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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	    The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




The Conversation
Loop: a New
Marketing                                                                 



Platform




A collaborative whitepaper by
Hakuhodo and Direct Partners.



Tasuku Yamanokuchi
Jerry McRuer
Tyler Gaul
Jonathan Rouse


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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                        The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




The Conversation Loop: A
New Marketing Platform
Executive Summary

We are witnessing an unprecedented shift in the ways consumers interact with brands.
This shift represents both a threat and an opportunity for brand marketers.

At base, this shift represents a major loss in the effectiveness of traditional, linear
media channels like TV, print, and radio. This is caused by the combination of two main
factors: the rising consumer distrust of large-scale advertising and the rise of
consumer-controlled communication channels, otherwise known as “social media.”
Empowered by their own media channels, consumers have taken control of brand
messaging, to the point that they feel like they are co-owners of the brands they
consumer. Instead of passively "listening" to brand messages, they actively conduct
their own "brand conversations" outside of traditional advertising channels — starting
their own "fan" pages on Facebook and making their own product videos on YouTube.
In some cases, these consumer activities reach a wider audience than most primetime
media buys, 1 and they do so more relevantly and effectively.

In this new environment, it is the brands that must do the listening. The new social
media offers a rich source of data along with numerous new opportunities for direct
customer interaction. This can provide a wealth of consumer/brand insights that were
previously unavailable to marketers, allowing them to segment customers and
communicate to them more cost-effectively.

Hakuhodo and Direct Partners have developed The Conversation Loop Marketing
Platform to bring this approach into action. We are currently using this platform for a
number of Fortune 500 clients, helping them to revolutionize the way they profitably
relate to their consumers.




1 See Impact of Social Media Channels for details




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                   The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




The Shift Represents Both a
Threat (-) and an Opportunity
(+) for Marketers
(-) Erosion of Consumer                          (+) A Data Explosion.
Trust.                                           As consumers connect with each other
                                                 and take ownership in brands, they
Advertising is everywhere these days, and        become comfortable with sharing their
much of it appears in a context that is not      views and actively participating in online
relevant to the consumer. As consumers           communities. This online social
have become desensitized to marketing            environment represents a consumer data
communications, they have raised their           mine that allows marketers to connect to
expectations for truth in advertising,           consumers in an instantaneous or real-
product quality and brand relevance.             time way for the first time in history.

(+) Consumers as “Brand
Owners.”                                         (+) Greater Marketing
Today's consumers are seeking to form a
                                                 Effectiveness at Lower
deeper relationship with their favorite          Cost.
brands by interacting with them on
multiple levels. For example, consumers          Brand communications that are informed
and companies are now “teaming up” to            by these rich data sources are more
evaluate and improve products, or even           relevant to consumers and, therefore,
create new ones. The same goes for               more effective. Digital media channels
advertising campaigns.                           allow brand communications to be
                                                 delivered in the right way, at the right time
                                                 and in the right amounts. They can
(-) Emergence of Social                          provide massive growth in brand equity at
Media.                                           a fraction of the cost of traditional
                                                 advertising channels.
Unlike traditional advertising channels (TV,
radio, magazines), social media channels
like Facebook and YouTube are controlled
by the consumer. Because of their
popularity, these sites can give a brand
more exposure (negative or positive) than
a well-financed TV campaign. Because
consumers trust these channels, they can
strongly influence buying decisions and
brand perceptions.
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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                   The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




Solution: The Conversation
Loop Platform
The Conversation Loop is an integrated platform designed to meet these threats and
opportunities. It has database technology at its foundation, and a four-step process for
leveraging the vast consumer data available in the post-shift environment:

                          LISTEN: to what customers are saying about their brands, not
                              only in the new social media, but across a wide spectrum
                                 of consumer behavior as shown on p. 10.

                                      LEARN: how customers are behaving by
                                       collecting data from multiple sources

                                         ANALYZE: this data to group consumers into
                                         the most profitable segments

                                         ENGAGE: these highly profitable customers
                                         with more relevant messages

                                        Throughout this process, the platform will inform
                                       and influence all business operations of the
                                     company, not just the marketing department. PR,
                                   Finance, R&D, Distribution, etc. will all have a vital role
                                   to play in how The Conversation Loop actively
                                   engages the consumer with the brand.


The First Step to Taking the Conversation
Loop Approach
We’re confident every brand can increase its profitability via the deployment of The
Conversation Loop Platform. To receive an appraisal of the value of a Conversation
Loop Platform to your organization, we encourage you to take a simple first step:
participate in a 4Sight Marketing Audit. You will find details regarding the 4Sight
Marketing Audit on p.14.




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                  The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




Table of Contents:


6	    A Massive Communications Shift in the U.S.
6	    Four Main Factors Behind the Shift
	     	      Desensitization
	     	      Distrust
	     	      Technology
	     	      Ownership
8	    The Impact of the Shift in Snapshots:
9	    The Implication for Marketers
10	   Summary
11	   The Conversation Loop Marketing Platform
	     	      Learn
	     	      Listen
	     	      Analyze
	     	      Engage
12	   Technical Requirement for The Conversation Loop
13 	 A Case Study: Sony PlayStation
16	   The 4Sight Marketing Audit
17	   About Direct Partners and Hakuhodo
18 	 Appendix




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                                         The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




A Massive Communications Shift
in the U.S.
For years, advertising agencies have been telling clients, "consumers are paying less
attention to advertising these days." Typically, the agency then recommends either
increasing the media budget or developing new "breakthrough" creative (both at the
expense of the client). Neither of these approaches seems to be working anymore.

Historically, communication channels like TV, radio, print and even banner ads have
been controlled and regulated by ad agencies, media companies and marketers using
the “push” approach to messaging. Although campaign results were difficult to
measure, it was assumed that they worked through a combination of awareness,
repetition and persuasion. As channels expanded and marketers struggled to hold
consumers’ attention, ads became even more prominent, more persuasive (or “pushy”)
and, thus, more alienating to consumers.

At the same time, consumers began to shift their attention to emerging social media
channels, where they could create and consume their own content. In this new
environment, brands take on a life of their own, making consumers co-proprietors of
your brand image. The upshot? Big ad budgets and "creative" campaigns are
increasingly ineffective, while a whole new opportunity has emerged for brands to
relate to consumers more profitably than ever before.


