Interesting times …. open the morning papers, get depressed, carry on as normal - think that’s what most of us are doing. Are we right? Should we act? The possibilities seem limited - manage costs, innovate faster, pull communications spends?

There is another option however!

What happens in a recession … consumer confidence falls. Consumers become even more cynical of paid for marketing messages. Simply, they absolutely want to make sure they are making the right choice, so they turn to their most trusted advisors - their friends, family, journalists, experts or other advocates who they trust to give them unbiased advice.

So here is the opportunity. Our Advocacy research across Europe showed last year that across the 60 or so brands measured, over a third of all purchase decisions were primarily influenced by personal recommendation (word of mouth). Yet most of these brands only spent a fraction of their marketing budgets on WOM generating activities …. what a waste.

Advocacy is clearly going to grow rapidly in influence in the coming months and years, so get ahead of the recession, review where you are spending your budgets, test new approaches ……but most of all get going!

Advocacy has always been critical to selling books ….getting a few reviews to print on the back of your book is part of the publishing process. It was good to see this weekend that Waterstone’s (a large British bookseller) was using this knowledge, with a couple of interesting displays.

The first was a “Recommended books” display. Each book on display had a handwritten note underneath and were broadly organised into three sections - books recommended by the staff (”I love action novels and this was one of the most thrilling I have read in recent months”. Ann), books recommended in the media this week and finally “books that everybody is talking about”. Great stuff … but in my view just the start of what is possible. I’ve long thought that it will only be a matter of time before the big supermarkets install some form of consumer generated star system on their shelves … helping other shoppers make their choices.

The second display was titled “what’s your story”. Here Waterstone’s had got well known authors to write a short story on the back of a postcard … all of which had been reproduced in a book. The interesting element was that they had also run a competition for customers to do the same … all to be produced in the same book and displayed in store. A great example of engaging your customers, creating advocates and using them to spread the word.

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Probably the best viral to date …..

Sitting eating a Kangaroo Burger at a lovely gastro pub called Elstead Mill on Saturday I started thinking about the tricks Pubs get up to, to create word of mouth and build custom. Most pubs lay on music or put on a weekly quiz, but a few really build character into what they do. I remember a village pub near Norwich that adopted a lamb each year. The thing used to wonder around the pub as you ate your Sunday lunch, to crys of aah and then a shout of Oh as it had a pee next to somebody’s table. The pub was always full! 

Which takes me back to my Kangaroo burger … lovely strong flavour, not too tough…well worth telling a few friends about!

Yesterday I was asked whether Advocacy is becoming a more important influence on brand choice. Here are a few numbers, presented at the Marketing Week trends conference, that help to answer the question. Research from the Henley Centre … “Do you choose products or services because of recommendation” .. 1999 (61%), 2004 (75%), 2007 (77%). An analysis by Research International … consumers who have a brand recommended by friends or family are twice as likely to try that brand than those who haven’t. Finally, research presented by TNS showed that consumer cynicism in new product concepts has grown consistently in recent years…fuelling this need to turn to the ones you trust.

Made a presentation today on advocacy at a Marketing Week Trends summit in London. Listening to the speakers throughout the day and the discussion around the trends affecting consumer brands such as media fragmentation, lost consumer trust, loss of control …it reinforced my belief that the one thing brand owners do need to do immediately, is to put their consumers in the driving seat and get them to help steer a course through these challenging times.

Let me make a prediction. In two or three years time every major brand will be taking customers inside their business - creating on-line idea forums, Consumer Boards of Directors, Consumer AGM’s, Blogger Committees etc. Getting consumers onside, asking for their help, getting them to canvas opinion amongst their peers…. works. It stimulates conversations, provides transparency, generates advocacy and provides insights and ideas that you simply don’t get through traditional research methodologies. It’s also been validated by a number of academic studies.

Brands are entering new and unchartered territories …. they need to take action today to engage their greatest asset, their customers and start a new journey together.

Continuing the football theme, Puma have a great promotion running at the moment. Sign up on their website and when your Euro2008 team score, you will automatically be called on your mobile and connected to 10 of your friends/fellow supporters to celebrate. Brilliant (and simple).

Nike are masters of leveraging passions to create advocates. You don’t have to be a Liverpool fan to appreciate their latest ad! The best of the Euro2008 crop.

BP has just signed up Quentin Wilson (the motoring journalist) as Brand Ambassador for it’s Castrol range. His role is to lead the new “right oil for your car” campaign for the brand. The campaign is interesting in it’s own right. The Castrol ads used to be as fun to watch as paint drying …remember the drip! It’s a sign of the times that BP are now recognising the importance of engaging their audiences through this educational campaign.

Another brand that has signed up an ambassador recently is Gordons Gin. Is it me or does Gordon Ramsey lack a little bit of credibility in this role? He talks in the ads about how he chooses his Gin far more carefully than his words and how he always insists on the very best ingredients … but to me this all sounds rather like ad speak rather than the words of the real man. Interesting that Bombay Sapphire are also advertising at the moment. They aren’t using an ambassador, but continue to focus on their “intriguing story” - their unique distillation process which gently combines the aromatic flavours of ten exotic botanicals. It’s a lovely authentic story, reinforced through their packaging (etched botanicals) and communication programmes and it works. In my recent research, Bombay Sapphire came out as the most recommended spirit brand across Europe.

So what’s the conclusion. Well brand ambassdor programmes clearly work..but authentic and engaging brand stories work even better!