Conversational Capital: How to Create Stuff People Love to Talk About [Hardcover]

Bertrand Cesvet (Author), Tony Babinski (Contributor), Eric Alper (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0137145500 | ISBN-13: 978-0137145508 | Edition: 1

“In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell presents an important idea without any ‘how to.’ Now Bertrand Cesvet provides the ‘how to’ you need to create ‘Tipping Points’ for your business and success. This book is a compelling presentation of a powerful idea. This is how the new world will do business. Highly recommended if you care about your future.”

Stewart Emery, coauthor of international best-seller Success Built to Last

 

“Ultimately, magic is unexplainable. Still, Conversational Capital provides the most insightful analysis of what makes our shows ring in the heart of fans.”

Guy Laliberte, founder, Cirque du Soleil

 

“Like all great ideas, Conversational Capital is at its core simple: word-of-mouth momentum can be created, harnessed, and used to build consumer passion for a brand better and more cost-effectively than almost any other marketing medium.”

Rupert Duchesne,CEO of Aeroplan

 

“Marketing is an art that Conversational Capital turns smartly into science. This book provides the complete prescription for getting consumers excited about your ideas.”

Jim Champy, coauthor, Reenginering the Corporation, and author, Outsmart!

 

Embed into Your Products and Experiences the Ingredients that Drive Advocacy:

• Create products and services that consumers find truly significant
• Intensify consumption experiences to transform your brands into market leaders
• Don’t settle for serendipity: manage and control the word-of-mouth around your brand by manipulating eight powerful experience amplifiers

For all the books that speak of the value of consumer advocacy, few indicate how to create it to begin with. Armed with a compelling set of examples from their own work in fostering leading brands, the authors reveal the triggers of word-of-mouth and a process to embedding them in your own products, helping you create stuff people love to talk about. From Bertrand Cesvet, chairman of Sid Lee, a leading purveyor of experiential design and communications services that leverages commercial creativity for breakthrough brands including Cirque du Soleil, adidas, and Red Bull.

 

1% of the proceeds from the royalties earned by the authors will be donated to the One Drop Foundation. The mission of the One Drop^TM Foundation is to fight poverty around the world by giving everyone access to safe water.

 

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Exclusive Conversation on Conversational Capital with Author Bertrand Cesvet

What is the most common mistake made by individuals seeking to harness the power of word-of-mouth marketing?
All too many individuals seeking to harness the power of word-of-mouth marketing focus on the vehicles through which word-of-mouth is perpetuated, rather than the triggers of word-of-mouth to begin with.

The number of times we've heard marketers yearn for a presence on social media or a user-generated content campaign is nauseating. Our response is pretty universal ~ it doesn't matter that you give your consumers a place to talk if they don't have anything good to talk about.

Thus, our central message is to focus not on the tools, but on the substance of conversations. The only way to create resonant and sustained word-of-mouth is to focus on the inherent value of the experience itself.

I found it interesting that Conversational Capital should not be termed "buzz." Why is this so important?
Buzz is something created around an experience rather than related to the experience itself. Let's say I put a pedometer in a box of Fruit Loops cereal and proceed to call it "healthy" because the pedometer encourages one to exercise. I've done nothing to change the experience or the nutritional value of the cereal itself - only created a stunt to project a temporal aura of "health."

Do smaller companies have an advantage in building Conversational Capital?
Being small isn't necessary, but it helps. Why? Because engineering and implementing Conversational Capital requires three things: 1) the ability to be nimble, 2) the capacity to be entrepreneurial (and thus embrace some degree of risk-taking) AND 3) the foresight to take a long-term view of the development of your brand, unconstrained by investors clambering for short-term profit-taking.

That being said, many large organizations have successfully preserved these three competences. Look at an organization like Southwest Airlines - the largest domestic air carrier in the US. The firm has managed to develop Conversational Capital principally because its empowered culture is by its very nature, entrepreneurial.

So in essence, the ability to act small is what matters more than being small.

