1

When did we
start trusting September 2008

strangers?
29 countries
17,000 internet users

How the internet turned us all into influencers

© Universal McCann 2008

 3

Contents
Introduction
➜ No strangers anymore
Welcome to the new influence
landscape
➜ The rise of social media
➜ Digital friends
➜ Proliferation of influencer channels
The impact
➜ The influence economy
➜ The democratisation of influence
➜ The new super influencers
 5

Methodology
This unique perspective comes from data collected in
the third instalment of Universal McCann’s global digital
research programme “Wave”. The research was completed
among 17,000 active internet users in 29 countries –
making it one of the most wide reaching investigations into
the subject of influence and word of mouth. Respondents
are provided by the world’s leading online panel companies,
all recruited to strict ESOMAR standards.
Every market is representative by age and sex to the
16-54 Active Internet Universe. Quotas and universe sizes
were established from local data sources such as TGI
and Simmons.
To qualify as a member of the Active Internet Universe the
respondent needs to be using the Internet everyday or every
other day. They are the audience that matter to current
and future of marketing communications and represent the
consumer that are driving the new influence landscape.

Australia Mexico
Austria Netherlands
Canada Romania
China Pakistan
Czech Republic Philippines
Denmark Poland
France Russia
Germany South Korea
Greece Spain
Hong Kong Switzerland
Hungary Taiwan
India Turkey
Italy UK
Japan USA

No Strangers Anymore
Long before the concept of marketing existed our sources
of information were limited. What we now tag “Word of
Mouth” was the only source of information outside religion,
the monarchy and the state. People’s lives were localised
and the information that impacted on their main decisions
in life came from friends, family or perhaps the man in the
market. Then came the mass media age: newspapers, radio
and the television set created exposure to influences beyond
the ancient controllers of information.
However this influence was still professional and top down –
the news reader, the columnist and the expert. Mass media
offered little in terms of consumer recommendation; readers’
letters in newspapers and magazines or phone-ins on TV
and radio shows were as far as consumer influence went.
Peer to peer interactions remained localised and face to face.
Then along came the web and a revolution began. In the
early days, bulletin boards, chat rooms and home brew
websites allowed those technically in the know to project their
thoughts and opinions. More recently social media such as
blogs, social networks, photo or video sharing sites and wikis
have opened the door to consumer publishing and hundreds
of millions have embraced it.
7
Today the web is driven by its’ users and peoples’ thoughts
on everything are found across the web, personal blogs, to
reviews on price comparison sites and wish lists on Amazon
are just some examples. It is now incredibly easy to share
opinions and cultivate influence, often without even trying.
The result has been the democratisation of influence to
the masses.
This is a fundamental change in the way we source and
share opinions and today anyone can wield influence far
beyond their immediate social group. In the old days the
conversations we had with our immediate peers generally Graham, UK
stayed inside that network. Today opinions and experiences Agnes, France
are shared worldwide. Never before have we been exposed
to so many opinions and recommendations from so many
people - most of whom are complete strangers, without the
aura of expertise or celebrity recognition. Carlos, Brazil
The result is an influence economy that is forcing everyone
in the public realm including the owners of products and
brands to become more transparent, open, conversational
and honest. They have to rethink the way that influence is
distributed and the role of marketing communications in an
information landscape dictated by consumers.
Dmitri, Russia
 9

Welcome to the new

No Strangers Anymore cont. influence landscape
This study demonstrates through a unique global research technology. We all share influence today whether we actively
project in 29 countries that things have changed forever. In the mean to or not.
new influencer landscape there are five fundamental changes
that every brand and marketer will have to acknowledge. New super influencers rise above the mass: Not all

Anyone can influence anyone: We now trust strangers as

much as our closest friends.
consumer influencers are equal. A new breed of “super
influencers” has been created by the tools of the social
media revolution.
3 key trends
Friendship is no longer local or face to face: It’s becoming
distant and virtualised.
The new influence ecosystem has fundamentally changed
how we buy products and services: There is a new level
➜ The rise of social media
➜ Digital friends
of transparency and truth that all public institutions,
Everybody is an influencer: The power to influence no companies and brands have to adhere to.
longer belongs to the experts or “those in the know”. The
idea that we live in a simplistic world where there is a small
group of “influencers” who dictate the agenda to everyone Darren, UK ➜ Proliferation of influencer channels
else is no longer true thanks to social media and digital
Scott, USA
Michael, Germany
Yvonne, Switzerland
Olga, Greece

Teresa, Canada

Brendan, Hungary
 11

The rise of social media

From its inception the internet has allowed consumers to
create content in a manner that was never possible in the
age of mass media where TV, radio and press belonged
to the professionals. The web reduced the barriers to
production and opened the channels of distribution to
anyone with a desire to create content or share their
thoughts and opinions.
In the early days it required technical knowledge, experience
and a substantial investment in computing hence the impact
was limited to the geek community. However, in the last
few years these barriers have disappeared and consumer
content and opinion has exploded due to the emergence of
mass market social media platforms like YouTube, Blogger
and MySpace.
These developments combined with the ever falling costs of
computing and broadband have enabled a global revolution
in consumers publishing their content and thinking.
This explosion of social media has created hundreds of
millions of content creators as demonstrated by data from
our Global Social Media Tracker in Figure 1. This shows
massive growth in a very short period of time and users
have gradually moved from passive consumers to active
creators. Writing blogs has risen from 28% to 44%, creating
a social network page has grown from 27.3% to 57.5%
and uploading a video clip from 10% to 42%. The result
is billions of thoughts and opinions online available
for anyone to read which is driving an influence revolution.

Social Media adoption over time (Waves 1 – 3)

90% Read blogs/weblogs
80% Start my own blog/weblog
Leave a comment on a blog site
70%
Upload my photos to a photo sharing site
60% Upload a video clip to a video sharing site

% Ever done
50% Watch video clips online
Create a profile on a social network
40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Wave 1 Sep 06 Wave 2 Jun 07 Wave 3 Mar 08
Figure 1: “Social Media adoption over time (Waves 1 – 3)” Global Average
Source: Universal McCann Social Media Tracker – Power to the People
 13

The rise of social media cont.

