the real network-dialogue

Case Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Study for Sensodyne Pronamel toothpaste
Sensodyne Pronamel helps preventing dental enamel abrasion caused by
acidic foods and drinks. In order to effectively communicate this
information, GlaxoSmithKline chose to launch the first ever word-ofmouth marketing campaign in the Hungarian market together with trnd
on their Word-of-Mouth platform trnd.hu

Word-of-Mouth facts:
Word-of-Mouth is the private exchange of marketing-relevant information such as shopping
tips or recommendations between customers. Recommendations from friends, family members,
and acquaintances have an important impact on customers buying decisions. Across the globe,
Nielsen (2009) has found that word-of-mouth is the most trusted source of product information
for consumers. This is why many companies are now beginning to actually manage the word-ofmouth factor.
trnd Central Eastern Europe Kft.
Klvria u. 7.
2040 Budars
Hungary
Phone
(+36 30) 399 8080
Telefax
(+361) 209 9362
info@trnd.hu
www.trnd.com/hu/company

trnd facts:
trnd, the real network dialogue, is the word-of-mouth marketing pioneer in eight European
markets and in Argentina. For the first time, trnd offers companies the unique opportunity to
include the highly effective instrument Word-of-Mouth in their marketing mix, in a carefully
planned and measurable way, to trigger private conversations between individual consumers (Cto-C marketing). To achieve this goal, trnd has created the necessary tool set, including its unique
Word-of-Mouth Networks featuring thousands of active product ambassadors (communication
hubs), and trndsphere, a technology platform designed to monitor and analyze Word-of-Mouth
marketing campaigns. trnd was originally founded in Germany in 2004 and expanded quickly
across Europe and to South America. Since 2004, trnd has planned, conducted and measured over
300 Word-of-Mouth marketing campaigns for clients such as P&G, Nestl, Henkel, Smart,
Unilever, L'Oreal, GSK, Wrigley, Bosch or Ferrero.
2011 trnd AG all rights reserved

http://www.trnd.hu/sensodyne-pronamel

Word-of-Mouth Marketing Supports an

Existing Product Range.
In the summer of 2011, GlaxoSmithKline decided to support their
marketing plan with a Word-of-Mouth campaign. The objective of
the campaign was to inspire conversations about the acid wear of
tooth, and Sensodyne Pronamel range across Hungary. 1,000
brand ambassadors were invited to the campaign with a clear
objective: experience the product, pass samples on to friends,
family members and acquaintances, generate conversations about
the product and establish the idea that this special toothpaste
helps preventing acid erosion.
The trnd system is a monitored and managed process, designed to plan and trigger peer-to-peer
communications activity. It relies on real product experiences and is standardized to ensure the
highest level of control and reliability. The process consists of the following five campaign phases:
select (selecting the right participants), connect (getting the participants in touch with the brand),
spread (the participants themselves communicate among friends, family members, and
acquaintances), support (during the campaign trnd is always available for the campaign participants),
and measure (the large amounts of data that are collected during the campaign are thoroughly
evaluated).
A trnd Word-of Mouth
marketing campaign is based
on the proven five-phase
campaign process.

Select

Connect

Spread

Support

Measure

trnd AG

Phase 1 Select.
The trnd Word-of-Mouth
network includes opinion
leaders and influentials
(whom we call connectors)
from a diverse range of
fields. Identifying the right
participants for each
campaign is a major success
criterion.

1,000 participants were chosen among the Hungarian members in the large trnd membership
pool. The selection was based on four factors: predefined socio-demographic criteria as agreed with
GlaxoSmithKline, the existing extensive interest profiles in the database, participants answers to a
set of specific application questions, and a written application in which participants elaborate on
why they should be invited into the campaign.

campaign photo

First, 6,143 participants submitted an application

in which they had to answer not only questions about themselves, but also specific questions
about the product - this required online research and involvement with the campaign content.
By filtering members for socio-demographic criteria ...
trnd ensures that participants are in suitable age and demographic ranges and checks for
factors such as educational level or marital status. (Criteria can also include a regional focus.)
At the next level, members are filtered for their interest profiles ...
which our participants regularly fill out or expand, based on their personal interests.
Finally, applicants also had to write a prose application
which helps trnd gauge authenticity of the application and genuine interest in the campaign.
This multi-layered recruiting process provides a rich combination of data that enables trnd to
choose only the most engaged and interested participants.