Four Main Factors Behind the Shift
Desensitization	                Due to advertising/information overload
Distrust	         	             Of corporate/advertising messages
Technology	                     Making it easier to access information and share opinions
Ownership	                      Consumers who self-identify with brands expect more value and
                                honesty from them

Desensitization. In the last decade, marketing effectiveness has declined for almost
all traditional media year over year. Experts say this change is due to consumer
desensitization caused by too many marketing messages. The New York Times
recently reported that the average American sees around 5,000 ads a day.2 65% of
Americans feel continuously bombarded with ads.3 The Internet is not immune to the




2 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/magazine/11wwlnlede.t.html


3 Wegert, Tessa (2004), "When Consumers Love Advertising," ClickZ Networks, (April) 




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                                         The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




problem. A phenomenon called “banner blindness” has lead to a constant decrease in
click-through rates for online advertising.4

Distrust of Advertising. Consumers are not just ignoring corporate messages and
advertising; they are questioning their truthfulness and relevance. Tired of meaningless,
unsolicited advertising, they have turned to each other for reliable product information.

As the Edleman Trust Report shows, Americans see “a person like yourself or a peer”
as the only trustworthy information source. This has now replaced “government,”
“businesses,” “news anchors” and even, just recently, “doctors,” all of which were the
top sources of information in the past.5

Technology. These behavioral changes are significant on their own. But they have
been accelerated by new social technologies and platforms that, for the first time, give
consumers the ability to create their own conversations about brands outside the
traditional framework of advertising. These conversations are much more powerful
than the old "word of mouth" effect, because one word can now be heard by millions.

Internet usage has reached a critical mass. A third of the world is now connected, and
a large portion of these users has high-speed connections. In addition, consumers are
now connecting, recording and making purchases through smart mobile devices at
rapidly increasing rate. This connectivity has seen its greatest increase through the
rapid growth in consumer participation on social platforms.6

Ownership. With this new technology at their disposal, consumers are taking a
personal and active role in determining what their favorite brands stand for, and how
much value they deliver.7 “Brand Positioning” (as defined by the marketer) is being
replaced with the notion of “Brand Purpose,” a shared definition of the brand that must
be earned by the company and accepted by the consumer in the social space.




4 http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/five_ways_to_improve_roi_of_behavioral/q/id/53643/t/2


5 http://www.edelman.com/image/insights/content/FullSupplement.pdf


6 http://www.forrester.com/groundswell/book.html


7 http://www.forrester.com/empowered/empowerednotes.html




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                                       The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




The Impact of the Shift in Snapshots:
For better or worse, social networks have become a dominating force in the U.S.
commerce. As demonstrated in the following snapshots, this influence can sometimes
have a significant and measurable impact on a company’s financial state.

           (+) BlendTec. A small start-up kitchen appliance company called BlendTec
           launched a campaign on free social media called “Will it Blend”? Over the next
           year, it garnered over 110 million impressions (far exceeding the highest rated
           TV placements like the Super Bowl). Sales increased by 600%.8


           (+) Pepsi’s Mountain Dew. As early as 2008, Mountain Dew utilized
           “collective intelligence” through their program, Dewmocracy, which was
           launched through social platforms. This program allowed Mountain Dew fans
           to vote on a new flavor of Mountain Dew soda. Within 10 weeks 1 million
           people participated in the vote. Mountain Dew saw a 3.7% increase in sales
           while all other competitors posted quarterly losses. Mountain Dew gained
           almost 1% market share instantly.9


           (+) Walmart. Walmart launched a "Money Saving Tips" social media campaign
           as part of their renewed focus on “building connections” to increase their
           business. Within months, Walmart mobilized most of the key figures within the
           influential “mommy-blog” sphere who together reach an audience of almost 10
           million.10


           (-) United Airlines. United Airlines customer Jim Carroll uploaded a music
           video on YouTube with a song criticizing the way United mistreated his bags.
           Three days later, his video had over one million hits. As of July 2010, it had
           almost 9 million views. Within 4 days of the video being posted, United Airline’s
           share price fell 10%, costing stockholders around $180 million.11


The Implication for Marketers
These social networks now dominate the attention of the average American, and make
up the majority of their media consumption. Audiences on YouTube are much larger

8 http://www.socialens.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/20090127_case_blendtec11.pdf


9 http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=102488


10 http://www.slideshare.net/GasPedal/blogwell-social-media-case-study-walmart-presented-by-suraya-bliss-and-john-andrews-


11 http://www.forrester.com/empowered/empowerednotes.html




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                                        The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




than most primetime TV audiences. More importantly, the content on these channels
regarding products, brands and consumer experiences is timely, relevant and from a
trusted source: other consumers. This development has weakened the effectiveness of
corporate messaging by giving individual consumers more ways to communicate than
the brands they consume.

In the past, consumers would verbally share a positive brand experience only to an
immediate circle of friends and family. At most they would write an angry letter to the
Customer Service Department. Except in the case of opinion leaders and media
figures, “word-of-mouth” damage to a brand was limited to a small circle of friends.12
Today, consumers can reach thousands of “virtual friends” in seconds.

A single voice can overpower an entire campaign, cost a company millions of dollars,
or even threaten the entire brand.13 Some examples of this are mentioned above. The
consumer voice now rivals the company’s voice in both influence and reach.

Brands are now subject of intense and shared scrutiny by consumers, who have the
power to recommend them to friends, but also publicize their shortcomings and even
redefine their value in the marketplace. In this way, what was once considered just a
marketing issue now concerns every aspect of the company. What was once
corrected through a national TV campaign, in some cases can only be corrected
through business operations such as product development or distribution practices.

That said, as is also apparent from the examples above, by simply taking a new
approach to relating to consumers, companies can achieve controlled growth that was
not possible before. Moreover, instead of resorting to the guessing-game that is
national brand marketing, marketers can now engage in instantaneous, individual
communications where the value and effectiveness is instantly apparent. This creates
actual, authentic brand growth beyond that of mere “persuasion.” It forms a deeper
consumer-brand connection and creates a more lasting competitive advantage.