The scale of this revolution is demonstrated by Figures 2 They are also sharing content; 55% are sharing photos, 22%
and 3, which show the extent of content that social network are uploading videos and 23% are uploading applications,
users and bloggers are uploading. It is clear that social all of which project opinions and endorse brands if included.
media has become a platform for directly sharing opinion
and thoughts; 34% of social network users are sharing
opinions on music, 31% are writing a blog inside their profile
and almost 10% have promoted a band. What I do with my social network profile

Monica, Spain

Install
applications
Favourite / 23.3%
Glen, UK currently
listened to music
33.6% Promote
a band
Hugh, Canada 9.8%

Upload photos
Write a blog 55.1% Upload
30.8% videos
21.9%

% added to your social network page

Figure 2: “What do you do with your social network profile?”

Social Network Users, Global Average. Source: Universal McCann
Social Media Tracker – Power to the People
 15

The rise of social media cont.

Bloggers are also very active in terms of sharing opinions

and recommendations; 32% have shared recommended
websites, 29% their favourite music and 28% opinions on
products and brands. This is a massive volume of opinion
that is fuelling the new influence landscape.

What do I post
on my blog?

Upload Opinions on Have you seen the new

Universal McCann website?
music products Check it out
and brands Recommended www.universalmccann.com
20% websites
28%
32%

Stories from
other blogs
Videos 23%
24%
Favourite/
currently listened Photos
to music 50%
29%
Widgets
14%

% posted to your blog

Spyros – Greece
Federico – Panama

Figure 3: “When writing a blog, which of the following do you post?”

Blog writers only, Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Social Media
Tracker – Power to the People
 17

Digital friends How I use social networks

Since its inception as a closed academic and military
network the web has had a major impact on the way its
users communicate and the nature of the social contacts
they maintain. In 2008, 1.5bn people are online and the
impact of the internet has spread into the way we interact
and communicate as a society.
Figure 4 shows the penetration of different communications
platforms; email is universally used and instant messenger
is adopted by more than 80% of users world-wide. This has
moved billions of personal interactions into the virtual and
written word, where it is much easier to spread influence
and communication is much more frequent and casual.
What is interesting is the extent to which social media
is beginning to rival its more established equivalents,
with nearly 58% having joined a social network. But
more importantly, as Figure 5 shows, these users are
communicating in new ways, with 66% using them to stay
in contact with existing friends, 42% using them to meet
new people and 18% for dating.
Stay in contact
It is extending our definition of friendship and with existing
is a fundamental shift towards a virtual friends
58%
communications platform.
Dating
18.3%

How I communicate online

Email
99% Instant messenger
81.6%

VOIP
51.3% Meet new
friends
42%
Social network
58%

Figure 4: “Thinking about the Internet, which of the following have Figure 5: “What do you do with your social networking profile?”,
you done?”, Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Social Media Global Average. Source: Universal McCann Social Media Tracker –
Tracker – Power to the People Power to the People
 19

Digital friends cont.

The rise of social platforms has created important new our friend networks to include new people and old friends thanks to a multitude of factors including low cost of entry, in the UK and 24% in the US. These are differences that
channels for peer to peer interaction. Figure 6 and Figure we would have previously lost contact with. less competition from traditional media, a poor legacy of reflect broader patterns of adoption of social media and
7 show the global response to the statements, “blogging fixed line communications and a younger and relatively cultural differences in role of the web in life.
is important to socialise with friends” and “I use social The global impact is not geographically uniform and there more affluent profile. This has driven enthusiasm for these
networks to meet new people”, which indicate the social are large distinctions by country, with fast-growing emerging platforms as social channels. The key factor is that the social web is increasingly adopted
impact of both these platforms. Both are now perceived internet markets leading the way, such as the Philippines, as a core social platform by hundreds of millions of users
as important platforms for socialising with friends, pushing Mexico and India. In these countries social platforms There are also large distinctions in developed internet worldwide. This dramatically affects the exposure to channels
more of our interactions into the virtual world and expanding have been enthusiastically embraced among web users, markets, 58% of South Korea web users and 66% in Italy of influence and the nature of the social groups we maintain.
see blogging as a platform for socialising compared to 26%

Blogging is important to socialise with friends Use social networks to meet new people

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Figure 6: Agree with the statement Figure 7: Agree with the statement
“Blogging is important to socialise with friends” “I use social networks to meet new people”
 21

Digital friends cont.

The evolution of the web as a social platform and primary
communication channel has had a dramatic impact on
the scale and nature of our friendship networks. Figure
8 shows the global average number of friends and
personal acquaintances we maintain via different forms of
communication including face to face, digital and letters.
The amazing truth is that the web has massively expanded
the size of our social platforms and virtualised a large
proportion of our daily contact. Today, although we still
maintain an average of 35 friendships face to face, it is
rapidly being equalled by email with an average of 32, social
Interestingly these all rank above SMS or phone calls, which
shows that PC based internet is for expanding networks,
while mobile is for maintaining current ones.
The nature of friendship is changing from voice to text and
written word. This is a significant change in the ability to
influence and share opinions as it’s much easier to do in
text – communication is more frequent and can include
additional information like links, videos and photos.
There are interesting regional differences in the nature of China – Instant Messenger leads the way as a nation of
friend networks as demonstrated by some of the major single children jump on Instant Messenger tools like QQ
internet markets shown in figure 9: to socialise. On average they have 51 friends on Instant
Messenger versus 28 friends face to face – a staggering shift
Brazil – very large friend networks, expanded further online. to the virtual.
Brazilian web users are known as vicarious social network
users thanks to an obsession with Orkut. On average they
maintain 51 friendships via social networks.
Average number of contacts via
different forms of online communications

networks with 30 and Instant Messenger with 29. Brazil Social network

51.5
Instant Messenger 48.5
Email 45.3
Face to face 38.2
Graeme, USA My personal blog 26.2
Phone 24.4
Text Message 17
Post/letter 8.6

Average number of contacts via

Average number of connections maintained
different forms of online communications

0

60

Face to face

35
CHINA Instant Messenger

49
Email 32 Phone 33.6
Social network 30 Email 32.2
Instant Messenger 28 Text Message 31.7
Phone 26 Social network 31.3
Text Message 21 Face to face 27.5
My personal blog 13 My personal blog 26.1
Post/letter 9 Post/letter 12.6

Average number of connections maintained Average number of connections maintained

0 60 0 60

Figure 8: “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in Figure 9: “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in
your personal life through the following means?”, Global Average your personal life through the following means?”, key internet markets
 23

Digital friends cont.

India – Email and mobile lead the way as Indians leapfrog Japan – Significantly smaller friend networks reflect the UK – Social networks now equal the number of face-to-face US – Email just leads face-to-face relationships, but SMS yet
fixed line networks, embracing functional communications structure of society, although it one of the most virtualised relationships reflecting the massive growth of Facebook. to catch on.
platforms over social ones. with email and social networks leading face to face, but SMS usage is level with phone calls demonstrating the
Instant Messenger lags. popularity of messaging.

