Presentation on The Future of Influence by Forrester Principal Analyst Nate Elliott. Delivered at Northern Voice 2009 in Vancouver BC, February 21, 2009.

2. Nate Elliott Principal Analyst Forrester Research February 21, 2009 The Future of Influence

4. Marketers Have Always Used Consumer-to-Consumer Influence Source: JupiterResearch (9/08)

5. Traditionally, Personal Recommendations Have Carried Strongest Influence Reactive Recommendations Proactive Recommendations Personal Recommendations Broadcast Recommendations MEDIUM INFLUENCE Highest volume Medium / high trust e.g., Tupperware Party, e-mail from a friend STRONGEST INFLUENCE High volume Highest trust e.g., Personal request for advice WEAKER INFLUENCE Lowest volume Medium trust e.g., Message boards, forums WEAKER INFLUENCE Low volume Lowest trust e.g., Amazon review, sandwich board

8. New Influentials Exert Active Influence but Are Rarely Sought Out Source: JupiterResearch (9/08) New Influentials Classic Influentials Primarily exert active influence by proactively giving advice Primarily exert passive influence by responding to requests for advice ? ? ? ? ? ? ! ! ! ! ! !

9. Classic Influentials and New Influentials Sit at Opposite Ends of the Spectrum Reactive Recommendations Proactive Recommendations Personal Recommendations Broadcast Recommendations CLASSIC INFLUENCE NEW INFLUENCE

11. While Classic Influence Remains Stagnant, New Influence Continues to Grow Base: Canadian online users Source: Forrester’s North American Technographics Benchmark Survey, Q1, 2008

12. As Users Grow Overwhelmed by Influence, They Will Look for Greater Context Value Of New Influence Present Future Past Trust of consumer advice Not enough reviews Difficulty identifying relevant advice Too few centralized sources of advice Critical mass of reviews Richer, deeper advice Privacy concerns Spread of reviewer profiles Integration of social graph