and the altruism to help others,  for the receiver, buzz is important to solve problems and feel in the loop (Swiffer makes housework easier, Blackberry improves business lives, IPOD makes entertainment better)    

Word of Mouth Experiences in Retail

I met a really interesting person last Friday - his name is Robert Kozinets and he's just recently signed up for a tour of duty as a prof at the Schulich School of Business after stints at Northwestern and Kelloggs. He's a little bit of a prodigal son in that he left Canada early, embraced the mid-west U.S. and now has come back to Canuck land for professional and family reasons (the marketer's version of Michael Ignatieff).

Anyway, he is one of the leading cultural anthropologists in North America and certainly ahead of the game in Canada. He's got a lot of infectious enthusiasm and a real passion for what he does - dissecting the behavioural hows, whats and whys of this advanced tribe of animal called "humans"  in the hopes of stimulating organizations to deliver breakthrough innovation.  If you ever meet him, ask him about Burning Man and Star Trek.

As we peered out from our Bloor & Yonge lunch nook (great healthy concept restaurant called Lettuce by the way), staring at this hulking colossus of Canada's oldest department store - The Bay, we got onto the topic of retail and bemoaned the real dearth of amazing insightful Canadian retail experiences that were newsworthy enough to evangelize.

Is it that providing a great retail experience is just so damn exhausting and expensive or do retailers think they're in a different business than providing great retail experiences?

Given the power of the web, the future for "bricks" retail is in providing something to consumers they can't download or buy efficiently - their future is in delivering experiences. Period.

I left the meeting thinking that this was unfinished business - we must find the best retail experiences in Canada that inspire word-of-mouth. Here was my best list of local and national retail brands that I'd personally want to brag about :

National/Provincial  Retailers
- Mountain Equipment Coop - if you like the outdoors, what's not to love here - a great mission, an expansive and  bright retail space, well-informed staff, environment do-ers not just spinners (green roofs, preservation values at the heart of their business operations , intro of at-risk youth to the outdoors), thriving community board, grassroots community and environmental support - they're not only a great Canadian retailer, they're good for Mother Earth

- Starbucks - my morning's best friend - friendly baristas, a warm and inviting "third place" (particularly the ones with comfy chairs), a constantly satisfying non-fat latte and Guinness-like perfection in serving their java

- Sony Store - it's so interesting to see plodding, disinterested male shoppers perk up like children "sneaking away from their parents" when they stumble past this store in a shopping mall - their product is king and the backroom demo area is "Dreamsville" for the A-V involved

- Whole Foods - let's start with "everything on the shelf is better for you", the staff are the real mccoy - they actually know where I can find spirulina, Bragg's aminos and what the heck is sambal oelak, the checkouts are always a short wait and the shopping environment is mouth salivatingly clean with many informative seminars for those interested

- LCBO - the only game in town to buy liquor in Ontario, sure monopolies have unfair advantages but they also allow for great word of mouthable experiences when done right - a novelty seekers' dream with an enormous product selection, great premium vintages cache, spaciously shelved and well lit merchandising, educational food matchings and reviewers cards on shelf,  opportunities to learn from local chefs and sommeliers and a gift section that has saved more than one Christmas Eve

- Telus Mobility - aesthetically, I'm drawn to things that are symmetrical,  have little clutter and have a consistency to them  - walking into a Telus flagship store is an oasis away from screaming yellow sales signs, poorly stocked shelves and square grid aisles - their space really is in lockstep with a very insightful brand positioning "the future is friendly" ...makes me look forward to purchasing my next electronic "slave gadget" here

Local to Toronto

Tequila Bookworm -somehow they have nailed the "coffee and magazine set" (which I am the poster boy for) - a quasi bar, cafe, lunch nook, bookstore with comfortable, brick exposed walls on a great eclectic part of Queen, magazines that you can read and actually put back on the stand unpaid, a to-die-for foccacia and specialty coffee that makes you want to pray for rain on a Sunday afternoon so you can stay all day

The Source - a great menswear place in Leaside, with strong customer service, sensible fashion advice and style advocates for men who want to look stylish but aren't 100% confident in their own choices, apparaently also have a living historical database of the wardrobe you've purchased from them on file and provide some of the best traffic generating direct mailers I've ever received from a retailer 