Average number of contacts via Average number of contacts via

different forms of online communications different forms of online communications

INDIA Email

51.6
UK Face to face

30.9
Phone 45.1 Social network 30.5
Social network 42.9 Email 25.2
Face to face 42 Phone 21.1
Text Message 35.5 Text Message 20.8
Instant Messenger 33.2 Instant Messenger 20.1
Post/letter 23.8 My personal blog 9.7
My personal blog 17.9 Post/letter 7.1

Average number of connections maintained Average number of connections maintained

0 60 0 60

JAPAN
Email 8.5
USA
Email 21.1
Text Message 8 Face to face 20
Social network 7.4 Phone 16.9
Phone 7 Social network 16.6
Face to Face 6.5 Instant Messenger 12.4
Post/Letter 6.3 Text Message 8.9
My personal blog 3.8 Post/letter 7.4
Instant Messenger 2.9 My personal blog 7.1

Average number of connections maintained Average number of connections maintained

0 60 0 60
 25

Digital friends cont.

The impact of virtual networks and digitised friends can
be seen on our core day to day interactions with partners,
friends, work colleagues and children. There has been
a significant shift to virtual communication as shown in
Figure 10. This is particularly marked within friend networks
where 79% keep in touch by email, 70% by SMS, 67% by
messenger and 46% by social networks. Interacting with
current work colleagues is led by phone and email, where
interactions tend to be more formal. Also social networks are
beginning to become important as the boundaries between
professional and personal continue to disapear.
The most remarkable trend is the influence of the virtual
connection on our most personal of relationships. Nearly
38% of respondents say they keep in contact with their
partner via SMS, 30% via email and 10% via Instant
Messenger. All very significant compared to the 55% who
stay in touch with a partner face to face. Staying in touch
with children is a very similar pattern, remarkably 16% stay
in touch by text and 13% by email, which again are very
significant numbers considering just 34% have children and
stay in touch face to face.
This is a big shift. Think back 10 years, email was just
emerging as a business tool, IM and social networks were
yet to exist and SMS was nowhere. Today an increasing
amount of interaction is text-based and remote.
The impacts on the way we interact, communicate and
build our networks are substantial and they have a major
effect on the way we interface, receive and transmit
recommendations.

How do I keep in contact with my friends How do I keep in contact with my partner How do I keep in contact How do I keep in contact with my children
with my current work colleagues
Social network
Social network
31.1% 45.7%
7.2% Post/letter Instant Messenger
My personal Social network
79.4% 9.8% 25.7% 15.1% Instant Messenger
9.6%
blog 34.1%
Email
My personal blog 5.8% 43% Face to face
Social network 3.4%
30.1% 8.1% Email
37.9% 15.8%
Email
Instant Messenger
22% 2.2% Text Message
66.9%
Text Message
44.4% My personal blog 3.7%
39.2% My personal blog
Instant Messenger
58% 24.4% Post/letter
Post/letter Phone Phone
82.4% Face to face
13%
Phone 48.8% 29.3%
Phone 54.9% Email
Text Message
Face to face
70.1% 8.1%
Post/letter
Text Message

86.3%
Face to face

% stay in contact
Figure 10: “How do you keep in
contact with the following people”,
Global Average
 27

Proliferation of influencer channels

The continuing rise of social media and digitisation of our
friend networks has opened up a mass of new influence
channels that allow consumers to voice and have their
opinions heard, both amongst existing networks and more
importantly among a wider audience. Consumer contribution
to the web has become the norm.
The result is that all sites are now incorporating social
aspects that encourage consumer input and interaction
and there is now a huge number of ways in which to share
opinions as represented in figure 11. For example all
e-commerce sites now have consumer reviews, comments
and recommendations; Amazon allows users to compile
wish lists of products, Ebay has consumer ratings of sellers
and iTunes has consumer ratings and recommendations.
This creates an environment where sharing opinions has
never been so easy - a very real change in a very short
space of time.
The result is a situation we can call casual influence, it’s now
incredibly easy to influence other consumers be it via voting
buttons or creating favourites lists or even just by purchasing
a product that will later become a recommendation for
another consumer. There are so many tools to do this that
we no longer have to really think actively about influencing.

Consumer influence channels – mass market age versus social media age

Mass Market Age Social Media Age

Talk face to face Talk face to face Personal blog Comments on blogs

Phone call Phone call Social network page Comments on websites

Talk to a shop worker
Talk to a shop worker
Consult a professional
Consult a professional
Readers letters
Readers letters
Phone in; TV / Radio
Phone in; TV / Radio
SMS
Email
Instant Messenger
Widgets Viral emails
Video sharing site Auction websites
Photo sharing site Wish lists
Chat rooms Ratings on retail sites
Message boards Reviews on retail sites
Social Bookmarking Price comparison sites
Chat room Social shopping sites

Figure 11: “Consumer influence channels – mass market age

versus social media age”, Global Average
 29

Proliferation of influencer channels cont.

The extent of adoption of the new influence channels can
be seen in figure 12, which shows the monthly reach. Over
44% of users have shared an opinion about a product or
service by Instant Messenger with a friend in the last month
and 42% by email. These two show that the web is an
extension of the existing relationships.
Hi Alistair,
I’ve found this amazing golf hotel.
I’ll send you details later.
Significantly social channels are also extremely popular and
have very similar levels of penetration. More than 30% of
people have commented on a product or service review on a
blog, just above the 29% that have recommended a product
or brand on a blog in the past month. Amazingly, both now
rank above writing a review on an e-commerce site, a much
more accessible and mainstream social channel.

How I share opinions of products, brands and services

Tell someone about a product/service by Instant Messenger 44.5%

Tell someone about a product/service by email 42.4%
Comment on a product/service review on a blog/weblog 30.4%
Recommend a product/service on a blog/weblog 29.4%
Write review of product/service on ecommerce/retail site 28.9%
Comment on product/service review on ecommerce/retail site 28.9%
Post opinion on social network personal profile 27.6%
Write a review of a product/service on yr blog/weblog 27.5%
Create product wish/favs list on ecommerce/retail site 27.4%
Post a video clip featuring a product/service 25.1%

Monthly Average
0 50

Figure 12: “Thinking about how you can share an opinion on a product, brand
or service via the Internet. On average how often do you do the following?”
Global Monthly Average
 31

Proliferation of influencer channels cont.