How wary should marketers be with the double-edged sword of myth?
Myth must be rooted in some fundamental truth about the brand, the brand experience, or the brand's founding. Otherwise myth lives in the realm of lies, rather than as a story that's told and retold. Marketers can temper their wariness by ensuring that the myth(s) around their brand are continuous ~ it is continuity that keeps the cutting edge of that proverbial sword away from you.

What industries do you feel are under-utilizing Conversational Capital?
Industries that view their customers with disdain or an attitude of dismissiveness.

Look at the North American Air Transport sector. Airlines continue to pare service in a continuous quest for cost-cutting, thereby commoditizing themselves rather than developing the ability to build brands and extract premiums.

Look too to the North American Auto Industry. It is in crisis principally because it didn't listen to the talk around its brands. And it didn't build products worthy of conversation.

Many further examples exist, from education, to financial services, to telecom, to department stores. But ultimately, the realization must be apparent that not everyone can be a Conversational Capital king. But each industry should have its star(s).

About the Author

Bertrand Cesvet is chairman and chief strategist of SID LEE, a Commercial Creativity company with offices in Montreal and Amsterdam. He provides creative and strategic leadership on marketing communications and experience design projects for clients such as adidas, Red Bull, Cirque du Soleil, and MGM Mirage. He lives in Montreal with his wife Josee and daughters Gabrielle and Emma.

 

Tony Babinski  is a Montreal-based writer, creative director, and filmmaker. He has worked with SID LEE since 2000 and is the author of Cirque du Soleil :20 Years Under the Sun, the authorized history of Cirque du Soleil. He lives in Montreal with his wife Julie and children Sophie, Max, and Lily.

 

Eric Alper is a strategist for SID LEE. He has kept a blog about Conversational Capital going since 2006. He has also developed and written the Conversational Capital blog.

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: FT Press; 1 edition (August 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0137145500
• ISBN-13: 978-0137145508
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #892,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good observations but not a 'How-to-build a strong brand" December 9, 2008

By L. C Glover VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Overall:
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The book is a high-level description of "Conversational Capital" or what makes a consumer into an active advocate for your brand combined with the description and benefits of lifestyle brands. The key concepts are: Rituals, Initiation, Exclusive product offering (EPO), Over-delivery, Myths, Relevant Sensory Oddity (RSO), Icons, Tribalism, Endorsement and Continuity. Each concept is given examples using well-known brands to help you understand the concept. The designing process is defined at a high-level with some useful tips. However, it does not really have anything revolutionary or even barely evolutionary.

If you have taken more than basic marketing classes, you will see the validity in the concepts but will be wishing for more substance on how to make your brands into the described brands.

Take-aways from the book:
Rituals -- "Rituals are behaviors or rites we engage in to mark certain activities as exalted. When ritual behavior becomes associated with a consumer experience, it is marked out as more resonant" (pg. 68)

Initiation -- "Initiation is a special subset of ritual. When consumers feel they have worked a little harder to acquire special knowledge of or access to a consumer experience, they feel set apart." (pg. 75)

EPO -- "EPO occurs when a consumer experience offers a notable degree of individualization. When you feel something has been designed just for you, or in a distinclty personal way, you can claim an experience as your own, it becomes more salient. EPO sings in high-end experiences, but we've also observed it in simple products such as Cracker Jack or the Kinder Egg." (pg. 83)

Over-delivery -- "Over-delivery is an aspect of EPO. It's what happens when brands make an experience feel special by going much further than they have to in terms of customer satisfaction. Over-delivery occurs when consumer experiences include features that anticipate needs and desires consumers haven't even thought they would want but end up loving. In the end, it can be understood as an attitude; the desire to be the best and keep improving, just for the sake of it." (pg. 89)

Myth -- "Myth might be the most critical engine of Converstational Capital because it embodies a brand story. Essentially, stories set brands apart because they are so important in the identity-forming and affirmation process. We are the sum of our stories and we look to myth to provide them. If your brand is powered by myth, it might be all you need." (pg. 97)