2011 trnd AG all rights reserved

http://www.trnd.hu/sensodyne-pronamel

Overview of the selected product ambassadors:

1,000 participants from Hungary
Average age: 34.1 years.
Gender: 78% female, 22% male.
Education: 46% have a higher secondary education/university degree.
Marital status: 22% single, 30% living with their partners, 39% married, 57% have children.

Phase 2 Connect.
The best Word-of-Mouth
happens when customer are
positively surprised.
Successful brands and
products provide a
compelling experience which
helps establish an ongoing
connection.

The campaign really kicks off when participants receive their starter-kits. The starter-kits provide
products for the participants, samples which they can share with others, and loads of information
that is fun to talk about.

Product ambassadors were equipped with:

1x Sensodyne Pronamel 75 ml toothpaste.
Market research sheets, to ask friends & relatives.
Project schedule with extensive insider information.

To pass on to friends:
30x Sensodyne Pronamel 20
ml sample
30x Sensodyne Pronamel
information flyer.

The kit also provides insider information about the product and the brand it turns participants
into brand VIPs who know more than others about the product and the company. Additionally, a
guideline leads the participants through the campaign. To provide the VIP information and the
guideline, trnd creates a so-called project schedule a campaign brochure filled with product
information and history, great Word-of-Mouth ideas and lots of other information that participants
need for the campaign. It gives them an information advantage over their friends, contacts, and
colleagues and helps establish them as trustworthy brand specialists.
trnd-partners (participants
registered with trnd) and
their product.

Another important element for the success of the campaign is a direct connection between
participants and a brand representative. Research has shown that customers like to recommend a
company with which they feel a personal connection. trnd uses a range of web-tools and the
existing relationships with its members in order to provide and transfer these connections for the
brand during the course of the campaign.
A key tool for this in every campaign is an
introductory blog post it is used to personally
introduce a brand representative to the participants.
In addition to a photo, a personal text expresses the
brands interest in feedback, ideas, and insight from
the participants. This is a very valuable sign of
personal involvement for the participants. For the
Sensodyne Pronamel campaign, trnd introduced
Zoltan Rantal (from the Sensodyne Pronamel brand
team); his posting received 400 comments an
unusually high number for blogs.

The very first feedback

already shows how the
selected participants are
getting involved and actively
engaged with the campaign.

2011 trnd AG all rights reserved

http://www.trnd.hu/sensodyne-pronamel

Phase 3 Spread.
Word-of-Mouth is a
conversation among friends.
What is so interesting about it
is the exponential growth that
these conversations can have,
as they are passed on between
generations of speakers.

The participants are invited to follow a very simple process that leads to a very natural
dissemination of Word-of-Mouth: First, they are asked to try the product for themselves, to find out
how they feel about the product. Then, they are asked to share the experience with friends,
colleagues, and family members to find out what others think about the product, and to report back
to trnd about it. And finally, if they like it, everyone is invited to tell more people about the great new
product.
A key trnd-principle is that participants are asked to solicit honest feedback from their friends,
rather than promoting and/or justifying the product. Another very important fact is that
participants do not receive any payment, and neither are they told to use any prefabricated
statements. Instead, they are asked to discuss their honest opinion about Sensodyne Pronamel with
interested friends, contacts, and colleagues. Finally, they are also asked to distribute samples so that
others can develop their very own opinion.