12 http://www.colloquy.com/files/2009-COLLOQUY-Talk-Talk-White-Paper.pdf


13 http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2011/06/welcome-to-the-age-of-the-customer-invest-accordingly.html




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                 The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




Summary
 Before the Shift                          After the Shift

 Company Dictates Brand Perception         Consumer Creates Brand Perception

 Linear, Top-Down Media Channels           Circular, Continuous Media Channels

   •   Set Media Schedule                    •   “Rolling” Media Schedule
   •   Campaign-Based                        •   Conversation-Based

 One Media Plan for All Consumers          One Media Plan for EACH Consumer

 Immediate Revenue Growth                  Long-Term, Sustainable Growth
 Sales

 Marketing Department Concerned with       Marketing, R&D, Customer Service,
 Consumer Perception                       Finance and C-Level…etc. – All
                                           Concerned with Customer Perception

Customers are now co-owners of every brand, which reduces the effectiveness of
traditional (impersonal) advertising but also creates an opportunity for brands to
connect with consumers more than they ever could before.

In this new era of consumer-empowerment, marketers must find an effective way to
listen, learn, analyze and engage with their customers.




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                  The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




The Solution: The Conversation
Loop Platform
The Conversation Loop is an integrated marketing approach powered by a robust
technology platform we have developed called M5. By using a combination of brand
insights, database analytics and targeted promotions, the Conversation Loop and M5
enable the clients of Direct Partners to run a holistic marketing process based on four
steps:

                                      LISTEN: to what customers are saying and how
                                      they are interacting with the brand. This segment
                                      of the Loop is accomplished by tapping into the
                                      numerous customer data streams that can be
                                      found on:
                                      • Branded sites and forums
                                      • Social networks
                                      • Mobile platforms
                                      • Public forums

                                      LEARN: by collecting and storing every
                                      traceable brand interaction in a real-time
                                      database infrastructure. By organizing this data
                                      onto a single data platform, we obtain a single,
                                      360-degree snapshot of our clients' customers.

ANALYZE: this data using advanced statistical and analytical models to group
consumers into segments. Through our M5 proprietary consumer database we can
sort consumers by their preferences, likes, dislikes and behavior in an automated
fashion.

ENGAGE: customers with the brand in real time (like a face-to-face conversation) and
in a way that is the most relevant to them and the most profitable for marketers. This
allows the brand to evolve in real time, becoming more effective and influential than its
competitors.




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                   The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




M5: The Technical Requirements for The
Conversation Loop
The Conversation Loop requires strategy,
planning and a robust platform design to
engage each customer appropriately. Our
M5 database takes account of the
following technology requirements, which
we customize for each of our clients:

•   Increased data feeds into the
    Marketing Database, as many as
    possible in real-time
•   Integration of the data back to the
    sources from where it came, to
    maintain 360-degree relevance
•   Real-time algorithms to weight the
    value of the customer interactions
    taking place
•   Real-time segmentation based on customer scores
•   Automated emails triggered by consumers’ interactions, preferences and scores
•   A content server allowing standard communications to be delivered with
    customized content blocks based on segmentation, interactions, preferences and
    scores
•   A reporting engine to aggregate the data
•   A data dashboard allowing clients to make program improvements on the fly




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                 The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




A Case Study:
Sony PlayStation
To demonstrate how this platform works for an actual client of Direct Partners,
we would like to share a case study for a Fortune 500 company in the video game
industry: Sony Consumer Entertainment of America (SCEA).

Listen: Beginning in 2006 with the launch of the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation
Network, Direct Partners worked with internal stakeholders at SCEA, SCEE (Sony
Computer Entertainment Europe) and multiple related third parties to build a
comprehensive network of data feeds tracking consumer behavior at nearly every
brand touch point: within the game, on the console dashboard, at retail, on the web,
via email, in social media, in ecommerce, via mobile devices, etc. The available data
was both broad and deep; we were able to gain insight into where consumers
preferred to interact, and uncover a wealth of information about the specifics of each
interaction.

Learn: Such a vast array of information can become overwhelming without a robust
system in place to separate the actionable information from "noise." With over a half
dozen daily feeds of consumer activity arriving in real time, comprising hundreds of
thousands of unique data points, simple items like identifying a consumer can become
a chore. For example, is a consumer the same thing as a console? No, since one
console may be shared among multiple consumers. Is a consumer the same thing as a
PlayStation Network Online ID? No, since one consumer can (and frequently does)
have multiple PSN IDs.

M5 is the name of Direct Partners’ proprietary data engine that collects all the
disparate data feeds, performs hygiene on the data, unifies the information around a
consumer profile, and sorts and stores that consumer's behavioral, promotional and
response history. The M5 engine powers everything from higher analytics to SCEA’s
quick view dashboards to triggered communications for ongoing CRM efforts and list
selections for ad hoc contacts.




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                     The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




                           Analyze: Once consumer data has been imported and
                           organized within the M5 data hierarchy, the next phase
                           involves segmenting consumers into pre-defined categories
                           based on their observed behavior. PlayStation 3 consumers fall
                           into a variety of categories, from low involvement consumers
                           who purchased the device as an inexpensive connected Blu-
                           ray player to hard core competitors who collect virtual trophies
                           in as many games as possible and are highly active in the
                           PlayStation Store.

                           We apply standard CRM models like RFM Scoring (Recency,
                           Frequency and Monetary contribution) to group our consumers
                           in tiers of value. Then we use propensity and surrogate set
                           modeling to identify prospects across tiers for specific
                           campaigns. To gauge the effectiveness of our targeting, we
                           employ a holdout methodology on each campaign, as well as
                           a global holdout. Consumers in the holdout look identical to
                           consumers in the marketed audience in terms of all available
                           data points. They live in the same metropolitan areas, they
                           came on file at the same random points throughout the year,
                           they are statistically identical in terms of age and gender, etc.
                           These consumers form the basis for comparison to
                           understand the impact of specific CRM initiatives.

                           Engage: Currently, CRM at SCEA involves a variety of
                           communications that fall into three major categories. The first
                           group, which is consumer lifecycle-driven, are contacts that
                           occur when a consumer takes (or fails to take) a specific
                           action. Everything from joining the PSN to failing to visit the
                           store to becoming inactive can lead to a "communication
                           nudge" to adjust the consumer's future behavior.

                           The second category of contact is business-driven.
                           Calendared events like the launch of a new software title, or a
                           new piece of hardware, will result in a manual select of the
                           ideal consumers for that product in conjunction with a multi-
                           step contact strategy. In the case of software, for example,
                           contact runs from pre-sales through “accolades,” a post
                           launch communication that goes to people who have yet to
                           play the title, informing them of the awards and critical acclaim
                           the title has received.