Secrets from my Sister - as a man, I've never needed a bra fitting (no need for a man-ziere), but if I did, I would go here---a comfortable retail environment, broad custom fitted selection, a passionate owner who has built a cause of  "all breasts are different" around her store with superhuman attention to service, community development and a welcoming, empathetic attitude 

Get Out Side or Lileo (tied)- the "exclusive VIP closets for sneaker culture " - tough to find pairs of high tops (rare Pumas), skate shoes (Etnies), old schoolers (Chucks) and street threds - sold in a world class retail environment with owners and staff who live and breathe their business

Marche (now Richtree) - a totally different way to order and pay for your food (the stamping process is a one-of-a-kind), a kaleidoscope of fresh market fare made right in front of you in the architectural splendour of a bright, "old meets new" BCE place, a perfect winter brunch escape

This is by no means a comprehensive list (...yet?). I'd be curious to know about your favourite Canadian retail experience that's travelling through your personal grapevine right now. Drop a referral and we'll add to the colection.

Naked Word of Mouth or Exploitation

Lululemon is a Canadian word of mouth phenomenon and even though most of their clothes cater to the female set, I love them.   I love their story of trying to put some fun back in yoga. I love their product which beyond being extraordinarily comfortable and stylish can make someone that's weight-challenged look physically fit and attractive. I also really love and admire their value system and approach to marketing which is centred around local community development.

They are a Canadian retail success story (and there aren't many of them) and not surprisingly have developed a rabid following through word of mouth. (I personally believe I started their word of mouth inferno in west Toronto three years ago, but that's another story).

Which makes the press following the recent opening of their Kingston store all the more surprising.  For the last few years, Lululemon has opened their new store locations with a quirky, buzzworthy promotion - - the first 40 people who lineup and strip naked to the undies can  get a free wardrobe of yoga-friendly clothes.

The promotion has been viewed in most circles as a fun, irreverent way to do business. In Canada, where some parts of our country are under the snow for nearly 1/2 the year, it's very press worthy. Perhaps now that Lululemon has expanded across the country from its more liberal roots in Vancouver to the conservative town of Kingston Ontario, this same promotion has sparked an uproar.

What had seemed like a lot of fun in most circles has now raised the flag of "sexual exploitation".  My response is "give it a rest". How PC and whiny have we become when free-willed people can't be involved with a brand in an offbeat, fun manner?  I'm sure Lululemon can weather this passing storm and doesn't need my support and they will hopefully continue with this stunt.

However, the types of comments that have come back from activists are so out of whack with reality and depress me that they do beg a response. Left up to them, our entire marketing  industry would be only allowed to practice in "beige" or "mauve" colours. I'm presuming the same people that are speaking up here would at a moment's notice sue McDonald's for being fat, their employer for being unhappy and their government for being poor.

As a man, I'm probably not adequated suited (attached is support for my comments by a women) to critique the negative "exploitation" outcry but here are the facts:
- the history of Lululemon's promotions had a "bare all" policy, did they think that would change for little old Kingston?
- everybody who was involved in the promotion was there of free choice
- men and women were equally encouraged to be part of the event

- it seems like even right after the event, the press and participant reaction was positive, only after a mea culpa from the one participant whose mom likely seethed with puritan rage did it attract  negative spin

From a word of mouth perspective, my hope is Lululemon sticking to their guns and I complement their store manager for immediately diffusing the issue. You can not let a dangerous few sabotage your brand. Hopefully, by having a strong value system and staying firm, this will lead to even more advocates for this outspoken brand and trivialize the ramblings of the angry, likely non-consuming fringe. Unfortunately, this type of silly press makes the risk-averse marketers burrow even further into the holes.

Top 11 Killer Stats on Word of Mouth

As a specialist who lives, breathes and sleeps "'word of mouth", I'm contantly scanning the universe for data-based evidence that supports my staunchly held belief in word of mouth's heightened status as the "next big thing" in marketing.

So I've tumbled through all my crib notes and fave bookmarks and have come up with my top 11 marquis tidbits about the rise of word of mouth as marketer's biggest untapped channel. Use these zingers - with wild and frequent abandon in your future powerpoint decks, email memos, speaker notes and all other forums that you can wedge these in.

