The Face-to-Face Book

Summary Data Slides

May be used for non-commercial purposes
with attribution to The Face-to-Face Book
(Free Press: 2012) and The Keller Fay Group
LLC

Prepared by
Ed Keller, CEO
Brad Fay, COO
2012 Keller Fay Group

About The Face-to-Face Book

The Face-to-Face Book presents a unique, research-backed point of view
about the value of real relationships in a time when social media has taken
center stage. Companies are pouring billions into Facebook and Twitter,
hoping that they have finally found the holy grail of marketing. But, the fact
remains that it is the in-person conversations that still matter most. Based on
six years of research by the award-winning word of mouth research firm, the
Keller Fay Group, the Face-to-Face Book presents a multitude of case studies
and research studies that show that:
Over 90% of conversations still take place offline, primarily face to face, with
less than 8% occurring online
Human beings are fundamentally wired to be social and are highly
influenced by direct, in-person conversations
Large companies, such as Apple, General Mills, Kimberly Clark and Toyota
have been successful by integrating WOM into their advertising and
marketing campaigns
Consumers often reference other forms of media when they are talking
about a brand, making the case that advertising can be designed to spark
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mWOM conversation

About the Keller Fay Group

About Keller Fay
The Keller Fay Group is the first full-service market research company
focused exclusively on word of mouth (WOM) and brand advocacy. The firms
founders,Ed KellerandBrad Fayare authors of The Face-to-Face Book, a
celebration of the supremely social nature of all human beings and how that
drives the consumer marketplace. The book is based on research from
Keller Fays TalkTrack program is the only continuous study of WOM in all
channels (online and offline) designed to closely monitor and measure the
marketing-relevant attributes of actual consumer conversations. TalkTrack
was launched in the U.S. in 2006 and in the United Kingdom in 2011. For
further information about the Keller Fay Group, visit our website
www.kellerfay.com.
Join our Network:
www.facebook.com/kellerfay
www.twitter.com/kellerfay
www.slideshare.net/kellerfay/
www.linkedin.com/company/keller-fay-group
www.kellerfay.co
CONTACT: Kristen
m

Beveridge, Vice President,

732-846-6800,
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kbeveridge@kellerfay.com

Table of Contents
Section I: Word of Mouth Overview
Stats.page 5
Section II: Conversation
Catalystspage 8
Section III: Advertising and Word of
Mouthpage 12
Section IV: The Internet and Word of
Mouth.page 16

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WOM Overview Stats

WOM Stats

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WOM Conversations Largely Take Place

Offline
Research from Keller
Fay Group shows
90% of WOM
conversations are
offline, while 8% are
online. Only 2% of
WOM occurs on
social media.

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2 Out of 3 Conversations are Positive

Research from Keller

Fay Groups
TalkTrack shows only
8% of WOM
conversations are
negative. Meanwhile
the Childrens
Products category
earns the best WOM
quality while Telecom
suffers the most.

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Conversation Catalysts
WOM Stats

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The Size of the Real World Social Network

of Conversation Catalysts is Double the
Average
Average Number of People Communicate With Fairly
Often
Total Public
Conversation
Catalysts are
everyday consumers
who stand out because
they have large social
networks, they regularly
keep up with whats new
and emerging, and they
are sought out by
friends, family, and
neighbors for advice and
recommendations.

Total Network:
16

Conversation Catalysts

Total
Network: 33
11

13

5
9

Family

Acquaintances

Friends

Source: Keller Fay Groups TalkTrack, July 2010 - June 2011

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Conversation Catalysts Give Twice as

Much
Advice on Average Than Total Public

Research from Keller Fay

Groups TalkTrack
shows that it is possible
to identify category
specialists who are
particularly active
recommenders in a single
category. But there is
quite a lot of overlap
among categories; people
who recommend in one
area are much more likely
to do so in others too.

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Conversation Catalysts Have Nearly Two

and Half Times as Many Brand
Conversations vs. Total Public
Whereas the average Americans has
about 65 conversations per week
about brands, Conversation
Catalysts have nearly 2.5 times as
many: 150 conversations per week.
This is a group of people who, if they
can be engaged and activated on a
brands behalf, can certainly drive the
conversations that drive results.

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Advertising and WOM

WOM Stats

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Advertising Plays a Bigger Role Than People

Think (Or Say)

Source: Keller Fay Group for NBC Universal, March 2011

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One-Quarter of Brand WOM

References Ads
Ads are talked about
most frequently in
conversations about
entertainment and
movies, followed by
telecom, beauty,
technology, and
automotive.
The right ad at the right
time with the right
message can spark
word of mouth,
regardless of category.

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TV Ads are the Most Prevalent

Type of Advertising Referenced
On a collective basis,
other forms of
advertising (the
Internet, newspapers,
magazines, radio, and
outdoor) are about on
par with TV. So all
media should be
considered eligible for
driving word of mouth;
the key for marketers
is to find the right type
of message that will
reach the right type of
consumer, at the right
time, via the right
channel.

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The Internet and WOM

WOM Stats

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Internet is Most Referenced in WOM About Product

& Service Categories, While TV is #1 for Media &
Entertainment WOM

Each media offers

different
advantages when it
comes to sparking
or supporting
conversation, and
these are also
important
considerations for
marketers and
media planners.

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The Internet is a Powerful Reference Source for

Conversation

Across all
categories, only
2.6% of all
conversations
involve a
reference to
social media,
including blogs
and social
networking sites.

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Brands and WOM

WOM Stats

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The More a Brand Advertises,

the More Likely it Will be Talked About

Successful marketing isnt

just about cuing more
conversations; its also
about driving strongly
positive conversations that
lead to recommendations
and purchases. The best
marketers, Keller Fay Group
has found, use a variety of
messaging techniques that
lead to sharing and
recommending.

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Audiences With the Most Weekly

Brand-Related WOM Conversations
Advertisers can take
better advantage of
these media by using
them as a way to
introduce new news
that they want to
spread, by making ads
in online publishing
environments easy to
share with others, and
by using messages
that people will feel
compelled to share
with others.

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Brand WOM in Stores is More Likely to

Lead to Purchase Intent

5% of all brand
conversations
actually occurs
inside a store.
Though not a very
large percentage,
this is a very large
volume, as
consumers are
exposed to in-store
conversations some
750 million times
per week.

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People Talked About Different Brands in

All WOM vs. Social Media WOM
Looking across the
ten most social
brands, the average
ranking when it
comes to all word of
mouth is 82. The
biggest disconnect is
Android, which is the
fourth most social
brand online but
drops to 400 on the
list of most talkedabout brands offline
and online.

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Summary Tactics
WOM Stats

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Consider WOM in all stages of

planning
Consumers are social, and the goal of all marketing
is to activate our true, social nature
Start with your story make it compelling and talkworthy
Tap the right talkers put your media in front of the people who will most
likely talk about you. We call them Conversation Catalysts
Choose your channels focus on the media outlets that will be most
effective 1) telling your story and 2) targeting your Conversation Catalysts

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