                           The third and final contact type is ad-hoc. From surveys to
                           events and promotions to major announcements, there is a
                           constant stream of consumer communication to keep the base


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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                 The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




engaged and interacting with PlayStation. Ad hoc selects can be regional (“make sure
you visit the PlayStation booth at the San Diego Comic-Con”) or consumer behavior
driven (target all active Store purchasers for the Spring PSN Store Sale) or driven by
any number of other criteria. The M5 system has to be enormously flexible to handle
selects driven by a very wide variety of consumer actions.




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                 The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




Your First Step Toward an Evolved
Marketing Approach?
The 4Sight Marketing Audit
To be effective, the Conversation Loop strategic and technological platform must be
customized to the unique conversation patterns and behaviors of each brand’s
customers. And although each aspect of the Conversation Loop process continues to
optimize over time as more data is captured, we must begin with the correct strategic
foundation, as well as an appropriate technology design and initial communications
architecture. Therefore, the first step in constructing the Conversation Loop for any
brand is Direct Partners and Hakuhodo’s 4Sight Marketing Audit. The audit requires
the aggregation of historical materials and research to be reviewed by the audit team
followed by 1-2 days of interviews with key stakeholders. These interviews focus on
the four key areas most closely connected to a brand’s relationship to its consumers,
with the results of these interview forming the sections of the final 4Sight Marketing
Audit report.

      BUSINESS AUDIT: The Conversation Loop provides precise measurement of
      customer value; therefore, we seek to discover in this phase the underlying
      business metrics of the brand and how these relate to the customer.

      CUSTOMER AUDIT: Over time, the Conversation Loop platform delivers
      unequalled customer insight at the individual level. At the inception of the
      process, however, it is necessary for the platform design team to understand
      how the brand sees the target as well as to review all prior research the brand
      has conducted to understand its customers and prospects.

      COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT: If customer information is the input to the
      Conversation Loop platform, customized communication is the output;
      consequently, we must begin with a clear knowledge of how the brand has been
      communicating historically. In this phase, the team reviews brand strategy
      documentation and the complete array of current and recent customer
      communication.

      DATABASE AUDIT: Data is at the center of the Conversation Loop platform. In
      this phase the team seeks to discovers what sources of data already exists and
      what potential sources of data can be tapped to fuel the platform.

The audit is performed by our C4S Audit Team: a group of conversation marketing
experts from both Hakuhodo and Direct Partners.




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                 The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




Learn More
To learn more about the audit process, schedule an audit for your brand or if you have
further questions regarding this whitepaper or of the Conversation Loop process,
please contact

     In Japan:                                     In the United States:
     Tasuku Yamanokuchi                            Jerry McRuer
     tasuku.yamanokuchi@hakuhodo.co.jp             JMcRuer@directpartners.com
     +81-3-6441-7793                               +1 310-482-4403




Established in 1994, Direct Partners is a leading CRM communications company in the
U.S., serving multiple global companies from offices in Los Angeles and San
Francisco. Their proprietary M5 database system is the foundation for customizing
unique, effective platforms for clients in retail, packaged goods, and entertainment and
consumer electronics. ROI-focused since its inception, Direct Partners helps clients
focus their marketing communication budgets on areas and activities that will lead to
the greatest growth and profitability.




Founded in 1895, Hakuhodo Inc. is the second largest advertising company in Japan,
and the leading agency in the world's eighth largest agency group.  Since its
incubation, innovation and creativity have been at the heart of its
operations.  Hakuhodo shares with its clients an unmatched depth of knowledge
about the relationship between people and brands, knowledge that has grown from
the concept of sei-katsu-sha (= living people with lifestyles, aspirations and dreams),
which Hakuhodo pioneered in advertising.  Through its global network, Hakuhodo
provides comprehensive marketing and communications services and solutions for
some of the best-known brands in the world.  Hakuhodo has 59 offices in 17
countries/ regions, and 3,107 employees (as of April 1, 2011).

Hakuhodo and Direct Partners have partnered together since 2009 in an effort to
develop an advanced approach to real-time CRM on a global scale. The Conversation
Loop was created as a part of this initiative.



Writers: Tasuku Yamanokuchi, Jerry McRuer, Tyler Gaul, Jonathan Rouse



                                                                                 Page 17 of 19
Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                   The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




Appendix
Social Media Statistics
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have helped to centralize consumer conversations in a
single space. Participation on these platforms has reached high levels:

 Platform         Audience                       Key Communication Indicator

 Facebook         550 million users              7 billion minutes per month
 YouTube          3 billion views per day        35 hours of video uploaded per min
 Twitter          100 million users              55 million Tweets per day
 Yelp             41 million visitors/month      15 million reviews
 Amazon           65 million customers/month     $34 billion annual sales in 2010




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Hakuhodo | Direct Partners 	                                            The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform




Asian Social Network Landscape
Japan, India and South Korean have experienced over 4,000% growth rates of Twitter
users. The Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand have seen comparable growth among
Facebook users. As the popularity of social sharing websites like YouTube continues to
increase, Asian consumers will achieve the same communicative power as American
consumers, if not more. While it is unknown when this shift will occur, it is almost
certain that it will and to a much greater extent than in the U.S.

                                     PENETRATION (SOC.                                                         % OF
                      MARKET SIZE
                                      NETWORK USERS/            SOCIAL         #1 SOCIAL        SOCIAL       Internet                  14
        COUNTRY         (GDP IN                        FACEBOOK
                                          TOTAL                  TECH.         NETWORK         GROWTH        USERS IN
                       MM USD)
                                        WEB USERS)                                                             ASIA


                                                                                             Rapid,
                                 40% of users create
                                                                                             especially on
                                 original content; 221
                                                                                             Facebook.
                                 million blogs, 117
                                                          3.7MM                              They use it
                                 million BBS and 176
          China       $5,745,133                        (Hong Kong   High        Qzone       as a way to       50.9      Medium
                                 million social network
                                                           only)                             get around
                                 users (Internet
                                                                                             censorship
                                 users are 31.6% of
                                                                                             by the
                                 population)
                                                                                             government


                                 75% (Internet
          Japan       $5,390,897 users are 78.2% of         5.3MM    High         Mixi       Rapid             12         High
                                 population)


                                 68.5% (Internet
                                                                               Facebook,
          India       $1,430,020 users are 6.9% of          18.8MM   High                    Omnipresent       9.8        High
                                                                                 Orkut
                                 population)


                                                                                             Facebook
                                    88.6% (Internet                                          usage
        Indonesia      $695,059     users are 12.3% of      34MM     High      Facebook      increased         3.6       Medium
                                    population)                                              3500% in 2
                                                                                             years


