The Dragonfly Effect: Unlocking Social Media for Impact

The Dragonfly Effect: Unlocking Social Media for Impact

Andy Smith @kabbenbock + Jennifer Aaker @aakerDragonflyeffect.com

• Our marriage of happiness + technology

• The story that changed everything: Robert Chatwani’s Using Social Media to Save Lives

• Introduction to the dragonfly model

• Harnessing the dragonfly to engineer virality

• Case studies: Coke, Nike and C&D’s Lemonade

DEFINITION OF VIRALITYWhat’s Coming Up

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Jennifer

A Marriage of Happiness + Technology

Jennifer’s never seen a cause she couldn’t champion.

Andy

A Marriage of Happiness + Technology

Andy’s never seen a problem for which they wasn’t a technology solution

Two Mindsets©

Dragonfly Effect

PC | APPLE Mindsets

Andy Jennifer

1970’s

Digital PDP 8e / Apple Perfected penmanship

1980’s PC (built one) Hired a typist

1990’s

Desktop PC Apple

2000 Laptop PC PC

2010 Apple Apple

Two Mindsets

Using Social Media to Save Lives

Created by: Robert Chatwani

• Sameer Bhatia, 32• Grew up in Seattle• Co-Founder, prior roommate, best friend• Married Reena in 2006• Stanford undergrad, serial entrepreneur• Diagnosed May 2007

• Vinay Chakravarthy, 28• Grew up in Fremont, CA• Married Rashmi in 2005• Berkeley undergrad, MD from Boston University• Diagnosed November 2006

Two friends, diagnosed with Leukemia

Cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream.

Leukemia

New cases: 44,790Deaths: 21,870

US Estimates – 2009

Range of treatments Oral drugs

ChemotherapyRadiation

Bone marrow transplant

Cord blood transplant

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Spongy tissue found inside of bones. Marrow produces the body’s white & red blood cells, and platelets.

What is bone marrow?

For many leukemia patients, the only cure is a bone marrow transplant, with marrow that comes from a donor.

Transplantation of donor blood stem cells derived from the bone marrow or bloodstream (most common approach).

What is a marrow transplant?

Marrow infused into the patient requires a genetic match that is as perfect as possible (10/10 match parameters).

Highest probability exists within the same ethnic pool.

Finding a donor

Non-profit that operates a bone marrow registry of 7.5 million individuals.

For Caucasians, there is an 80% chance of finding a matched donor in the NMDP registry.

Of the 7.5 million registrants,

20% are minorities.

But only 1% are South Asian.

So if you are South Asian…

your chances of finding a match

are slim.

Very slim.

1 in 20,000

Sameer and Vinay did not find matches that they desperately needed in the registry.

To make matters worse…

…in India,

a country with more than 1 billion

people

There was no bone marrow registry.

nothing

What to do?

Friends got together.

All of us were quite shocked about the news that two of our friends were struck with cancer.

We all felt like we needed to do something. Anything.

What were our options?

Do nothing.

Do something.Do nothing.

Do something SEISMIC

Do somethingDo nothing

Our simple answer…

If the odds were 1 in 20,000…

Then all we needed to do was…

hold bone marrow drives…

and register 20,000 South Asians.

And then we’ll find a match.

Just 1 problem.

We had a matter of weeks to get this done.

The Challenge

We needed to move

fast

We needed scale

Failure was not an

option

First, think small, stay focused.

One goal: 20,000 individuals

GET: Some structure to the

chaosGrab

attentionGrab

attention EngageEngage Take actionTake

action

• Make message bold, crisp, & human

• Funnel traffic to a single destination

• Be personally meaningful

• Clear call to action in all communication (K.I.S.S.)

• Track metrics & collective impact

• Use MANY channels

Harness Social Media & Web 2.0

Formed teams

Team Vinay Team Sameerteam lead

marketing

drive operations

education

regional leads

team lead

marketing

drive operations

education

regional leads

bridges

Built the brands

HelpSameer.orgHelpVinay.org

HelpSameerAndVinay.org

Built the brands

HelpSameer.org HelpVinay.org

Executed, like CRAZY.

AWARENESS ACTION

Social Media

Traditional Media

Education

Registration

Blogs

Facebook

WidgetsVideo

Viral EmailPledge Lists

Fliers

Celebrities

Donor OrgsLiterature

Web Links

How to Videos

Homes

Local Events

Clubs / LoungesUniversities

Temples

Corporate Drives

TV

Public Relations

PostersNewspapers

Magazine Telemarketing

STRATEGY

Instant Brand

Mass-Micro Mobilization

http://www.helpsameer.org/strategy/

• 470 bone marrow

drives

• 24,611 new people

registered

• About 3,500

volunteers

• 1m+ media

impressions

• 150,000+ site visitors

The Results – 12 weeks

• Sameer = 10/10 match.

