What People Say
"Ben is a pleasure to work with and had a real impact at NCG. He is someone who is highly creative and forward-thinking. Combined with the ability to develop intimate customer understanding and apply this to innovative developments that deliver real outcomes, Ben will be an asset to any business. I would not hesitate to recommend him."
Tom Newbould, NCG
"Uplifting, inspiring, this was one of the best service development days I have attended in over 20 years in the NHS. The workshop was a fun, creative, inspiring forum for thinking about new ideas."
Northumbria Healthcare Trust
"Ben unlocks business potential with minimal fuss, whilst being truly friendly and without comprimising his professionality."
Emma Ailes, Tinderbox Events
"I was lucky enough to then spend time working closely with Ben developing Twistan. His technical expertise, business acumen and dedication to improvement are what sets Ben apart from others and it was a pleasure to work with him."
Andrew Jarvis, Newcastle College
"Ben is a dynamic and thoughtful leader. I can honestly say that he is one of the most skilled and knowledgeable E-commerce/Digital managers I have come across. Strategically he is forward thinking, with the ability to realise an organisations online vision and potential with the most effective tools. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Ben, and look forward to working with him in the future."
Mark Pattison, Inspired
"Choosing only 3 top attributes for Ben is very difficult. I would state that Ben achieves great results, works well in any team. His ability to communicate expertise is superb. Working well to help us define a brief he then met that brief with results that exceeded expectations."
Nathan Davies, ESF
"I worked with Ben on the development of an online regional skills portal. Ben is extremely knowledgeable but most importantly, he can relate technical solutions to individuals who don't come from a technical background. Highly recommended!"
Tom Moore, Jam Jar Studios
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Three steps to viral marketing that works!
Posted in Communication
Yesterday I read an article on viral marketing in Fast Company Magazine by Chip and Dan Heath (authors of Made to Stick).
Although viral marketing appears to be a voodoo art of luck and magic, it’s not and the Heath brothers use the example of the pervasive “Gang High Beam Initiation” urban legend to demonstrate that getting talked about boils down to 3 simple steps. (If you don’t know the legend, then follow the link and have a read before you continue!)
Firstly, this story is emotional! It gets shared because it evokes an emotional response. The greater the emotional response (negative or positive) the more likely people are to share it. We just love emotive topics. Look at all the gossip mags and celebrity news there is about. It’s emotional so we love it and we talk about it.
Secondly, there’s a social duty side to sharing the story. By sharing the legend you potentially save someone’s life. It’s the same with any viral marketing… “Hey, get this stuff, it’s free!” “Don’t eat in KFC you might get a fried rat instead of fried chicken!” “Listen to Susan Boyle on ‘Britain’s got Talent’, if she can make then you too can live your dreams!”
Thirdly, and this is a key part that most campaigns miss, you need to offer triggers. Create lots of opportunities for people to share your story – visual and audible stimulus that reminds people to talk about you! Every time I pass a KFC I remember the fried rat legend. Every time someone flashes me to put my lights on I’m reminded of the “Gang High Beam Initiation”. Every time you pass a supermarket checkout you’re reminded to talk about Cheryl Coles latest diet. And every where you go these days some body is talking about Twitter, which gets me talking about Twitter.
If you want to get your message out there it needs to have emotion, a public service element and triggers, lots of triggers!
Posted via email from Cogiva