1) 67% of all consumer decisions are primarily influenced by word of mouth (McKinsey) - That's right - word of mouth governs 2/3rds of our economy and yet the Wall Street Journal doesn't have a page dedicated to it, I've never met a VP of Word of Mouth and I've not yet seen a marketing budget code that was labelled "word of mouth or buzz".  Egads.

2) 1 out of every 7 social conversations are word of mouth based (Northeastern University) - Think for a moment from a media perspective - how valuable is a two way, in-depth, interactive medium from a trusted source which answers all your questions and validates the way you think about a product and is something we tap into 14% of the time we talk. Ching $! Ching $!

3) Only 3.4% of face to face WOM conversations are stimulated by a marketing organization's promotional efforts (Journal of Services Marketing) - It's not that it can't be done by a marketer, it's just that we refuse to heed the cardinal rules of word of mouth. Involve your consumer, don't carpet bomb everybody and their cousin, identify the right early evangelists, create a hard edge that stand out in your product, be honest...and a number of other word of mouth road signs we tend to drive past blindly as marketers.

4) 90% of customers identify word of mouth as the best, most reliable and trustworthy source about ideas and information on products and services (NOP World) - It just makes sense, we tend to believe things when we receive information from a trusted source - be that friend, family or colleague. People lay their reputations on the line when they recommend something to somebody else. The currency word of mouth is thus enhanced by its most valuable characteristic - "honesty" -  which makes it the purest marketing form we have.

5) 44% of consumers claim to avoid buying products that overwhelm them with advertising/56% of people have stopped doing business with a company that doesn't respect them (Mood and Mindset Study Canada)  - The consumer in 2006 has three extreme scarcities that are creating diminishing returns from mass marketing and leading to a consumer exodus - no time, no attention and no trust. Think of advertising and word of mouth as two of your best friends - who do you want to hang with - the friend who is flashy but brags to the point of lying, doesn't listen, doesn't even let you speak, interrupts what you like doing and makes you pay a lot to be with them or the friend who you trust, has the same interests, listens to your concerns, is there when you need him, introduces you to stuff that isn't widely known or available and gives just as much as she takes.  Cheers to my best drinking buddy - word of mouth!

6) Where does word of mouth happen? Answer: Everywhere. (Agent Wildfire Canadian Research) With whom, do you participate in word of mouth? 

In your family	88.9%
In your social networks	77.1%
In a work environment	71.0%
In an online community	55.0%
In your neighborhood	53.9%
In a hobby or interest group	45.7%

Word of mouth is prolific - you find it everywhere. The more groups you're part of, the more valuable you become as a word of mouther. It doesn't come by appointment, it doesn't force you look at a screen or shout at you from a billboard - where there is oxygen, you'll find spontaneously generating word of mouth. So for the most intrusive, omnipresent form of marketing in a supporting role, please put your hands together for "word of mouth" (clap, clap).  

7) On product recommendations, 90% trust their spouse and 65% trust their friends, however only 27% trust manufacturers, 14% trust advertisers and 8% trust celebrities (Yankleovich) - to what levels have we sunk, when our profession is ranked among the least trustworthy professions alongside politicians, stockbrokers and lawyers. Gone are the days when Franklin Roosevelt considered the role of adperson as the noblest profession of them all. In 2006, if you want brand credibility, you don't invest in advertising, promotion or even many forms of PR and editorial, you invest in your friends (and the much overlooked group -employees).

8) 7,500 - the number of committed, talented word of mouthers you would need to seed your message with,  so that every single Canadian would hear about it in 12 weeks (providing you had the right product & newsworthy message) (Sean Moffitt & Multiple Sources) For those reading this in the U.S, we have about 24 million adult Canadians, so this is no small feat. The war for consumer adoption is no longer a game of "how many eyeballs" but "how many conversations". It's potency lies in its "Blair Witch"-ian nature. With conventional media, one impression means one consumer. With my word of mouth scenario above, one impression means 3,200 consumers. How 'bout those apples!        