• Vinay = 8/10 match.

• Transplants done Fall

2007.

Goal achieved.

Sameer shared his story from the hospital.

Both Sameer and Vinay blogged prolifically.

Sameer even posted a video of his transplant on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CG9fIYNf5A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CG9fIYNf5A

So, what lessons did

we learn?

1. Develop a clear goal.

There is elegance in

simplicity.

2. Act, then think. (Reverse the

rules)

Maintain a deep bias for action. Resist the temptation to have a master plan before taking the first step.

3. Tell a good (truthful) story.

Tell stories to connect with human emotion. Develop the right voice, and strike a bond.

4. Design an architecture for collaboration.

Enable others to contribute - allow the army to self-enroll, and let soldiers to choose their own weapons.

5. Focus on empowerment marketing*

Empower people to market your organization and its cause.

* Sundeep Ahuja – http://thesunrising.com/empowerment-marketing/

• Our best friend, Sameer, relapsed within 3 months of his transplant

• He fought hard – but sadly, passed away in March 2008

Update on Sameer

We celebrated his life by sharing his memorial service with the world.

Live Global Webcast

200+ live global viewers

6,000+ views in first 7 weeks

6,000+ total views

• Vinay had a successful transplant, but then relapsed

• Underwent alternative drug treatments

• Sadly, Vinay also passed away in June 2008

Vinay

Of the 24,000 new registered donors for Sameer & Vinay, 7,500+ were registered in the Bay Area.

Purpose…revealed.

From this 7,500+ the NMDP found ~ 80 new matches for other leukemia patients.

Sameer & Vinay’s cause has potentially led to 250 lives saved in the past year alone.

Legacy…revealed.

Final thoughts

Most revolutions are sparked by the actions of a few ordinary people.

Your biggest asset is a clear mind and a very large idea.

Find the ignition point of a chain reaction, and go ignite it.

I Wonder

What do I do now?

I Wonder

What do I do now?Could I water this?

I Wonder


Would it grow?

I Wonder


Would it grow?How would that make

me feel?

Happy.

2008 2009 2010

Robert Chatwani’s Story

2011

2008 2009 2010


Teach a class

2011

2008 2009 2010


Teach a class

Write a book

2011

2008 2009 2010


Teach a class

1 million

Write a book

2011

The social web and it’s role in affecting change…

TEAM SAMEER focused on a single goal: 20K South Asians registered

They did not try to sign up every single South Asian in the Bay Area.

They did focus on getting 20,000 Indians into the registry.

- Those who were well connected- Those who were parents- Those who could relate to Sameer and his story

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TEAM SAMEER grabbed attention, building an instant brand

Remove barriers to help (possibly more important than encouraging action)

Varied media and varied asks“Know a website that reaches South Asians? Ask them to post links to upcoming drives.”

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TEAM SAMEER engaged by speaking authenticity and telling a story, personally connecting with the listener

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TEAM SAMEER enabled action, giving their volunteers the tools to act.

Empowerment marketing: Are you ready to give up control?

Social change in a box: grab-able templates and tools

Act first, then think: Abandon, move one, abandon, move on

Power of a good campaign = others do things you don’t expect

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THE DRAGONFLY MODEL

FOUR STEPS: FOCUS + GET

©The Dragonfly Effect

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FOCUS


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•Humanistic

•Actionable

•Testable

•Clear

STEP 1

FOCUS

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GRAB ATTENTION


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•Personal

•Unexpected

•Visceral

•Visual

STEP 2

GRAB ATTENTION


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ENGAGE


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•Tell a story

•Authenticity

•Empathize, connect

•Match the media

STEP 3

ENGAGE


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Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are set up to understand stories

-Robert Schank, cognitive psychologist


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TAKE ACTION


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•Easy

•Fun

•Tailored

•Open

STEP 4

TAKE ACTION


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FOCUS GRAB ATTENTION

ENGAGETAKE ACTION


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FOCUS GRAB ATTENTION

ENGAGETAKE ACTION©The Dragonfly Effect

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The Dragonfly Effect

FOCUS: HumanisticActionable Testable Clarity Happiness

GRAB ATTENTION:Personal UnexpectedVisceral Visualize

ENGAGE:Tell a story Authenticity Empathize, connect Match the media

TAKE ACTION:Easy Fun Tailored Open

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Harnessing the

Dragonfly to Engineer

Virality

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• Think spread

• Each outbreak begins with 1 person

• Propagation is endogenous (self-sustaining)