There are clear motivations for online users to share their Interestingly for the mass market, a brand being fashionable What motivated me to share my opinion?
opinions. When asked to rate different factors on a scale of 5 or discovering an unknown brand is not a major driver to
for importance a definitive pattern emerges among the mass recommend and users would much rather comment and
market as Figure 13 shows. The most important factors pass judgement on something that is already known and
Good personal experience 4.1
being a good experience, a friend having a good experience familiar. This is because we are more familiar with these
and a quality product – demonstrating the importance in the products and we feel safer in recommending it. This shows Someone you trust having a good personal experience 3.7
new influence landscape of investing in a quality product. that the majority of us do not want to dictate trends, but The brand is high quality 3.7
These both rank above negative experience, rebuffing the respond and evaluate what is already established. A friend’s recommendation 3.4
misconception that people just use the web to complain. Bad personal experience 3.3
These motivations indicate two things; firstly companies that A free sample you receive 3.2
All aspects of personal experience and personal invest in quality product will succeed and will get a much Your friends like the product or service 3.2
recommendations are stronger influences than any greater exposure through consumer content than their Someone you trust having a bad personal experience 3.2
traditional paid for communications except sampling. A clear marketing budget allows; secondly it means that companies The product or service is discounted 3.1
demonstration that being active in social media will become with a bad product or trying to cover up bad behaviour will The brand is popular 2.9
increasingly important for brands. suffer in the transparent world of the influencer economy. An advertisement you find interesting & inspiring 2.8
A promotion you see in a store 2.7
A recommendation in the media (TV/newspapers/mags/radio) 2.6
A recommendation you receive in a store 2.5
The brand is fashionable 2.4
The brand is unknown amongst social group 2.1
I’ve found the coolest trainers ever. Seen used by a celebrity/well known figure 1.8
Federico, Panama I’ll show you on Saturday. Spyros, Greece
0 Average Score 1-5 4.5

Figure 13: “The following are a list of reasons and motivations for you to talk about a product, brand or
service. Please can you consider how important they are in motivating you to talk to others? Where 5 =
very motivating and 1 = Not at all motivating.” Global Average

Proliferation of influencer channels
As Figure 14 shows, these new channels have become
an essential part of our repertoire for sourcing information
on products and brands. When asked which ones were
consulted for information on products and brands in
an average month, all remarkably had a penetration of
more than 40%, with all social channels competing
extremely well.
Search is number one, but an email recommendation
is virtually the same with 80% monthly reach. Instant
Messenger conversation with a friend has the same
penetration as visiting a branded website. Both of which
demonstrate the increasing reach of digitised direct
communication channels as a form of influence.
What’s the best mobile network
you know of?!
cont.
The other validation for the impact of social channels
is the 55% of the active Internet universe claiming to
have sought product and brand information on personal
recommendations on social networks and 51% on personal
blogs in an average month. This compares with 55%
reading reviews on a news website for product and brand
information in the last month and the same number reading
reviews on price comparison sites.
It’s clear that social and consumer-generated channels,
regardless of environment are consumed at the same level
as professional content - a big development in the growth of
the new influencer landscape.
Hayley, London
33
How I source opinions on products, brands and services
Search for a specific product/service on a search engine 82.1%
Read an email from a friend/colleague 80.2%
Visit official company/brand website 69.6%
Instant Messenger conversation with a friend/colleague 69.2%
Bookmark products & services interested in 63.3%
Visit an Internet auction site 58.1%
Read comments on a personal profile on a sn e.g Facebook.com 55.1%
Read official reviews on retail/price comparison websites 55%
Read reviews written on news websites e.g bbc.co.uk 55%
Read a personal blog/weblog by someone you know 51.4%
Read reviews by consumers on retail sites e.g Amazon.com 49.9%
Visit online Chat rooms/message boards 47.8%
Read a blog/weblog by someone you do not know 46.6%
Read peoples wish/fave lists on retail websites 43.1%
Read a blog/weblogs managed by a brand/private company 42.3%
0 % Monthly Reach 90
Figure 14: “Thinking about the process of looking for opinions on a product, brand
or services online. On average how often do you do the following when looking for
information on products, brands and services?”, Global Average
 35

Proliferation of influencer channels cont.

The common perception is that today’s society is more brands and services, proving that online strangers simply • We trust strangers online almost as much as face to face • Blogs are becoming a trusted form of opinion, blogs from
dangerous and less community orientated than it has ever aren’t perceived as a threat, quite the contrary. Today we recommendation people you know rank at number 7 and those by from
been. If you read the more hysterical newspapers, you trust the opinions of strangers from all round the world professionals or micropublishers, number 15. Blogs are
could be forgiven for thinking that every stranger is going almost as much as the people we know. • We would much rather trust a stranger than a celebrity, by almost as trusted as their written word counterparts,
to kill you and steal your credit card. But as this research a long way magazines and newspapers
demonstrates, this is simply untrue, at least in the world of • The top four trusted forms of recommendation are all
the web. Figure 15 shows the extent to which global web direct conversation – significantly two of these are now on • We trust a stranger over any paid-for communications or • Not everything online is trusted: emails from companies
users trust different sources of information on products, internet channels: email and Instant Messenger advertising are only marginally more trusted than celebrities

• We trust a stranger more in a regulated environment like

reviews in a retail site such as Amazon or an auction site
like eBay
The sources of information I trust

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10 Please can you rate them in terms
of how trust worthy the information
High trust

provided typically is? Where 10 =

Very trustworthy and 1 = Not at all
trustworthy”, Global Average
low trust

0
 37

Proliferation of influencer channels cont.