                                                                                             Rapid - not
                                    63.5% (Internet
                                                                                             so much in
       South Korea     $986,256     users are 81.1% of      3.4MM    High       Cyworld                        4.8       Medium
                                                                                             North Korea,
                                    population)
                                                                                             though


                                    (Internet users are
        Thailand       $312,605                             7.3MM    High      Facebook      Rapid             2.1        High
                                    26.3% of population)


                                    83.7% (Internet
        Singapore      $217,377     users are 77.8% of      2.3MM    High      Facebook      Rapid             0.4        High
                                    population)


                                    5th largest country
                                                                                             Facebook
                                    on Facebook, 90% of
                                                                                             usage
                                    entire web population
        Phillipines    $189,061                             20.8MM   High      Facebook      increased         3.6        High
                                    use Social networks
                                                                                             4700% in 2
                                    (Internet users are
                                                                                             years
                                    29.7% of population)


                                    84.7% (Internet
        Malaysia       $218,950     users are 65% of        9.8MM    High      Facebook      Rapid              2       Medium
                                    population)



14 All statistics in this section unless otherwise noted: Online Media in Japan Today, Nielson. August 2010, Issue #1.




                                                                                                                                 Page 19 of 19

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The conversationloop july2011

  • 1. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform A collaborative whitepaper by Hakuhodo and Direct Partners. Tasuku Yamanokuchi Jerry McRuer Tyler Gaul Jonathan Rouse Page 1 of 19
  • 2. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform The Conversation Loop: A New Marketing Platform Executive Summary We are witnessing an unprecedented shift in the ways consumers interact with brands. This shift represents both a threat and an opportunity for brand marketers. At base, this shift represents a major loss in the effectiveness of traditional, linear media channels like TV, print, and radio. This is caused by the combination of two main factors: the rising consumer distrust of large-scale advertising and the rise of consumer-controlled communication channels, otherwise known as “social media.” Empowered by their own media channels, consumers have taken control of brand messaging, to the point that they feel like they are co-owners of the brands they consumer. Instead of passively "listening" to brand messages, they actively conduct their own "brand conversations" outside of traditional advertising channels — starting their own "fan" pages on Facebook and making their own product videos on YouTube. In some cases, these consumer activities reach a wider audience than most primetime media buys, 1 and they do so more relevantly and effectively. In this new environment, it is the brands that must do the listening. The new social media offers a rich source of data along with numerous new opportunities for direct customer interaction. This can provide a wealth of consumer/brand insights that were previously unavailable to marketers, allowing them to segment customers and communicate to them more cost-effectively. Hakuhodo and Direct Partners have developed The Conversation Loop Marketing Platform to bring this approach into action. We are currently using this platform for a number of Fortune 500 clients, helping them to revolutionize the way they profitably relate to their consumers. 1 See Impact of Social Media Channels for details Page 2 of 19
  • 3. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform The Shift Represents Both a Threat (-) and an Opportunity (+) for Marketers (-) Erosion of Consumer (+) A Data Explosion. Trust. As consumers connect with each other and take ownership in brands, they Advertising is everywhere these days, and become comfortable with sharing their much of it appears in a context that is not views and actively participating in online relevant to the consumer. As consumers communities. This online social have become desensitized to marketing environment represents a consumer data communications, they have raised their mine that allows marketers to connect to expectations for truth in advertising, consumers in an instantaneous or real- product quality and brand relevance. time way for the first time in history. (+) Consumers as “Brand Owners.” (+) Greater Marketing Today's consumers are seeking to form a Effectiveness at Lower deeper relationship with their favorite Cost. brands by interacting with them on multiple levels. For example, consumers Brand communications that are informed and companies are now “teaming up” to by these rich data sources are more evaluate and improve products, or even relevant to consumers and, therefore, create new ones. The same goes for more effective. Digital media channels advertising campaigns. allow brand communications to be delivered in the right way, at the right time and in the right amounts. They can (-) Emergence of Social provide massive growth in brand equity at Media. a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising channels. Unlike traditional advertising channels (TV, radio, magazines), social media channels like Facebook and YouTube are controlled by the consumer. Because of their popularity, these sites can give a brand more exposure (negative or positive) than a well-financed TV campaign. Because consumers trust these channels, they can strongly influence buying decisions and brand perceptions. Page 3 of 19
  • 4. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform Solution: The Conversation Loop Platform The Conversation Loop is an integrated platform designed to meet these threats and opportunities. It has database technology at its foundation, and a four-step process for leveraging the vast consumer data available in the post-shift environment: LISTEN: to what customers are saying about their brands, not only in the new social media, but across a wide spectrum of consumer behavior as shown on p. 10. LEARN: how customers are behaving by collecting data from multiple sources ANALYZE: this data to group consumers into the most profitable segments ENGAGE: these highly profitable customers with more relevant messages Throughout this process, the platform will inform and influence all business operations of the company, not just the marketing department. PR, Finance, R&D, Distribution, etc. will all have a vital role to play in how The Conversation Loop actively engages the consumer with the brand. The First Step to Taking the Conversation Loop Approach We’re confident every brand can increase its profitability via the deployment of The Conversation Loop Platform. To receive an appraisal of the value of a Conversation Loop Platform to your organization, we encourage you to take a simple first step: participate in a 4Sight Marketing Audit. You will find details regarding the 4Sight Marketing Audit on p.14. Page 4 of 19
  • 5. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform Table of Contents: 6 A Massive Communications Shift in the U.S. 6 Four Main Factors Behind the Shift Desensitization Distrust Technology Ownership 8 The Impact of the Shift in Snapshots: 9 The Implication for Marketers 10 Summary 11 The Conversation Loop Marketing Platform Learn Listen Analyze Engage 12 Technical Requirement for The Conversation Loop 13 A Case Study: Sony PlayStation 16 The 4Sight Marketing Audit 17 About Direct Partners and Hakuhodo 18 Appendix Page 5 of 19