Examples from the word-of-mouth reports:

Egy kollegm tbb mintt is vitt, tovbb fogja adni a bartainak otthon, ezltal tbb ember
fogja kiprblni, s tbb krdvet fogok tudni majd kitlteni, ezzel is segtve a promci
sikeressgt
Egy volt kollganm jtt el hozzm, s szoks szerint gymlcslvel knltam, mint ltalban a
vendgeimet. Mintegy mellkesen megkrdeztem, hogy gondoln-e, hogy a gymlcsl is lehet
annyira rtalmas a fogaknak, mint a csoki. []
Participants engage in
Word-of-Mouth activities:
some digitally via blogs and
forums, others more
traditionally, by passing the
real product on or by sharing
stories.

campaign photo

campaign photo

campaign photo

campaign photo

Depending on campaign objectives

and specific needs of the product,
the focus of the campaign can be
placed on offline or online Word-ofMouth. Many fast-moving consumer
goods benefit most from strong
offline activity, many technical
products or gadgets need to get a
substantial share of online Word-ofMouth. At any rate: trnd members
are active online users, so even
offline-focused campaigns will
generate noticeable online Word-ofMouth as well.

2011 trnd AG all rights reserved

http://www.trnd.hu/sensodyne-pronamel

Spread across multiple conversational generations.

First, the product-ambassadors speak with their friends, family members and colleagues about the
product then, these people again speak to others. As these chains get longer, they can reach a
surprising number of people. The initial conversation partners are happy to share their new
discovery with their own friends and contacts, these in turn also distribute samples and information.
As a result, the marketing message can spread rapidly into further generations (G1, G2, G3, ). The
following examples show how this can happen surprisingly quickly:
Exponential spread: Reports
from our participants provide
evidence that the different
generations of receivers (G1,
G2, etc.) are reached quickly.

Conversations spread across generations:

desanym (G1) elgedettsgt az is tkrzi, hogy vitt be munkahelyre egy pr fogkrmet, hogy
megoszthassa j tapasztalatait kzvetlen munkatrsaival (G2), valamint mr vsrolt is
Sensodyne Pronalmel fogkrmet. [...]
[...] Az fogai nem rzkenyek s csak azrt prblta ki mert n krtem. (G1) ajnlotta
munkatrsainak (G2) s a testvreinek (G2), mert nekik rzkeny foguk s kaptak termk mintt
is.[...]
[] Munkatrsaim (G1) kiprbltk s mai napon mindannyian beszmoltak tapasztalataikrl.
Pozitvan csaldtak a fogkrmben, eddig mg nem hasznltk s a csaldtagjaik (G2) is []
kiprblhattk.

Phase 4 Support.
In Word-of-Mouth
marketing, the consumer is
not just a passive ad recipient,
but an active marketing
participant. Providing these
participants with direct
personal access to the brand
is essential.

During the campaign, trnd staff are available online virtually 24/7 (in some cases even by phone), to
answer whatever questions the participants want to ask. For each campaign, our WOM center
provides a dedicated team that is meticulously trained to carefully answer every single e-mail, report
and question that participants send in. This helps establish the trnd partners as true VIPs within the
marketing process, who receive all the brands attention, and who are taken seriously with all their
ideas and opinions. That way, we build a real dialogue that supports and amplifies Word-of-Mouth.
Every participant is invited to share his or her Word-of-Mouth experiences on the trndsphere
platform with the campaign team. The platform provides a reporting tool that allows participants to
enter both qualitative and quantitative data. Over the course of a campaign, thousands of these
reports are entered, and most importantly each and every one of them receives a personal reply!
That way, trnd can achieve two goals at the same time: one, to constantly re-engage the participants;
two, to collect large amounts of data. Additionally, a public dialogue is maintained on the campaign
weblog that serves as the publically visible online hub of the campaign.

Phase 5 Measure.
The trnd-system makes
Word-of-Mouth marketing
measurable in quantitative
and qualitative terms,
providing the foundation for
its professional integration
in the marketing mix.