16 17 1
It might be assumed that age will be a big factor in that the difference in trust by age is marginal particularly Blogs/Weblogs-blog written

determining levels of trust of strangers. The assumption when that opinion is seen inside another environment such Trust by gender by people you do not know

would be that the younger you are and the more familiar
you are with social platforms, the more likely you are to
trust consumer opinion online. As this research shows, it is
simply not true – age is not a significant factor. Looking at
6 6
as an e-commerce store.
5 5
Consumers reviews on retail Peoples wish/fav lists on retail
4 sites e.g amazon.com 4 websites e.g amazon.com
Gender (Figure 17) is even less of a factor, with identical
3 3
levels of trust. Interestingly the only demographic that

chart
2 2
the channels of information that consumers can project their influences in a major way is the final level of education; the 1 1
opinions through by age group in Figure 18, it is clear more educated the more you trust the opinions of strangers

17
0 0

18
(Figure 16), particularly on blogs.
Blogs/Weblogs- personal blog Comments/viewpoints on social
written by people you know network sites e.g facebook.com

Trust by final education level

16 17
Blogs/Weblogs-blog written
by people you do not know

6 6 User reviews on an online Blogs/Weblogs- professional

5 5 auction site (e.g ebay.com) blog e.g engadget.com
Male
Consumers reviews on retail Peoples wish/fav lists on retail
4 4 Female

3
sites e.g amazon.com
3
websites e.g amazon.com
Trust by age Blogs/Weblogs-blog written
Figure 17: Trust by gender, Global Average

chart
by people you do not know
2 2

1 1 6 6
0 0 5 5
Consumers reviews on retail Peoples wish/fav lists on retail

Blogs/Weblogs- personal blog Comments/viewpoints on social

Venus, Philippines sites e.g amazon.com 4 websites e.g amazon.com 4

3 3
written by people you know network sites e.g facebook.com
2 2

1 1

0 0

User reviews on an online
auction site (e.g ebay.com)
Comments/viewpoints on social
Blogs/Weblogs- personal blog
Blogs/Weblogs- professional network sites e.g facebook.com
written by people you know
blog e.g engadget.com

Post Graduate
University
16-24
College
25-34
Secondary
User reviews on an online Blogs/Weblogs- professional 35-44
Primary School
auction site (e.g ebay.com) blog e.g engadget.com 45-54

Figure 16: Trust by final education level, Global Average Figure 18: Trust by age, Global Average
 39

Proliferation of influencer channels cont.

How much you trust strangers online is more likely to be

determined by nationality and the resulting cultural, social
and technological differences as demonstrated in
Figure 19 – the levels of trust for social recommendations
in some key developed and emerging markets and the
differences are very clear.
Levels of trust are significantly higher in South Korea, where
massive government investment has created the most
connected and broadband proficient country in the world,
leading to the highest levels of social media and content
generation of any of the developed markets. The result is an
ecosystem of influence, where the opinions of strangers are
extremely well trusted.
Trust is next highest in China and Brazil where uptake of
social media is also extremely high. Trust here is significantly
higher than in the US, UK or Japan. There are also cultural
factors at play: in China the collective is still important
despite the in-roads of capitalism while in Brazil culture is
more shared and open.
Trust by country
19
Blogs/Weblogs-blog written
by people you do not know
Japan, despite very high levels of technology, shows that
culture and social factors are also important as levels of 7
trust are much lower than South Korea. Friend networks in
6
Japan tend to be much smaller and there are stricter rules
Consumers reviews on retail
of conduct about interacting with people not familiar to you. 5 Peoples wish/fav lists on retail
sites e.g amazon.com
websites e.g amazon.com
4
The UK and the US have almost identical levels of trust and
both are significantly lower than the average particularly 3
in the unregulated environments of blogs and social
2
networks. This reflects lower levels of participation in
content generation and a culture where strangers have been 1
increasingly depicted in the mass media as a threat. 0

Blogs/Weblogs- personal blog Comments/viewpoints on social

written by people you know network sites e.g facebook.com

Matsui, Japan
What’s the best digital camera at Henry, Australia Brazil
the moment? How much can you China
get it for in Japan? Japan
South Korea
Blogs/Weblogs- professional UK
User reviews on an online
auction site (e.g ebay.com) blog e.g engadget.com US

Figure 19: Trust by country, Global Average

 41

The new influencer landscape:

the summary
The rise of social media Proliferation of influence channels
• Has turned hundreds of millions of us into content • The continual rise of social media and the growth of
creators and placed billions of opinions online mechanisms for user input have created an incredible
wealth of outlets to share opinions and thoughts
• The world’s collective thinking is now online and
published, a first in history • There is a new form of casual influence – It is now
incredibly easy to share opinion, from voting buttons,
• A total revolution in the way consumers share
to wish lists to comments. These are powerful forms
influence and opinion
of influence that do not require much commitment
Digital friends • We now trust a strangers recommendation as much as
our closest friends
• Digital channels have moved more of our social
interactions into the virtual space and into text and the • We trust recommendations in social media channels
written word more than paid-for communications
• The web has expanded our networks to include people we
don’t know and people we used to know and in a pre web
age we would have lost contact with
• Digital channels encourage more frequent interaction and
make it easier to share influence e.g through sending
links, videos or pictures
 43

The new influencer landscape:

the future
Social Shopping
New social shopping and recommendation sites
have emerged, built entirely around the consumer Friendfeed aggregates all your feeds from across social
recommendation. It’s social networking meets shopping, media into one place. Favourite a YouTube video, add a
aiming to connect you with products you would never product to your Amazon wish list or post photos onto Flickr –
find in Wal-Mart. Currently they are biased towards the everything appears in one chronological feed for your friends
US and English language, but expect them to proliferate to see.
across the world:
Recommendation through behaviour
What you buy or do will influence others through the data
www.crowdstorm.com www.kaboodle.com mining of actual behaviour. Expect the sophistication of these
recommendation engines to improve every move you make
online to contribute to recommendations systems, creating a
system where you influence without even trying. Shashi, India
www.stylehive.com www.thisnext.com
Manpreet, China

Netflix: The US DVD rental service has launched a $1m prize

to improve its recommendation algorithm that works out
www.wists.com www.osoyou.com
whether you’d like a film or not.

Recommendation Aggregation Amazon: The global retailer uses collaborative filtering

Services are evolving to transmit your recommendations into algorithms to give you relevant product recommendations
one place, pulling them from across the web. based on real life purchasing. One reason why Amazon has
stayed on top.

Hayley, UK
Participating sites share your purchases and selections into
your Facebook news stream. For example if you buy a movie
ticket on Fandango, watch it appear as news on Facebook.
Highly controversial on launch due to privacy concerns –
watch what you buy your girlfriend as a birthday surprise.

Somyot, Thailand
 45

The impact The influence economy

➜ The influence economy
The social web has enabled every web user to have the The big surprise is the high levels of contribution in sectors that
chance to contribute their opinions on products and services. you would traditionally consider low interest, such as utilities
But this impact is not uniform across all types of information, or financial services. In addition consumers are just as willing

➜ The democratisation of influence
products and services. Figure 20 shows the impact the
social web has had on our ability to share opinions and
to comment on services and products they can’t buy online.
Categories such as alcoholic drinks, groceries and cosmetics
information by category. The most striking observation is that are still heavily reviewed, indicating that the impacts of

➜ The new super influencers the participation rates for reviewing online are extremely high
across all categories.
consumer opinion are being felt regardless of the sector.

