how random acts of kindness are changing the world.

the spark.perkonomics.

Trends aren’t just marketing flannel or data-spin. These are broadscale cultural patterns that are influencing behaviour, opinion and expectations in huge swathes of people across the globe. Their importance to brands and their interactions with customers should not be underestimated.

Tapping into the right trend in your strategic planning can give your brand unprecedented social relevance. More importantly, it can accelerate your business beyond your competitors – especially in commoditised markets.

It’s a competitive advantage that some of the world’s most forward-thinking businesses have already recognised – as you’ll see in the following pages.

You’ll also see that it is deeply rooted in our own different approach, which is why we’ve included one of our own examples here.

We hope you find these stories as inspirational as we did. We’ve deliberately included some questions and challenges to spark conversations within your own organisation. If you’d like to join in the debate, feel free to drop me a line, or you can comment on our blog at http://www.geronimo.co.uk/blog/.

Scott Cooper Head of Innovation, Geronimo scott.cooper@geronimo.co.uk

The power of trends is no flash in the pan.

Call me on 020 7467 9890 ext. 229 to join in the conversation.

A new breed of perks and privileges is satisfying people’s ever-growing desire for novel forms of status and convenience. (Thanks to web 2.0 and the rise of customer empowerment, it’s no longer good enough to meet expectations. Brands must exceed them.)

Appropriately delivered, perks foster strong customer loyalty. They can also make for invaluable PR. The media love perk stories, particularly if they’re unorthodox; and customers enjoy relating stories about unexpected privileges. They’re status symbols as much as conversation starters.

Random acts of kindness will delight customers and have delivered great results for our clients. But they require careful planning to deliver tangible ROI. Delivered in the right way, these initiatives will leave individuals not just pleased, but grateful. Gratitude is powerful social glue, as well as a potent emotion to inspire and potentially profit from.

We hope you’ll be surprised and delighted by the examples we have brought together here.

Oooh how

lovelyI wasn’t expecting that.

According to Nielsen, the two most “trusted” sources of information are: “Recommendations from people known” and “Consumer opinion posted on-line”. So the questions we would ask you: “What’s your story? Which conversations do you have the credibility to start?”

to Twitter users in need of cheering up

We particularly liked this engagement activity by Interflora… it goes to show that little gestures can add real gloss to big marketing spends.

“In September 2010, Interflora launched a social media campaign designed to brighten up the lives of Twitter users by sending them flowers. As part of the campaign, Interflora monitored Twitter, looking for users who they believed might need cheering up. Once found, the melancholic Tweeters were contacted directly and sent a bouquet of flowers as a surprise.” Source: trendwatching.com.

Interfloragives free flowers

Collaboration is a big part of empowering customers – giving them the remit to make a difference to what a brand does. In your own world, what matters most to your customers? And how can you give them the opportunity to influence how that looks?

We travel all over the world for stimulation: South Africa, the USA, Australia and New Zealand are favourite hunting grounds. Here, Air New Zealand have linked research and prizes to bring about true customer collaboration.

“New Zealand-based Airpoints Fairy by Air New Zealand is an online service that grants users their wishes for points top-ups, access to first class lounges and upgrades. The wishes are granted largely at random, but a convincing reason and a polite demeanour seem to help users see their wishes come true.

Users can make wishes via Twitter to @airpointsfairy, spelling out their desires. The Airpoints Fairy then tweets the lucky ones to let them know that their wishes have come true. Magical.” Source: trendwatching.com.

their airport and flying points wishes

AirpointsFairygrants passengers

beyond the call of duty

Hyatt’s service

McKinsey’s recent research into “The Rise of the Networked Enterprise” is well worth a read. The use of social network tools within an organisation produces significant returns on investment. Collaboration and speed of access to knowledge significantly improve the effectiveness of marketing, amongst a raft of other benefits. So what do you do to leverage all the ideas of the employees to impact marketing ROI?

There are a few shining examples of staff-driven programmes: Dell and Best Buy being the most well-known. From 30-minute interviews with nearly 5000 respondents, Edelman found in their Trust Barometer that “conversations with employees” were the most trusted source of information from a company; more than the CEO.

Hyatt’s approach stood out as a smart way of linking two insights: perkonomics + consumers’ trust in staff.

“Hyatt Hotels has launched a staff-led campaign which empowers employees to give Gold Passport guests ‘pleasant surprises’ to delight them during their stay.

Originally coined as ‘random acts of generosity’, surprises include the company picking up the bar tab, a complimentary massage or free breakfast. Beats the ‘turning down service’ for sure.” Source: trendwatching.com.

In the depth of the economic downturn, rate cuts and scarcity of cash had driven customer interest in savings to record lows. Geronimo’s targeted ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ programme for ING Direct brought a little lightness to the gloom. Reinforcing ING Direct’s promise that ‘Saving Feels Good’, we sent savers a range of unexpected treats, from movies to sweets.

The initiative brightened the outlook for ING Direct too; helping them generate record retention levels and achieve no.1 ranking in the sector Net Promoter Scores for the very first time.

Geronimo surprises and

ING Direct customers

delights

The key word to bear in mind is “targeted” … we don’t advocate sending surprise and delights to every customer, just those who represent either the biggest risk to defection or the best opportunity for income growth. Where would you target this activity?

This FMCG story demonstrates what we call ‘activation’; an activity which invites customers to participate, or better still, to lead the charge.

“Kellogg’s has unveiled a social media campaign and site for the new chocolate cereal brand, Krave. Visitors to the site can earn virtual points by doing things like inviting friends via Facebook. These points can then be used to bid for money-can’t-buy experiences, such as concert tickets and backstage passes. Just add milk.” Source: trendwatching.com.

hunger for the things we KraveSocial media can be a double-edged sword. Get it wrong and you’ll be sliced and diced. Get it right and those you engage will do a great brand job for you. A lot of brands knee-jerk into the big platforms like Facebook and YouTube. In actual fact, energising customer reviews can make a bigger difference to the customer buying journey. Have you prioritised and assigned roles to each of the key digital platforms?

Kellogg’s

satisfies

“Brazil-based insurance company Porto Seguro is one of the top three Brazilian property and casualty insurers. Since 2008, the organisation has offered free bicycles to customers who want to avoid Sao Paulo’s grid-locked traffic.

Customers can leave their cars in one of the bank’s affiliated parking places and continue to their destination on a bike, which is free to use until they return to pick up their car. How’s that for a spin on ‘free’?” Source: trendwatching.com.

This one is from an unlikely source – an insurer in Brazil. But what a great example of ‘rewarding the behaviour you seek’.

for Sao Paulo commuters

Whilst this case study might seem a bit far-fetched and categorised as ‘nice’ rather than rooted in a business need, it isn’t. Any motor insurer will tell you that the perfect scenario is lots of premium-paying customers who don’t drive much = less accidents = less claims. A key question to ask of your colleagues: Do we really reward the behaviour we seek from our customers?

It’s all about

the bike

Newlands House, 40 Berners Street, London W1T 3NA

020 7467 9890 / info@geronimo.co.uk