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3.6.2010 Why Effective Word-Of-Mouth Disrupts Schemas

There is a lot of talk today about word-of-mouth, social media and all the technologies that surround them. But have you ever wondered why consumers talk? It turns out that understanding why consumers choose to communicate is rooted in the cognitive psychological sciences. Before you nod off, read on, because this just might make you think differently about your marketing.

The brain is designed not to think.

Did that line disrupt your thought process? It happens to be true. Our brains are designed to try to remain in a static state, to reserve their processing power for true emergencies or survival. A mechanism the brain uses to remain in this static state is the use of schemas, mental models that we use to make the world work. They enable us to assume things and use the model to fill in the missing details.

You have many schemas operating at one time. Here is one that you likely used today: When you got in your car, you had a schema that you would drive on the right-hand side of the road, and the person coming at you would drive on his or her right-hand side. You don't think about it. Your brain simply makes the assumption that this is how the world works.

Have you ever been to the U.K.? Remember the first time you saw someone driving on the "wrong" side? Your schema was significantly disrupted (even if you knew about the rules of the road in advance). And guess what you did? You talked about it.

Core of Word-Of-Mouth

Disrupting a schema turns out to be at the core of all word-of-mouth. The brain cannot live in a state of disequilibrium. One way it gets back to its static state is by talking about the disruption. Significant disruption causes sustained talk.  As marketers, we are trained to listen to the consumer. Use these same skills to watch people, and you can observe this phenomenon at work.

So how does this apply to marketing? Word-of-mouth on brands uses these same cognitive principles. Consumers talk about brands when we disrupt a schema. They talk when we give them a piece of surprise that does not fit inside their mental model.

This is not about buzz marketing. In buzz marketing, the disruption is superficial and often not tied directly to the product. In cognitive terms, it is interrupting a schema, just not one that is associated with the brand or category. This is most often seen in the funny commercial or the viral video (humor by definition is a piece of disruption) whose brand you cannot remember.

The Foundational Truth

Effective word-of-mouth disrupts schemas that are tied to the core of your category and brand. We call this the foundational truth. Disruption can never stray too far from the foundational truth or the consumer rejects it. A classic example was the attempt to reposition Las Vegas as a "family friendly place." This change was wildly disruptive but strayed too far from the core schema of Las Vegas as an adult playground. It was rejected in the consumers' mind. Effective word-of-mouth that drives consumer advocacy disrupts mildly, not wildly, from the consumers' foundational truth.

Note how the word-of-mouth message is different from the traditional advertising message but consistent with the brand purpose.

Bringing the world of cognitive science into your marketing can pay huge dividends. Before you become enamored with the latest technology, stop and ask yourself, "What are the core schemas at play and how are we disrupting them?" Understanding why a consumer wants to talk about your brand is one of the breakthrough areas of marketing.

B.L. 3.6.2010

Source: Steve Knox, Tremor (P&G)