• New infectious with each new generation

DEFINITION OF VIRALITYDefinition of Virality

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• Conventional marketing- Conversions = probability of conversion

x people exposed

• Viral marketing

- Reproduction rate = transmission rate x people told

- Must be > 1 for sustainability

VIRALITY MATHVirality Math©

Dragonfly Effect

Viral leverage comes from increasing transmission rate

Transmission rate:

grab attention rate x engagement rate

x ease of taking action

VIRAL DRAGONFLIESViral Dragonflies©

Dragonfly Effect

A viral hit onlineSome

background on

virality

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102 ads coded for ‘virality”

(more than 5K views/week)

THE STUDYOne Recent Study©

Dragonfly Effect

“There was no relation between

persuasion and viral potential.”

- Ann Green

Millward Brown 2010

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•Great creativity

•Wide dissemination

•Good search

optimization

•“Cross your fingers”

4 TIPS

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•E-Trade

•Audi

•Snickers

•Walmart

•Coke

…were the viral hits among the

102 ads

THE VIRAL HITSThe Viral Hits

Millward Brown 2010

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CokeCase Study

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The Challenge

• Need a way to build deeper connection with consumers

• Especially teens

• To its flagship

• Leverage digital media to connect globally

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The Solution

• Viral digital marketing campaign on happiness

• 7 prototypes; $50K each - Facebook apps- Wallpaper

• Winner: Coke Happiness Machine

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http://cokeurl.com/HappinessMachine

The Result

SPEND: $50K

REACH: 2 million in 2 weeks

- Global: 50% of viewers outside US 70% blog posts non-English.

IMPACT: 95% positive.

- ”I’m a Pepsi drinker, but I may make the switch.”

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NIKE WECase Study

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“We wanted to enable employees to give back easily, in their own way, then get out of their way.”

— Patrice Thramer, Global Director Employee Marketplace

NIKE

How can an employer facilitate meaningfulness?

The Challenge©

Dragonfly Effect

Goal: Offer the community “More than Money”

Solution (Nike WE)

• 4 different employee marketplaces with no corporate support

• Employee inspiration sessions via star athletes

• Coordinated efforts via a central employee portal (WE)

• Inspiration by giving talent, time, voice and money to community efforts

Prior approach

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The Solution

Hands-on work with local communities and organizing response to global disaster relief

Talk about philanthropic efforts via blogs, twitter, etc. and comment on other people’s efforts

Make monetary donations for community efforts fully matched by company funds

Volunteer with specialized skills e.g., provide free architecture design consultancy for re-building Haiti

VISION: The WE intranet portalTHE SOLUTION: WE Portal

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Intangible Tangible

• Increased employee awareness and morale

• Increased passion for work and better work-life balance

• Better brand image via positive PR

• Over 600 volunteering opportunities posted on WE

• WE Giving has an additional 450 organizations

• 5,000 Nike employees volunteered in 7 months in 34 countries

The Result©

Dragonfly Effect

Disaster Relief: Marysville Elementary School

Relief Effort• Broadcast for help on WE portal• 500 coats, backpacks filled with

supplies provided• Collaboration with local communities• Cash donations

Fire Disaster• Nov 2009: Marysville Elementary near

Nike’s Beaverton center burned down• No casualties but heavy material loss• NIKE’s School Innovation Fund (NSIF)

with $9M budget helps with relief efforts

C&D’s LEMONADE Case Study

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• Getting our children to connect to meaning, responsibility - a simple cause.

• Giving them the belief that they can make a difference

• And foster creativity along the way

The Challenge©

Dragonfly Effect

Mogilner and Aaker (2010)

The Solution

Lemonade Stand Study

• Manipulation

• Dependent variables– % of passersby who purchased– Willingness to pay ($1-$3)– )

Time Money Control


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Results: Who Buys?

14%

9%7%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Per

cen

tag

e w

ho

pu

rch

ase

d

Time Control Money

Of the 391 passersby, 40 stopped to buy


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Results: What Do They Donate?

$2.50

$2.18

$1.38

$1.00

$1.50

$2.00

$2.50

$3.00

Wil

lin

gn

ess

to p

ay

Time Control Money

And they paid nearly twice as much


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Inspiration for The Dragonfly Effect

Business

The Dragonfly Effect: Unlocking Social Media for Impact