9) 44% of Americans put stock in a mass advertised brand, only 17% of Canadians do (Environics). What can I say, Canucks distrust authority, are more skeptical and tend to move in small tribes not as a herd. Not a very positive advertiser profile but true. We see this over and over again with TV shows, ad campaigns and businesses that perform different sides of the border. Look no further then latest TV ratings and you'll see that the biting iconoclastic satire of the Simpsons, the 70s Show and Jon Stewart all perform substantially better in Canada than the U.S.. We'll laugh WITH our friends and family and we laugh AT everybody else (including unfortuantely advertisers).

10) 43% of marketers are either engaged in WOM campaigns or plan to get involved in one over the next 6 months (Emarketer). Organized word of mouth is no longer bleeding edge stuff. With its own flourishing trade association and developing industry norms,  successful companies are attracting major investment (including my U.S. partner Bzzagent recently), I have no doubt organized word of mouth efforts will have the same legitimacy five years from now as Radio did in the 50s, TV did in the 80s, Cable TV did in the 90s and Search Engines are in this decade. 

11) 77% of word of mouth is face to face, 17% is by phone and 6% is online (Northeasten University) - I love this stat. If anything, it suggests that word of mouth is not "a naked mascot" street campaign or a "make a chicken bark like a dog" online viral campaign, it's about what you do as a company. If this were five pin bowling, the word of mouth pins would be - 1) an ethical company culture committed to a clear direction, values and culture of innovation,  2) a magnetic, conversation worthy brand or product, 3) a rabid audience of volunteer evangelists willing to go to bat for your brand, 4) a smooth message that people want to talk about and get involved in and 5) marketing tools that make it easy to pass the along the message.  Now bowl!   

 

Political Example of Word of Mouth

If you hadn't noticed, the marketing brains behind political campaigns have over the last generation become media darlings oftentimes staging second careers as enlightened authors or media pundits.

Think Dick Morris. Think George Stefanopoulos. Think Karl Rove. In Canada, we've seen the former kingmaker John Tory come out from behind the curtain and become a talented and popular politician and official leader of the opposition in our biggest province - Ontario. David Miller's surprise rise from obscurity in the polls to becoming the mayor of Toronto was as much attributed to the invention of a powerful icon of a "broom" and the metaphor of sweeping away municipal corruption than the actual principles and impressive platform of the man himself.

The fact is marketing and communications plays a pivotal role in the political mix. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons is that large popular vote swings over the course of a short campaign indicate political marketing actually works better and more fluidly than most industries. And also that political campaigning invests enormous resources (door to door marketing, localized direct mail, election signs, local rallies)  in supporting their effort with local community building and one-to-one dialogue - the key pillars of very effective word of mouth.

The effect of word of mouth in our upcoming Canadian federal election is no better evidenced than election sign distribution.  The clearest example of word of mouth in action is the distribution of signs for our fifth most popular federal party - The Green Party (with approx. 4% of last election's federal vote).

I can drive 6 or 7 neighborhoods in a row while traversing Toronto and not see the comparatively small, lime green and neon gold signs of the Green Party but then all of sudden I'll happen upon a bouquet of 4-5 over the course of one block. Are the canvassers that much better over this tight group of homes? Have they spent all their political capital in this little nook? Are the people living in these homes differ radically demographically or psychographically than the people that live one block over? Hardly.

Similar to Malcolm Gladwell's study on the dispersion rate of air conditioners in the '50s, electioneeering is all about creating a neighborhood effect. Starting with the right type of seed - a well-connected person with deep social networks, a captivating newsworthy message and a demeanour that people trust, political momentum then ripples out in interesting patterns. In Toronto,  socialist NDP signs travel linearly along main streets, Liberals leapfrog in the next concentric circle of typically middle-income earners and right wing Conservative signs propogate in deeper residential encalves. Fascinating stuff.

Unfortunately, all this will remain as compelling social dispersion and anthropological insight until the one moment a political party lines up perfectly all the political "word of mouth" dominos in the right sequence. Until that time,  I will remain another faceless a-political plebe with a potential book deal, talk show and speaker circuit session always just one campaign away.

My staunch belief is that if the Green Party could only find 5,000 of these socially gifted indivduals and powerfully motivate them as a word of mouth channel, they could change the face of election night. The math - 5,000 people bring 50 other people into the tent who because they're less vested bring a more reasoanbale 7 other people into the fold and all of a sudden they've walked away with more than half the popular vote.