The participants are asked to report their experiences in as many ways as possible. The trndsphere
platform enables trnd to measure not only how Word-of-Mouth conversations have taken place and
began to spread, but also the reaction of the conversation partners. That way, the trnd-platform
makes it possible for the first time to gather specific information about the relevant content of
Word-of-Mouth conversations and to use this information for future marketing initiatives. Digital
spread and visibility on the web are also analyzed and evaluated on an on-going basis.

2011 trnd AG all rights reserved

http://www.trnd.hu/sensodyne-pronamel

Key data from the campaign.

35,755 direct conversations (Generation 0 to Generation 1) campaign participants
interacting with friends, acquaintances, colleagues and relatives, sharing experiences,
opinions and ideas about Sensodyne Pronamel.
An estimated additional 150,171 conversation (Generation 1 to Generation 2), which are
recommendations from friends who had heard about the product from the trnd participants
(viral effect exponential spread).
This means that in generation 1 and 2 alone, more than 185,926 conversations were
generated about Sensodyne Pronamel. (Additionally, we need to consider that conversations
do not stop at the end of the campaign, and they also get carried further, to generation 3 and
beyond.)
Additional CGM - Citizen Generated Media on the Internet, including photos on our
photo gallery and reviews on many relevant portals as well as on personal blogs.
Semantic SEO: much of the content has an increased presence on Google, for search terms
like Sensodyne Pronamel, or saverzi (acid erosion).

Conclusion.
Word-of-Mouth as an
effective marketing
component.

The campaign shows how a well-chosen group of ambassadors can trigger a substantial number of
conversations between consumers and thereby effectively amplify the marketing message through
authentic consumer-to-consumer marketing. These conversations among friends provide the brand
with credible testimonials all across the country.
We are a leading global pharmaceutical company, and as such we are providing advanced
professional products for our consumers. Our toothpaste brands, especially Sensodyne, are widely
acclaimed and recommended by dental professionals around the world. On the other hand, the
most recent developments in the science of oral care - like the erosion of tooth enamel due to acidic
wear -, call for communication channels we tended to disregard in the past. Needless to say,
Sensodyne will continue to follow the highly successful communication model addressing the trio
of professional, consumer, and shopper, but we will continue to look for cost effective solutions to
convey more complex messages.
It was great to observe the level of enthusiasm of trnd-members and the interaction of consumers
with our product during the whole course of the campaign. trnd is a great professional partner with
whom the cooperation was very smooth throughout the process of introducing our brand to more
consumers, and thus is a great partner in helping them do more, feel better, and live longer.
Zoltan Rantal
CEE Marketing Manager Sensitive Category
GlaxoSmithKline

2011 trnd AG all rights reserved

http://www.trnd.hu/sensodyne-pronamel

Examples of blog posts and

Citizen Generated Media.

Usually, advertising campaigns and their impact end with the end of the campaign. A WOM
campaign does not we know from research that participants keep talking about the product long
after the end of a campaign.
Additionally, the media content (612 photos in the project photo gallery, 1,021 comments from real
enthusiastic users on the trnd campaign blog) remains visible: 142 unique daily visits over a three
week period after the end of the campaign show how the online enthusiasm about the product
keeps working on its own, and will do so in the future. Honest personal opinions about the product
were also published across the Web on blogs, social networks, Forums, or consumer sites, which
also remain accessible.

trnd Central Eastern Europe Kft.

Klvria u. 7.
2040 Budars
Hungary

trnd AG / trnd International

Winzererstrae 47 d
80797 Munich
Germany

Phone
(+36 30) 399 8080
Telefax
(+361) 209 9362
info@trnd.hu
www.trnd.com/hu/compan

Phone
+49 89 307 668 250
Telefax
+49 89 307 668 123
info@trnd.com
www.trnd.com/company

2011 trnd AG all rights reserved

http://www.trnd.hu/sensodyne-pronamel