  • 6. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform A Massive Communications Shift in the U.S. For years, advertising agencies have been telling clients, "consumers are paying less attention to advertising these days." Typically, the agency then recommends either increasing the media budget or developing new "breakthrough" creative (both at the expense of the client). Neither of these approaches seems to be working anymore. Historically, communication channels like TV, radio, print and even banner ads have been controlled and regulated by ad agencies, media companies and marketers using the “push” approach to messaging. Although campaign results were difficult to measure, it was assumed that they worked through a combination of awareness, repetition and persuasion. As channels expanded and marketers struggled to hold consumers’ attention, ads became even more prominent, more persuasive (or “pushy”) and, thus, more alienating to consumers. At the same time, consumers began to shift their attention to emerging social media channels, where they could create and consume their own content. In this new environment, brands take on a life of their own, making consumers co-proprietors of your brand image. The upshot? Big ad budgets and "creative" campaigns are increasingly ineffective, while a whole new opportunity has emerged for brands to relate to consumers more profitably than ever before. Four Main Factors Behind the Shift Desensitization Due to advertising/information overload Distrust Of corporate/advertising messages Technology Making it easier to access information and share opinions Ownership Consumers who self-identify with brands expect more value and honesty from them Desensitization. In the last decade, marketing effectiveness has declined for almost all traditional media year over year. Experts say this change is due to consumer desensitization caused by too many marketing messages. The New York Times recently reported that the average American sees around 5,000 ads a day.2 65% of Americans feel continuously bombarded with ads.3 The Internet is not immune to the 2 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/magazine/11wwlnlede.t.html 3 Wegert, Tessa (2004), "When Consumers Love Advertising," ClickZ Networks, (April)  Page 6 of 19
  • 7. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform problem. A phenomenon called “banner blindness” has lead to a constant decrease in click-through rates for online advertising.4 Distrust of Advertising. Consumers are not just ignoring corporate messages and advertising; they are questioning their truthfulness and relevance. Tired of meaningless, unsolicited advertising, they have turned to each other for reliable product information. As the Edleman Trust Report shows, Americans see “a person like yourself or a peer” as the only trustworthy information source. This has now replaced “government,” “businesses,” “news anchors” and even, just recently, “doctors,” all of which were the top sources of information in the past.5 Technology. These behavioral changes are significant on their own. But they have been accelerated by new social technologies and platforms that, for the first time, give consumers the ability to create their own conversations about brands outside the traditional framework of advertising. These conversations are much more powerful than the old "word of mouth" effect, because one word can now be heard by millions. Internet usage has reached a critical mass. A third of the world is now connected, and a large portion of these users has high-speed connections. In addition, consumers are now connecting, recording and making purchases through smart mobile devices at rapidly increasing rate. This connectivity has seen its greatest increase through the rapid growth in consumer participation on social platforms.6 Ownership. With this new technology at their disposal, consumers are taking a personal and active role in determining what their favorite brands stand for, and how much value they deliver.7 “Brand Positioning” (as defined by the marketer) is being replaced with the notion of “Brand Purpose,” a shared definition of the brand that must be earned by the company and accepted by the consumer in the social space. 4 http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/five_ways_to_improve_roi_of_behavioral/q/id/53643/t/2 5 http://www.edelman.com/image/insights/content/FullSupplement.pdf 6 http://www.forrester.com/groundswell/book.html 7 http://www.forrester.com/empowered/empowerednotes.html Page 7 of 19
  • 8. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform The Impact of the Shift in Snapshots: For better or worse, social networks have become a dominating force in the U.S. commerce. As demonstrated in the following snapshots, this influence can sometimes have a significant and measurable impact on a company’s financial state. (+) BlendTec. A small start-up kitchen appliance company called BlendTec launched a campaign on free social media called “Will it Blend”? Over the next year, it garnered over 110 million impressions (far exceeding the highest rated TV placements like the Super Bowl). Sales increased by 600%.8 (+) Pepsi’s Mountain Dew. As early as 2008, Mountain Dew utilized “collective intelligence” through their program, Dewmocracy, which was launched through social platforms. This program allowed Mountain Dew fans to vote on a new flavor of Mountain Dew soda. Within 10 weeks 1 million people participated in the vote. Mountain Dew saw a 3.7% increase in sales while all other competitors posted quarterly losses. Mountain Dew gained almost 1% market share instantly.9 (+) Walmart. Walmart launched a "Money Saving Tips" social media campaign as part of their renewed focus on “building connections” to increase their business. Within months, Walmart mobilized most of the key figures within the influential “mommy-blog” sphere who together reach an audience of almost 10 million.10 (-) United Airlines. United Airlines customer Jim Carroll uploaded a music video on YouTube with a song criticizing the way United mistreated his bags. Three days later, his video had over one million hits. As of July 2010, it had almost 9 million views. Within 4 days of the video being posted, United Airline’s share price fell 10%, costing stockholders around $180 million.11 The Implication for Marketers These social networks now dominate the attention of the average American, and make up the majority of their media consumption. Audiences on YouTube are much larger 8 http://www.socialens.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/20090127_case_blendtec11.pdf 9 http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=102488 10 http://www.slideshare.net/GasPedal/blogwell-social-media-case-study-walmart-presented-by-suraya-bliss-and-john-andrews- 11 http://www.forrester.com/empowered/empowerednotes.html Page 8 of 19
  • 9. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform than most primetime TV audiences. More importantly, the content on these channels regarding products, brands and consumer experiences is timely, relevant and from a trusted source: other consumers. This development has weakened the effectiveness of corporate messaging by giving individual consumers more ways to communicate than the brands they consume. In the past, consumers would verbally share a positive brand experience only to an immediate circle of friends and family. At most they would write an angry letter to the Customer Service Department. Except in the case of opinion leaders and media figures, “word-of-mouth” damage to a brand was limited to a small circle of friends.12 Today, consumers can reach thousands of “virtual friends” in seconds. A single voice can overpower an entire campaign, cost a company millions of dollars, or even threaten the entire brand.13 Some examples of this are mentioned above. The consumer voice now rivals the company’s voice in both influence and reach. Brands are now subject of intense and shared scrutiny by consumers, who have the power to recommend them to friends, but also publicize their shortcomings and even redefine their value in the marketplace. In this way, what was once considered just a marketing issue now concerns every aspect of the company. What was once corrected through a national TV campaign, in some cases can only be corrected through business operations such as product development or distribution practices. That said, as is also apparent from the examples above, by simply taking a new approach to relating to consumers, companies can achieve controlled growth that was not possible before. Moreover, instead of resorting to the guessing-game that is national brand marketing, marketers can now engage in instantaneous, individual communications where the value and effectiveness is instantly apparent. This creates actual, authentic brand growth beyond that of mere “persuasion.” It forms a deeper consumer-brand connection and creates a more lasting competitive advantage. 12 http://www.colloquy.com/files/2009-COLLOQUY-Talk-Talk-White-Paper.pdf 13 http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2011/06/welcome-to-the-age-of-the-customer-invest-accordingly.html Page 9 of 19