   

Thank You Cleansing Foods

Starting on New Years, I decided to be the kinder, empathetic husband and joined my wife on a  "cleansing diet" for three weeks. Although I didn't need to lose weight, the other health benefits are well documented so I "bit the bullet"

Check this out however - no caffeine, no alcohol, no wheat, no dairy, no refined sugar, no red meat, no trans fats...there are now complete aisles of the supermarket I shouldn't even go near.

After two weeks, my energy levels are amazing and even as this crash diet nears a close, we have likely made a permanent positive lifestyle change in our diets. Yeh!

Now here's the bad part --- there are only so may eggs, fish, oranges, cranberry juice and rye bread a guy can eat and come 3:00pm,  the afternoon hunger pangs and low blood sugar counts are foreboding.

I wanted to take time out here and thank the products and businesses that helped me get over those humps. You are my personal word of mouth dieting stash and my intervention when the bulk of your unhealthy competition was screaming like the devil on my shoulder - "just take one bite, what's it going to hurt":

The Restaurants

Il Fornello - for a restaurant that is a long established Italian Toronto-based restaurant chain that could rest on its laurels, the existence of an organic spelt flour bread pizza on your menu was an oasis in the desert of thick crusted fatty pizza dough

Booster Juice - there is nothing like the redemptive and natural powers of a Marathon Power Booster Juice as part of a post-workout routine, also the only pace I have found in Toronto that sells jucies made with the Brazilian Acai berry

Green Mango - nothing in the fridge, Friday night late, need to eat healthy - who you going to call? - Green Mango!  This place is not only priced reasonably, packs the place in but also has some of the best-tasting healthy food in town.

Fresh - my support group for healthy eating - the vegan and organic-embracing patrons and staff here make me feel like I've joined a pretty enlightened and cool sort of club -and with an awarding winning menu and architectural design to boot

Products

Rizopia - you were my light when things were bleakest - beyond my morning coffee ritual , I've missed pasta the most but this small Canadian company actually produces RIce Pasta with identical mouth feel to real pasta - mamma mia!

Revolution Tea - sure it cost $13 per sleeve at my local boutique store but who knew Organic Tea would taste so good - the metal cannister and pyramid-shaped bags are also highly buzzworthy

Europe's Best Frozen Fruit - I don't know how something produced in Chile and prepared in Montreal is called Europe's anything but the mix of pre-chopped fruits is a huge time saver for my DIY smoothie production

Tropicana - there are many pretenders and contenders but there really is only one Tropicana juice - I will gladly pay  $1-1.50 more per bottle because  you are the gold standard for product quality, don't ever change or cheapen yourself

With new year's resolutions still in force and fitness clubs delivering a January splurge, I'd love to know about special products that have actually helped you through a difficult or troubling episode of your life. Cheers.

Lipton's Cup of Word of Mouth

Being the father of two young girls likely causes me to pay a little bit more attention to ads with kids with them.  But one in particular has really caught my eye. Over the holidays, Lipton Noodles has blanketed from Missisissauga to Scarborough with outdoor ads that engage families in the "Wheaties"-esque aspiration of showing up  on their very own billboard ad. 

The campaign is called "Lipton Noodleface" and plays on the sucking face kids make, considered mandatory for efficient noodle consumption. Not only do I think it's a true behavioral insight about the brand but it cleverly brings parents and the kids to the website to engage further with the brand and try to claim 15 minutes of fleeting fame.

Based on the variety of kids faces already submitted at  Noodleface.ca 
I'm likely not the only parent who has noticed and investigated further.

Unfortunately, a long established brand like Lipton Noodles with no significant "new" news is the type of brand that typically attracts bad marketing investment like hogs to the feeding trough. The brand folks at Lipton should be applauded for not doing a simple "look at me" awareness ad but instead involving their consumers in the campaign and providing a really good "relevance" shot in the arm for their brand by attaching a clever & low-cost piece of promotional innovation.

My only disappointment with the campaign was that when you clicked to the website, there wasn't some Lipton-related facts or stories that could have stimulated further discussion about the brand .   