The implication of this is that all products are now exposed

The leading categories are those which are highest
participation; films, music, technology and books. Subjects
we all experience, have made a major impact in e-commerce
and all have an opinion on, regardless of expert knowledge.
to higher levels of consumer scrutiny pre-purchase; they
have to be more open, transparent and honest. Bad practice
or poor service will be reported and will enter the purchase
decision process. Brands today are involved in social and
conversational media, whether they like it or not.

What I have recommended online

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Hugh, Canada

Figure 20: “Thinking about the following types of products, brands or services. Can you please indicate
whether you have reviewed them online, either a positive, average or negative opinion”, Global Average
 47

The influence economy cont.

Using films as an example, a clear global pattern emerges
demonstrating the places where the influencer economy
is currently strongest (Figure 21). As films are universally
viewed worldwide, regardless of income, this is a sensible
measure to pull out the extent of involvement in the
influence economy.
The leading markets are predominately Asian; South Korea, Have you ever reviewed a film online?
Hong Kong, Philippines, India, Pakistan and China.
This shows that extremely high participation rates in social
media are spilling over into direct recommendations
on products and brands. The only exception to the Asian
dominance is Brazil, a country that is obsessed with
social networking.

%
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haven’t embraced the consumer influence revolution with 100
the same level of enthusiasm. Factors in this include a more
developed mass of traditional media to provide influence,

% Ever reviewed online

a legacy of passive web usage prior to social media and
the growth of experts on to the web to share their opinions
in a manner more like traditional media. It’s no coincidence
that blogs in Asia have been employed as a social channel,
while in the US and Europe they are more likely to be
a channel to project your opinions to the many, a reason
why thousands of micro-publishers have emerged in the
0
blogging environment.

e This analysis indicates that levels of opinion contribution

ck at th
Hanco are a reflection of overall usage of social media. It is also
I saw last Friday.
a e.
cinem wesom
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W to
ust go in Chinese influenced communities, hierarchical societies
You m
predominate and sharing opinions face to face is not as
accepted as it is in the more individualistic societies of
Europe and North America. The web has acted as an outlet
for these opinions allowing the new influencer landscape to
bypass traditional hierarchies.

Figure 21: “Thinking about the following types of products, brands or services.
Can you please indicate whether you have reviewed them online, either a positive,
average or negative opinion”, Films Category
 49

The influencer economy cont.

When it comes to sourcing information, there are significant Interestingly the products that are low in terms of sourcing
differences by category with larger variations by category information are also low categories for e-commerce, such
than for the sharing information. The result being that some as groceries, beverages, healthcare and cosmetics – all
categories are very high in sharing and low in sourcing and impulse or immediate need products that rarely have a
vice versa. The leading category, ‘holiday and destinations’ significant consideration period. However these are all
is the lead category for sourcing information but very few categories we have reviewed online – showing a disconnect
people actually share their own experiences. in contribution versus sourcing, The Azores are absolutely
The leading products after holidays and destinations are The other interesting observation is the number of people
fantastic! I’ve seen some
home technology, travel and portable technology; not only who have researched ‘big ticket’ items such as cars whales today...
high interest, but products that have been strongly impacted and property is still significant. This is important as it
by e-commerce. Following travel and technology films, demonstrates that consumer influence on the web is also
music and books are the next most popular, all important impacting long-term branding.
in the sharing of information, making them very active
categories in the influence economy. Theresa, Azores

What I have researched online

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it

m
rs

rs

ob
co

na

us

lm
on

av
o
til

ol
Gr

Ga

Bo
Pe

Co

Ca

Co

Po
Fa
Gr

Pr
Al

Tr
Fi

Fi
N

H
H

70
% Researched online

Figure 22: “Which of the following types of products and services have you researched online before choosing to buy?”,
buy?” Global Average
 51

Democratisation of influence
Figure 23 shows the impact of the new influencer landscape Looking at the categories where we are predominately The categories I influence in
– when asked whether we see ourselves as influencers or receivers, it is the categories that are less dictated by
receivers on a number of product categories, we now claim personal choice and more about in-depth knowledge. They Receivers Influencers
to be influencers or receivers across a huge number of are the fields that are traditionally low interest and dictated Always ask Groceries (food)
categories both on and offline. by experts, such as property, finance, cars and cosmetics. Sometimes ask Non alcoholic beverages
However the impact of the new world of influence can Sometimes inform Music
Firstly the extent to which we consider ourselves influencers even be seen here: although they rank last, they are still Often inform Films
is much higher across all categories than would be expected all over 40%; a reflection of a consumer who has access
Books
and is now similar to the extent that we consider ourselves to to unprecedented volumes of knowledge, opinion and fact
Mobile phone service
be receivers – this is a direct result of the ease of access for online. This will no doubt increase over time, eroding the
sharing influence. Secondly there is a correlation between power of the experts and bringing consumer influence into Groceries (non food e.g cleaning products)
the categories that are most popular for sharing information all categories. Home Technology e.g TV’s/PC
online and the ones that we now consider ourselves to be Fashion (clothing/ shoes)
influencers in – music, film, books and technology. These Portable technology e.g MP3 players/ Mobile Phones[Always ask
are the categories most dependent on personal taste. This Holidays/ Destinations
shows how important the web is in shaping the influence Alcoholic drinks
economy.
Home appliances e.g Fridges/ freezers
Travel
Groceries and drinks prove the exception to the rule as
they are products that we are all knowledgeable about Personal Healthcare (e.g medicines contact lenses etc)[Always ask
and consequently have always been rich in our verbal Computer Software
conversations, however they don’t fit into our online Utilities e.g gas electricity etc[Always ask others]
conversations, mainly because they are impulse products Games Consoles/ Gaming
without a long purchase process. Cosmetics
Cars/ Automobiles
Financial products (e.g credit cards/ banking/ insurance)[Always
Property/Real Estate[Often inform others]

-80 0 80

Rolandas, Lithuania
Figure 23: “Thinking about the following type of products, brands and services, which of the following statements apply?
I often inform others on what to buy / I sometimes inform others on what to buy / I sometimes ask others what products
to buy /I would always ask others about what products to buy ”, Global Average
 53

Democratisation of influence cont.