  • 10. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform Summary Before the Shift After the Shift Company Dictates Brand Perception Consumer Creates Brand Perception Linear, Top-Down Media Channels Circular, Continuous Media Channels • Set Media Schedule • “Rolling” Media Schedule • Campaign-Based • Conversation-Based One Media Plan for All Consumers One Media Plan for EACH Consumer Immediate Revenue Growth Long-Term, Sustainable Growth Sales Marketing Department Concerned with Marketing, R&D, Customer Service, Consumer Perception Finance and C-Level…etc. – All Concerned with Customer Perception Customers are now co-owners of every brand, which reduces the effectiveness of traditional (impersonal) advertising but also creates an opportunity for brands to connect with consumers more than they ever could before. In this new era of consumer-empowerment, marketers must find an effective way to listen, learn, analyze and engage with their customers. Page 10 of 19
  • 11. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform The Solution: The Conversation Loop Platform The Conversation Loop is an integrated marketing approach powered by a robust technology platform we have developed called M5. By using a combination of brand insights, database analytics and targeted promotions, the Conversation Loop and M5 enable the clients of Direct Partners to run a holistic marketing process based on four steps: LISTEN: to what customers are saying and how they are interacting with the brand. This segment of the Loop is accomplished by tapping into the numerous customer data streams that can be found on: • Branded sites and forums • Social networks • Mobile platforms • Public forums LEARN: by collecting and storing every traceable brand interaction in a real-time database infrastructure. By organizing this data onto a single data platform, we obtain a single, 360-degree snapshot of our clients' customers. ANALYZE: this data using advanced statistical and analytical models to group consumers into segments. Through our M5 proprietary consumer database we can sort consumers by their preferences, likes, dislikes and behavior in an automated fashion. ENGAGE: customers with the brand in real time (like a face-to-face conversation) and in a way that is the most relevant to them and the most profitable for marketers. This allows the brand to evolve in real time, becoming more effective and influential than its competitors. Page 11 of 19
  • 12. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform M5: The Technical Requirements for The Conversation Loop The Conversation Loop requires strategy, planning and a robust platform design to engage each customer appropriately. Our M5 database takes account of the following technology requirements, which we customize for each of our clients: • Increased data feeds into the Marketing Database, as many as possible in real-time • Integration of the data back to the sources from where it came, to maintain 360-degree relevance • Real-time algorithms to weight the value of the customer interactions taking place • Real-time segmentation based on customer scores • Automated emails triggered by consumers’ interactions, preferences and scores • A content server allowing standard communications to be delivered with customized content blocks based on segmentation, interactions, preferences and scores • A reporting engine to aggregate the data • A data dashboard allowing clients to make program improvements on the fly Page 12 of 19
  • 13. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform A Case Study: Sony PlayStation To demonstrate how this platform works for an actual client of Direct Partners, we would like to share a case study for a Fortune 500 company in the video game industry: Sony Consumer Entertainment of America (SCEA). Listen: Beginning in 2006 with the launch of the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Network, Direct Partners worked with internal stakeholders at SCEA, SCEE (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) and multiple related third parties to build a comprehensive network of data feeds tracking consumer behavior at nearly every brand touch point: within the game, on the console dashboard, at retail, on the web, via email, in social media, in ecommerce, via mobile devices, etc. The available data was both broad and deep; we were able to gain insight into where consumers preferred to interact, and uncover a wealth of information about the specifics of each interaction. Learn: Such a vast array of information can become overwhelming without a robust system in place to separate the actionable information from "noise." With over a half dozen daily feeds of consumer activity arriving in real time, comprising hundreds of thousands of unique data points, simple items like identifying a consumer can become a chore. For example, is a consumer the same thing as a console? No, since one console may be shared among multiple consumers. Is a consumer the same thing as a PlayStation Network Online ID? No, since one consumer can (and frequently does) have multiple PSN IDs. M5 is the name of Direct Partners’ proprietary data engine that collects all the disparate data feeds, performs hygiene on the data, unifies the information around a consumer profile, and sorts and stores that consumer's behavioral, promotional and response history. The M5 engine powers everything from higher analytics to SCEA’s quick view dashboards to triggered communications for ongoing CRM efforts and list selections for ad hoc contacts. Page 13 of 19
  • 14. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform Analyze: Once consumer data has been imported and organized within the M5 data hierarchy, the next phase involves segmenting consumers into pre-defined categories based on their observed behavior. PlayStation 3 consumers fall into a variety of categories, from low involvement consumers who purchased the device as an inexpensive connected Blu- ray player to hard core competitors who collect virtual trophies in as many games as possible and are highly active in the PlayStation Store. We apply standard CRM models like RFM Scoring (Recency, Frequency and Monetary contribution) to group our consumers in tiers of value. Then we use propensity and surrogate set modeling to identify prospects across tiers for specific campaigns. To gauge the effectiveness of our targeting, we employ a holdout methodology on each campaign, as well as a global holdout. Consumers in the holdout look identical to consumers in the marketed audience in terms of all available data points. They live in the same metropolitan areas, they came on file at the same random points throughout the year, they are statistically identical in terms of age and gender, etc. These consumers form the basis for comparison to understand the impact of specific CRM initiatives. Engage: Currently, CRM at SCEA involves a variety of communications that fall into three major categories. The first group, which is consumer lifecycle-driven, are contacts that occur when a consumer takes (or fails to take) a specific action. Everything from joining the PSN to failing to visit the store to becoming inactive can lead to a "communication nudge" to adjust the consumer's future behavior. The second category of contact is business-driven. Calendared events like the launch of a new software title, or a new piece of hardware, will result in a manual select of the ideal consumers for that product in conjunction with a multi- step contact strategy. In the case of software, for example, contact runs from pre-sales through “accolades,” a post launch communication that goes to people who have yet to play the title, informing them of the awards and critical acclaim the title has received. The third and final contact type is ad-hoc. From surveys to events and promotions to major announcements, there is a constant stream of consumer communication to keep the base Page 14 of 19
