Thanks to the cold Finnish winter, I’d prefer to stay home this Sunday evening. And finally manage to sit down and put these thoughts into words. I’ve been researching examples of consumer engagement programs. And trust me, there’re plenty out there. Some are hits, while others are flops. Question is what makes or breaks engagement programs?
I don’t think I have all the answers to it, but at least I think I have identified a critical factor – the relevant hooks. Brands ask consumers for their participation in exchange for a reward. Rewards are what motivate people to participate. I shall call these rewards – the hooks. But not just any hooks would do it. We need to offer the relevant ones.
Types of hooks:
The prestige – rewards that fuel the participants’ social influencing power within their communities. And it increases their social currency, and propels them to higher level in the social/influencing hierarchy. They are rewards that money cannot buy. They are exclusive and hard to come by. E.g. recognition in forms of awards, visibility and exposure.
The content – rewards that provide exclusive, interesting, useful, and relevant content. Consumers participate, either through consumption or active participation such as retweeting, sharing and commenting, to enhance their experience. E.g. articles and videos of subject of interest
The fun – rewards that provide entertainment. E.g viral videos, games, interactive banners
The prize – a monetary reward or reward with a tangible value. E.g. discount, loyalty program
Note that the same hook can fall under different categories depending upon to whom you are targeting them.
To whom and which type of hooks to offer?
We need to keep in mind the communication target audience when designing rewards. I will use the below engagement model to explain to whom and which type of hooks to offer. And I will use the Nike Write Your Future – The Chance engagement program as an example.
Final words
The point I’m trying to make here is when design engagement program, one needs to understand:
· Who is your communication audience?
· What is your word of mouth model? Whether you would leverage on the influencers to spread the message or go directly to the community or the mass.
For different audience at different level of the engagement hierarchy, you would need to employ a different hook to get them motivated to participate. If you look closer, you can find the same model everywhere. Be it American Idol, Project Runway, Nike’s The Chance or Nokia’s PUSH Burton.