The true picture of the democratisation of influence can be More importantly this contradicts the idea that we live in a The number of categories I influence in
seen in the number of categories that we claim to influence simplistic world where there is a small group of “influencers”
in. Figure 24 shows that we consider ourselves to be who dictate their agenda to everyone else. The truth is
influencers across several categories. The peak of influence everybody influences and receives information across a Number of categories influence/source
around 12-14 categories is much higher than would have huge number of categories and thanks to social media 20+ Source
been expected before the advent of the web. Visually it can this trend has been amplified. The reality today is much
19 Influence
be seen that the pattern of influencers is top heavy, the more complicated.
18
majority influence in 10+ categories, which is much higher
17
than the mid point for sourcing information - we now claim
16
to share more than we receive.
15
14
Urban, Sweden
13
Jennie, UK Mihai, Romania 12
11
10
Arne-Inge, Norway
9
8
7
Michael, Denmark Tara, USA
6
5
4
3
Tadek, Poland
2
1
0

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10

Figure 24: “Thinking about the following type of products, brands and services, which of the following
statements apply? I often inform others on what to buy / I sometimes inform others on what to buy /
I sometimes ask others what products to buy /I would always ask others about what products to buy”,
Riham, Egypt
Global Average cumulative number of categories
 55

The new super influencers

Now we all influence – the real indication of a true influencer
is someone who does it regardless of category, so if we
look at respondents who claim to strongly influence in
15+ categories, we can see the emergence of a super
influencer. This is a new kind of influencer who, thanks
to social media and the tools it provides to create and share
influence emerges above the clutter of mass influence
to spread opinion far and wide.
Figure 25 shows how they are more likely to be male, 25-34 The new super influencers fit the typical profile of early I like taking risks; I spend a lot of time out and about with
and be mid or senior influential office workers. They are also adopters who are likely to try new products, take risks and friends; when buying products my friends ask my opinion.
more likely to be highly educated. share their opinions with friends. The top statements are as
you would expect; first amongst friends to try new products;
Essentially in the knowledge heavy, written world of the
web, intelligence and computer literacy are major factors in
spreading significant influence.
Super influencer attitudes
Index aginst all active internet users
Index against all active internet users 100 110 120 130 140 150 160

50 70 90 110 130 150 170 First amongst friends/family to try new products/services
Super Influencer 190
Male
demographic I like taking risks
Female I spend a lot of time out and about with friends
16 – 24
When buying products, friends often ask my opinion
25 – 34
I pursue a life of challenge, novelty and change
35 – 44
45 – 54 Always looking for new products/services to try

Student I have a keen sense of adventure

Office Junior I often do things on the spur of the moment
Office (Mid Manager)
I want to get to the very top of my career
Office (Senior Manager)
I seize opportunities when they arise
Non Office
I try hard to stay in contact with friends/acquaintances
Housewife
Unemployed I’m an optimist

Other I’m interested in other cultures

Primary School People must take me as they find me
Some Secondary School
I enjoy good quality things
Full Secondary School
Important to keep well informed about things
College
University
Figure 25: Super
Post Graduate
Influencer demographics
indexed agsinst all
respondents Figure 26: Lifestyle statements indexed against all respondents

The new super influencers
The most defining aspect is that they are extremely heavy
users of social media, particularly in terms of content
creation. Figure 27 demonstrates that they are much more
likely to blog, upload videos and photos and comment on
sites and social networks. Social media is providing them
with the tools to create and share influence and they are
doing so in massive numbers regardless of subject matter.
The top indexing social media channels for content creation
are uploading video, writing blogs and leaving a comment on
a blog site.
The new super influencers are also the lead content
generators. Social media both enables the sharing of
influence and attracts those who wish to publish and have
their opinion shared and they are utilising this opportunity
to the maximum. They are also embracing the new
channels of information such as RSS and
podcasts to bypass conventional media
channels and also listening to those that
create more than established media.
Funda, Turkey
57
This is a real world phenomenon, which has been Super Influencer social media usage
demonstrated recently in the US presidential election in
2008. It has been widely credited that the creators or
creative class, as they have been tagged, helped Obama Index against all active internet users
get the democratic party nomination. The creators through 100 120 140 160 180 200 220
prolific blogging, twittering, social networking and content
creation generated massive influence helping to raise funds, Upload video clip to video sharing website
getting people out to vote and changing the opinions of Subscribe to an RSS feed
mainstream media.
Start my own blog/weblog
Download a podcast
leave a comment on a blog site
Federico, Panama Upload my photos to a photo sharing website
Make a phone call using your computer
Create a profile on a new social network
Visit a photo sharing website
Share a video clip with a friend
Manage profile on existing social network
Read blogs/weblogs
Visit a friend’s social network page
listen to live audio/radio online
Use instant messenger
Watch video clips online
Figure 27: Super Influencer social media usage indexed against all respondents
 59

The new super influencers

Super influencers are much more likely to be motivated by
overt commercial messaging; celebrity endorsements and
direct recommendations online and in the media. Most
importantly, however, they are much more likely to want
to share opinions because a brand is fashionable or their
friends are not aware of the brand, basically they are more
overt about trying to cultivate external opinion.
This is a new creative class who are going beyond the tools
of casual influence to create rich and deep content in the
form of videos, blogs and photos. They are exercising their
right to create and spread influence and as the channels
of peer to peer recommendation and the social media grow
their role will become more important.
Super influencers are found across the globe , but there is The leading developed web markets are Italy, Japan and
a clear skew towards the emerging internet markets of Latin Spain, where just under 8% of active users fall into super
America and Asia Pacific. In Brazil a stunning 24% of active users. The Anglo markets of the US, UK and Australia have
internet users fall into the super influencer category. They 5% of their users falling into the super influencer category.
are followed by India, Mexico and Pakistan – demonstrating It’s these differences that highlight how social media
how internet users have found their voice thanks to their adoption and levels of content creation mirror and impact
massive use of social media in these markets. the rise of super influencers.

Super Influencer motivations Super Influencers by country

Seen used by a celebrity/well known figure 130

The brand is fashionable 121

The brand is unknown amongst social group 119

7%

%
2%

7%
6%
3%

.3
ic
3%
5%

%
2.

7.
3%

13

%
%
5.
3.

3%

bl

%
2%

4%

6%

8%
A recommendation on the internet 116

5%

.8

.2

%
5%

8%

15
.2
s

pu

1%
7%
6.
5.

.7
2.

nd

s
4%
nd

ng

.6
re

11

15
4.

8%

ne
11
5.

5.

5.
4.

