If you want to know who helped propel President George W. Bush
toward his second term in the White House, you can thank the elite
10% of the population, which apparently drives what the other 90%
think. And it was this top tier that was targeted by Bush-Cheney
campaign manager Ken Melman as part of an "Influentials
Strategy."
The list of so-called "Influentials" is the centerpiece of new
research from NOP World, which has incorporated this key
group into its bi-annual study of American consumers.
The study looked at some 13,000 such "Influentials" and found
that print was far more effective than either TV or radio at
reaching these highly desirable individuals.
While 42% of influential Americans were heavy users of the
Internet, 41% were avid newspaper readers, 33% were heavy magazine
readers, 20% were frequent radio listeners and only 14% viewed
television regularly.
"Nobody's surprised about the Internet," says Brad Fay, managing
director of Roper Public Affairs (part of NOP World), "but
what is surprising is that media that has been around longer than
anything else -- magazines and newspapers -- are actually great at
reaching influential Americans.
The other surprise is that television ranks as low as it does.
If you think about the share of ad spend that goes into TV, it
causes a bit of a question mark."
MRI, owned by NOP World, the leading measurement system
for print media in the United States (used to set ad rates), has
been tracking "Influentials" for more than 40 years.
"Word of mouth is becoming much more important as a marketing
tool across a number of product categories, such as cars,
technology, food, beverages, media, finance and home improvement,"
Fay says. "More clients are looking at such strategies because of
ad clutter and skepticism about commercials. So they rely more and
more on friends and family."
Demographically, Influential Americans are similar to the
average citizen, and can be found in almost all regions, and in
both rural and urban areas. They are also about twice as likely as
the general population to be college graduates, as well as to hold
professional or management jobs.
Influential Americans are most interested in such topics as
politics, government and policy; they are not shy in expressing
their views.
"We also call them the 'Early Majority,'" Fay says. "Before an
idea or a product becomes mainstream, it has to go through them.
This group is spot-on for those in the public- relations industry
who want to connect with key constituencies and develop a message
strategy. It's hard to imagine doing it without their help."
He cites the book "The Influentials," co-written by Ed Keller,
CEO of NOP World Consumer, and author Jon Berry, which discusses
the group at length. (Many copies reportedly were scattered around
the Bush campaign offices.)
More clients, in advertising as well as in PR, are creating
"Influentials" strategies, but while they've had a great strategy
and know who they're trying to reach, the issue has been where
exactly to reach them.
And with MRI research, now they can. "We know exactly what
publications they're reading, what cable channels they're watching
and where to find them on the Internet," he says.
He adds: "What Bush-Cheney did so successfully was go after
these 'Influentials,' not just through the Internet, but through
some old-fashioned and traditional types of media in some of the
tiny rural counties and key states."
Contact: Brad Fay, 609.683.6186, [email protected]