This is probably just a quibble as I've just picked up a pack of Lipton Noodles on my Sunday grocery run and will be spending Monday night with my tripod trying to get my girls to become the next Mary Kate & Ashley or Jessica & Ashley (maybe this isn't a good idea after all).

Canada's Top 41 Word of Mouth-able Brands

Canada is a breeding ground for word of mouth. We love to impart knowledge and info about stuff to our family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances. Check out the trail of facts:

- Canadians disdain advertising -  according to Arnold, 67% of respondents claim, “I have a lower tolerance for hype than I used to.” and  62% say, “There are just too many commercial messages for me to be bothered paying attention anymore”

- Canadian place little importance on the mass advertising of brands - 44% of Americans place weight on this factor while only 17% of Canadians do

- Canadians are connected - 72% of Canadians are online, receiving 80 messages/day and averaging 13.5 hours/week in usage - all stats near or at the top of the world rankings

- Canadians are cosmopolitan and highly urbanized - most large Canadian cities outrank their U.S. couterpart cities on quality of life and 4 out of 5 people live in urban situations

So if we're so connected, taste driven and curious, what brands and products do we talk about as Canucks?

After polling over 700 Canadians on our panel back in October'05, we got our answers and the results will surprise. Below is the list of the 41 word of mouth-able brands in Canada (ranked in order of frequency):

	Brand	Company	Category
1	Mr Clean	P&G	Household
2	Swiffer	P&G	Household
3	I-Pod	Apple	Electronics
4	Xbox	Microsoft	Games
5	Tide	P&G	Household
6	Apple	Apple	Electronics
7	Tim Hortons	TDL	Hospitality
8	Pepsi	TDL Group	Beverage
9	Rogers	Rogers	Communications
10	Coke	Coca-Cola	Beverage
11	Dell	Dell	Electronics
12	Ebay	Ebay	Online
13	Crest	P&G	Health & Beauty
14	Aveeno	J&J	Health & Beauty
15	Canon	Canon	Electronics
16	Sony	Sony	Electronics
17	Walmart	Walmart	Retail
18	Bell ExpressVu	BCE	Communications
19	Campbells	Campbells	Food
20	Costco	Costco	Retail
21	President's Choice	Loblaws	Food
22	Garnier	L'Oreal	Health & Beauty
23	Lush	Lush	Retail
24	Fisher Price	Mattel	Games
25	McCain	McCain	Food
26	Lysol	Reckitt Benckiser	Household
27	Glade	S.C. Johnson	Household
28	Starbucks	Starbucks	Hospitality
29	Telus	Telus	Communications
30	Toyota	Toyota	Automotive
31	Dove	Unilever	Health & Beauty
32	Canadian Tire	Canadian Tire	Retail
33	Google	Google	Online
34	ING	ING	Financial
35	Pampers	P&G	Health & Beauty
36	Pet Plan Insurance	Pet Plan Insurance	Financial
37	Safeway	Safeway	Retail
38	Playstation	Sony	Games
39	Tyson	Tyson Foods	Food
40	Suave	Unilever	Health & Beauty
41	Westjet	Westjet	Travel

The biggest eye-opener is the sheer variety of categories that have products on the list proving that no category can defend against a product with strong word of mouth.

The other interesting insight is the amount of products at the very top of the list from everyday, typically "non-sexy" categories, evidence that what we like to talk about most is likely the stuff around us (congrats to the Mr. Clean eraser folks - the amount and emotional attachment to this product was truly hard to comprehend).

It may be surprising that there aren't a lot of entertainment-related brands that bust through on the top list but given the sheer multitude of industry offerings, although there were many overall responses, no individual offering had enough numbers to breakthrough into the top tier. The same can be said for word of mouth's most responsive category - restaurants

Disappointingly for mature categories like automotive and alcohol beverage, there is only one of their brands on the buzz list. This really should be an alarm bell to companies in this industry that price will become even more paramount asd a busienss driver if innovation and more grassroots methods for generating word of mouth are not created vs. a lot of undifferentiated and mass marketed offerings we've seen over the last decade. 

I'm curious to know what you're talking about now and why , drop me a line on your most buzzable brands.