  • 15. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform engaged and interacting with PlayStation. Ad hoc selects can be regional (“make sure you visit the PlayStation booth at the San Diego Comic-Con”) or consumer behavior driven (target all active Store purchasers for the Spring PSN Store Sale) or driven by any number of other criteria. The M5 system has to be enormously flexible to handle selects driven by a very wide variety of consumer actions. Page 15 of 19
  • 16. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform Your First Step Toward an Evolved Marketing Approach? The 4Sight Marketing Audit To be effective, the Conversation Loop strategic and technological platform must be customized to the unique conversation patterns and behaviors of each brand’s customers. And although each aspect of the Conversation Loop process continues to optimize over time as more data is captured, we must begin with the correct strategic foundation, as well as an appropriate technology design and initial communications architecture. Therefore, the first step in constructing the Conversation Loop for any brand is Direct Partners and Hakuhodo’s 4Sight Marketing Audit. The audit requires the aggregation of historical materials and research to be reviewed by the audit team followed by 1-2 days of interviews with key stakeholders. These interviews focus on the four key areas most closely connected to a brand’s relationship to its consumers, with the results of these interview forming the sections of the final 4Sight Marketing Audit report. BUSINESS AUDIT: The Conversation Loop provides precise measurement of customer value; therefore, we seek to discover in this phase the underlying business metrics of the brand and how these relate to the customer. CUSTOMER AUDIT: Over time, the Conversation Loop platform delivers unequalled customer insight at the individual level. At the inception of the process, however, it is necessary for the platform design team to understand how the brand sees the target as well as to review all prior research the brand has conducted to understand its customers and prospects. COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT: If customer information is the input to the Conversation Loop platform, customized communication is the output; consequently, we must begin with a clear knowledge of how the brand has been communicating historically. In this phase, the team reviews brand strategy documentation and the complete array of current and recent customer communication. DATABASE AUDIT: Data is at the center of the Conversation Loop platform. In this phase the team seeks to discovers what sources of data already exists and what potential sources of data can be tapped to fuel the platform. The audit is performed by our C4S Audit Team: a group of conversation marketing experts from both Hakuhodo and Direct Partners. Page 16 of 19
  • 17. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform Learn More To learn more about the audit process, schedule an audit for your brand or if you have further questions regarding this whitepaper or of the Conversation Loop process, please contact In Japan: In the United States: Tasuku Yamanokuchi Jerry McRuer tasuku.yamanokuchi@hakuhodo.co.jp JMcRuer@directpartners.com +81-3-6441-7793 +1 310-482-4403 Established in 1994, Direct Partners is a leading CRM communications company in the U.S., serving multiple global companies from offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Their proprietary M5 database system is the foundation for customizing unique, effective platforms for clients in retail, packaged goods, and entertainment and consumer electronics. ROI-focused since its inception, Direct Partners helps clients focus their marketing communication budgets on areas and activities that will lead to the greatest growth and profitability. Founded in 1895, Hakuhodo Inc. is the second largest advertising company in Japan, and the leading agency in the world's eighth largest agency group.  Since its incubation, innovation and creativity have been at the heart of its operations.  Hakuhodo shares with its clients an unmatched depth of knowledge about the relationship between people and brands, knowledge that has grown from the concept of sei-katsu-sha (= living people with lifestyles, aspirations and dreams), which Hakuhodo pioneered in advertising.  Through its global network, Hakuhodo provides comprehensive marketing and communications services and solutions for some of the best-known brands in the world.  Hakuhodo has 59 offices in 17 countries/ regions, and 3,107 employees (as of April 1, 2011). Hakuhodo and Direct Partners have partnered together since 2009 in an effort to develop an advanced approach to real-time CRM on a global scale. The Conversation Loop was created as a part of this initiative. Writers: Tasuku Yamanokuchi, Jerry McRuer, Tyler Gaul, Jonathan Rouse Page 17 of 19
  • 18. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform Appendix Social Media Statistics Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have helped to centralize consumer conversations in a single space. Participation on these platforms has reached high levels: Platform Audience Key Communication Indicator Facebook 550 million users 7 billion minutes per month YouTube 3 billion views per day 35 hours of video uploaded per min Twitter 100 million users 55 million Tweets per day Yelp 41 million visitors/month 15 million reviews Amazon 65 million customers/month $34 billion annual sales in 2010 Page 18 of 19
  • 19. Hakuhodo | Direct Partners The Conversation Loop: a New Marketing Platform Asian Social Network Landscape Japan, India and South Korean have experienced over 4,000% growth rates of Twitter users. The Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand have seen comparable growth among Facebook users. As the popularity of social sharing websites like YouTube continues to increase, Asian consumers will achieve the same communicative power as American consumers, if not more. While it is unknown when this shift will occur, it is almost certain that it will and to a much greater extent than in the U.S. PENETRATION (SOC. % OF MARKET SIZE NETWORK USERS/ SOCIAL #1 SOCIAL SOCIAL Internet 14 COUNTRY (GDP IN FACEBOOK TOTAL TECH. NETWORK GROWTH USERS IN MM USD) WEB USERS) ASIA Rapid, 40% of users create especially on original content; 221 Facebook. million blogs, 117 3.7MM They use it million BBS and 176 China $5,745,133 (Hong Kong High Qzone as a way to 50.9 Medium million social network only) get around users (Internet censorship users are 31.6% of by the population) government 75% (Internet Japan $5,390,897 users are 78.2% of 5.3MM High Mixi Rapid 12 High population) 68.5% (Internet Facebook, India $1,430,020 users are 6.9% of 18.8MM High Omnipresent 9.8 High Orkut population) Facebook 88.6% (Internet usage Indonesia $695,059 users are 12.3% of 34MM High Facebook increased 3.6 Medium population) 3500% in 2 years Rapid - not 63.5% (Internet so much in South Korea $986,256 users are 81.1% of 3.4MM High Cyworld 4.8 Medium North Korea, population) though (Internet users are Thailand $312,605 7.3MM High Facebook Rapid 2.1 High 26.3% of population) 83.7% (Internet Singapore $217,377 users are 77.8% of 2.3MM High Facebook Rapid 0.4 High population) 5th largest country Facebook on Facebook, 90% of usage entire web population Phillipines $189,061 20.8MM High Facebook increased 3.6 High use Social networks 4700% in 2 (Internet users are years 29.7% of population) 84.7% (Internet Malaysia $218,950 users are 65% of 9.8MM High Facebook Rapid 2 Medium population) 14 All statistics in this section unless otherwise noted: Online Media in Japan Today, Nielson. August 2010, Issue #1. Page 19 of 19