Re

24
8%
k

Ko
ia

7.

17
an
la
Ko

lia

8.
rla

ry

7.
ar

an

pi
da

5%

ce

o
an

er
ria

nd

ce

7.
n
ga

ia

y
ra

st

ic
h
nm

he

ilip

il
4.

a
n
wa

ke
rm
g

a
na

itz
ss

ee

az
ec
m

pa
an

ki
in
st

st

ex
ut
un

la

ai
on
A recommendation in the media (TV, newspapers, mags, radio) 116

di
ly
et

r
K
S

Ph
Ru

Sw

Pa
i
De

Au

Au

Ro

Ge

Ch
Ca

Po

Gr

Br
Sp
Cz

So

Ita

Tu
Ta

In
Ja
Fr
N

U
An advertisement you find interesting & inspiring 114
30

% share of active internet users

A recommendation you receive in a store 113

The brand is popular 112

A promotion you see in a store 111

A free sample you receive 108

Your friend’s like the product or service 107

The product or service is discounted 106

A friend’s recommendation 104

0
The brand is high quality 103

Someone you trust having a good experience 100

Someone you trust having a bad experience 99

Figure 29: Super Influencers by country, share of active users
Good personal experience 97

Bad personal experience 93

New influencers 80 100 130

Figure 28: Super Influencer motivations to recommend indexed against all respondents
 61

The impact:
summary
The influence economy The new super influencers
• Overall participation rates for contributing opinions, • Are the most the active in social media
thoughts and content on products and brands is extremely
• They are much more likely to create and share
high. This means all brands have to react to the influence
rich content
economy – becoming more open, more transparent and
more active in social and conversational media • As the channels they contribute to continue to rise in
importance so does their impact in the universe
• Different product categories have significantly different
of influence
exposure to the power of the influencer landscape
• This is the new creative class; the bloggers, the video
• Even low interest, expert categories such as finance,
uploaders, the photo sharers
real estate and insurance have high participation rates
• Their influence is now very real. Look at impact of bloggers
• Music, films and technology are the categories
on the professional media and the impact creators had on
most talked about online
the election of Obama and the French elections
Charlotte, UK
• Holidays and travel are the most sought after
for information
• Asia and emerging internet markets are leading the way
Dorota, Poland
in contributing opinion to the influencer economy

The democratisation of influence

• We are more likely to be influencers than receivers in the
age of social media
• Consumers the world over now claim influence in a huge
number of categories
• The key categories for broad influence are the same as
the key categories for online recommendation with the
exception of groceries and food

Michelle, UK

Jai, Dubai
 63

Final thoughts
New world of transparency
• There are no secrets in the new world of influence
brands, products and services are under constant scrutiny
• The truth cannot be managed in the way it was when
a few gatekeepers controlled the distribution
of information
• The only path is honesty, openness and transparency.
If you make a mistake in the new world of influence –
Be part of the conversation
• The new world of influence needs a more conversational
approach; advertising should encourage interaction, input
and community
• This means having a blog, being in social networks,
creating content such as photos, videos etc – generally
being part of the conversation
• Exist inside the social media services that consumers
Everybody matters Reaching out to the creators
• Today everybody should be considered an influencer to • The creators are the new super influencers, the ones that
some extent – we all influence and receive to some degree make the most of the tools of social media. Bloggers,
video creators, podcasters etc should be considered as
• Every target audience should be encouraged to share
some of the most powerful voices in the future
opinions and influence
Hugh, Canada
Hugh

you admit it and make good spend their time in and source their influence from
Federico, Panama
• Control has to be loosened – let consumers discuss, • Don’t be scared to advertise in bottom up conversational hi, check out www.xbox. Frederico
com <http://www.xbox.
share and interact with your brand media that consumers are generating. com/> – “Too Human”
is going to be released on
• All categories of goods and services are now impacted • Advertising has a big role in the future world of influence – the 29th August 2008 I recently purchased 10
by the new economy of influence and have to respond to it provides the revenue for most of the services that enable CDs online and saved a
small fortune.
a world where consumer opinion shapes the agenda and cultivate consumer recommendation

Spyros

Spyros, Greece
Hayley, UK Hi Spyros, you mentioned
Monica Monica, Spain
you were buying a TV –
Hayley
check out www.reevoo.
Gianfranco, Italy
com <http://www.
reevoo.com/> before Gianfranco
did you see that top Kate
Hello Hayley, do you you do
Moss was wearing? have
know where I can get you seen anything like
tickets for Madonna Tour? that anywhere?
I love the new album Who do you bank with?
also thanks for telling me I have just waited on the
about it phone for 20minutes my
bank are driving me crazy
 65

Moving forward
“When did we start trusting strangers?” is part of Universal All reports can be downloaded at
McCann’s ongoing global research programme aimed at www.universalmccann.com
exploring the impacts of the massive changes
in communications technologies. For any questions on the
research please contact
This is the second in a series of in-depth studies. The first tom.smith@umww.com
major in-depth study “Anytime, Anyplace” looked at mobile
phones and portable technology, in particular demand for
content , services and the role of advertising.
Yvonne, Switzerland
In parallel to the in-depth topics we also run a Social
Tom Smith Hanley, Czech Republic
Head of Consumer
Media tracker to access the ongoing impact of social media. Futures EMEA
Wave 3 of this survey was released in March 2008 and
Wave 4 is scheduled for quarter 4 2008.

Sue, UK
 67

What does this mean for your business?

“When did we start trusting strangers?” is an in-depth study • Who is the influencer in your business category?
and there are many aspects of analysis that we are unable to

l
• What marketing communications work for

a
cover in this report.

n re re
your influencers?
If you want to know how to operate in the new influencer • What they do online?
s o
r hca wa
landscape and what this means for your business please
contact us at consultancy@umww.com and we can share
• What they create, what they view, what they share?
e
P alt ft ks
l o
He ter S rin
the key results and impact for your brand or business: • What does it mean for your marketing communications?
• What
What are the implications for your business?
c a
i s
a n ct u ic D
i n du le p
m hol
Phone F ro b g y o
Prope
Real Esrty/
M o b i l e
Service P rta olo C lco
Po hn A
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Tech ome
tate
ics
Cosmet
no
Groc logy Fash Games
i
Utili on
Console
c
s eries

e
Film Musi
tie
s
T
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Boo s
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Ph e l i a
c
vi ics Ap p ks
l
sm
et Trave
s

iles
on
Destinatai y
Cars/
Automob
Holid
Universal McCann © 2008