RSO -- "RSO stands for relevant sensory oddity. IT can be observed when a consumer experience surprises and delights a full range of sense. IT recognizes that human beings see, touch, hear, taste, and feel and communicates with them on that level. However, doing so in a manner tha is relevant, and resonates with the consumer experience in a meaningful way, is key." (pg. 105)

Icons -- "Icons are signs and symbols that are rich in evocative power and associations. Almost anything can take on the shorthand power of an icon: places, buildings, people, logos, labels, and more. The key is that these icons have to evoke a compelling brand story." (pg. 113)

Tribalism -- "In essense, Conversational Capital occurs when brand stories become part of the identity formation and affirmation process. Determining which tribe you belong to is a bedrock component of that process. Tribalism takes place when consumer experiences draw the like-minded together in a quest for mutual discovery." (pg. 121)

Endorsement -- "Endorsement is not a matter of well-known people speaking for your consumer experience. Rather, it is a matter of consumers advocating on your behalf in a free and unsolicited manner. This is the most powerful form of marketing there is. However, endorsement comes with a built-in caveat. If you are endorsed, you need to live up to consumer support. If they recommend you to someone who is disappointed, they look bad, too." (pg. 125)

Continuity -- "Conversational Capital demands continuity. Because it is about creating consistent brand stories, it works best when there is no disconnect between how a product is designed, marketed, and perceived. The best brands are the result of a united, cohesive strategy, and they walk the talk." (pg. 131)

Prose:
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The book was clearly written quickly with marginally editting. The book is a fast read where the text is concept light. So, it is good for getting some key marketing vocabulary with supporting real-world high-level examples.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a starting place, not a recipe book November 12, 2009

By Wendi VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

It's a small book (under 200 pages with a glossary and index), and a quick read. As quickly as the book can be read, it's worth taking it in small chunks so you can think through the concepts and give time to considering how you might apply them to your own business.
The book is divided into three parts, defining conversational capital to begin with- what it is, what it isn't, how it works, why it's important. Businesses used as examples here include Cirque Du Soleil, Ikeo, and Schwartz's.
The second section expands on each of the eight engines of Coversational Capital:
Rituals, Initiation, Exclusive product offering (EPO), Over-delivery, Myths, Relevant Sensory Oddity (RSO), Icons, Tribalism, Endorsement and Continuity
The third, and shortest section, is implementation- here they discuss getting started, designing a solution, implementation, and a chapter called `and two more questions.' This is the weakest section of the book, but then, they can't be too specific, as only the people involved in a particular business are really qualified to think through whether or not there is some element of that business that could legitimately be developed into one of those eight engines listed above.
This is because none of those engines work if they are only facades, they have to be genuine. Businesses most successful at creating this impassioned level of customer connection succeed in one or more of those eight engines not just through marketing and hot air, but through honesty, sincerity, and integrity.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your capital. October 11, 2008

By Mike

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This poorly written book presents simple ideas in an incoherent way that attempts to appear novel and smart. After reading this book I was left with the sense the authors feel it is impossible to under estimate the intelligence of their readers/clients. The glossary contains words used in their normal sense but defined in a confused way, for example:

"multidisciplinary--Key to Fostering Conversation Capital is the act of assembling multidisciplinary teams. An effect team is assembled from A-listers who are not homogeneous, who come come from diverse educational, cultural, occupational and socio-economic realms."

The glossary contains similar jumbled definitions for smoked meat(?), insight, conversation, word-of-mouth, standardization,..., the list goes on but i won't.

I suggest reading Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and Influence: Science and Practice in particular the chapters titled "Social Proof", "Liking" and "Scarcity" to understand this topic better.

Their qualification for writing seems to be based around their involvement with Cirque du Soleil. As the saying goes "One Swallow doesn't make a Summer."

This book is self indulgent, bombastic nonsense--don't waste your time or capital.