UM wave5 Socialisation of Brands

The Socialisation of
Brands
Social media tracker - 2010

The Socialisation of Brands

1

Contents

•  Executive summary

•  Introduction

•  Methodology

•  The social landscape

•  Social networks

•  The socialization of brands

•  The social gatekeepers

•  The Impact

•  Summary


2

Executive Summary

•  Social media is an incredibly dynamic environment. Terms like “friend” and
“influencer” are no longer adequate to describe the array of social activity and
interaction that is occurring amongst the vast communities now being built
online. A deeper understanding of consumer needs and motivations is the key to
unlocking a real understanding of social media and its users.
•  Social networks are becoming powerful hubs of interconnected communities but
it’s not just people that are connecting in the social media space. There is huge
demand for a more social and interactive relationships with brands.
•  Globally, almost half of the Active Internet Universe has already joined a brand
community. These communities are also clearly having a huge benefit to the
brands involved, driving brand loyalty, endorsement and sales. However,
understanding the nature of social demand for each consumer, category and
market is the key to creating a successful social media experience. This report
barely scratches the surface of the rich insight and detail available.


3

Introduction


4

Hello

Welcome to Wave:
The largest and longest running
dedicated social media study in the world. 1.5 billion
visits
30%
accessing
to social social
networks media via
per day * mobile *

* Global statistics


5

Welcome to Wave 5:

•  Five years is a lifetime in the world of social media and over the course of our five
Waves of research we have come to a deep understanding of the complex and
dynamic nature of social media behaviour.
•  Our first two Waves demonstrated that social media was enabling a large and
active community to create content and share this content with others. In the
process the medium moved from being a primarily text-based medium to a fully
audio visual one. Our third Wave charted the democratisation of influence, how
social media was driving ever greater means and opportunity for consumers to
influence their peers. Influence that was becoming an integral part of many
consumers decision making processes. In Wave 4 we examined the reasons
behind the huge growth in social media by understanding the motivations behind
the use of different social media platforms. This clearly demonstrated that you
cannot treat all social media the same, consumers engage with a platform because
it meet’s specific consumer needs and all platforms meet these needs differently.


6

Wave 5

•  What the Wave project has shown us is that far from being hype, social media is a
an explosively dynamic phenomenon that is changing the way we interact and
that this is having a fundamental effect on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes and
behaviour. However, with a few exceptions, brands and companies are still not
social. They are struggling to find a way to intelligently, sensitively and effectively
engage with consumers in this space.
•  Therefore, with our fifth instalment of Wave, Wave 5 – The Socialisation Of
Brands, we have brought together all our understanding of usage, behaviour ,
influence and motivation, done this across more than 50 countries and added the
missing piece of the puzzle. The data, insight and analysis that will help brands
create successful social media programmes.


7

The continuing Wave story

15 countries 21 markets
7,500 respondents 10,000 respondents

29 countries
17,000 respondents

38 countries
23,200 respondents

54 countries
The Socialisation of Brands 37,600 respondents
8

The expanding Wave universe Wave 5

Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Wave 4 Estonia
France
Australia Germany
Austria Hong Kong
Belgium Hungary
Brazil India
Canada Italy
China Ireland (ROI)
Colombia Japan
Wave 3 Czech Republic Korea
Denmark
Australia Ecuador KSA
Austria Finland Kuwait
Brazil France Latvia
Canada Germany
Lebanon
China Hong Kong
Lithuania
Czech Republic Hungary
Malaysia
Wave 2 Denmark India Mexico Netherlands
France Italy
Norway
Australia Germany Japan

37,600
Brazil Greece Korea Oman
China Hong Kong Latvia Philippines Poland
France Hungary Lithuania Portugal
Wave 1 Germany India Malaysia Qatar
Greece Italy Mexico Romania
respondents
54
Australia India Japan Netherlands Russia
Brazil Italy Korea Norway Serbia
China Japan Mexico Peru Singapore
France Korea Netherlands Philippines Slovakia
Germany Malaysia Pakistan Poland South Africa
Countries Italy Mexico Philippines Portugal

10
Spain
India Pakistan Poland Romania Sweden
Globally Japan Philippines Romania Russia Taiwan
Korea Russia Russia Singapore Thailand
Mexico Singapore Spain South Africa
Spain Switzerland Spain
Tunisia
Countries in the Philippines
Russia Taiwan Taiwan Sweden Turkey

MENA region Spain Thailand Turkey Turkey UAE
UK UK UK UK UK
US US US US US


9

MENA joins WAVE 5

•  For the first time since WAVE began, 10 markets from MENA are now part of the
WAVE study
•  For the first time, we will be able to fully understand social media behavior in
these markets and compare them to the rest of the world
•  Our the markets included in WAVE 5 are:
•  Algeria
•  Bahrain
•  Egypt
•  KSA
•  Kuwait
•  Lebanon
•  Oman
•  Qatar
•  Tunisia
•  UAE

10

Methodology


11

Methodology

•  Wave has retained the same methodology from Wave 1 to Wave 5, enabling
comparison across Waves

•  All research is conducted on UM’s in-house research system, Intuition

•  We have surveyed 3,700 16-54 Active Internet Users in
10 MENA countries

•  All surveys are self-completed and the data collected
is purely quantitative


12

Why the Active Internet User?

•  Active internet users are those that use the internet every day or every other day

•  Social media is driven by active internet users

•  They drive adoption of platforms and tools and they will
determine which tools and platforms become dominant


13

The social challenge for brands

The web is changing. It’s no longer just a place for information seeking and shopping
but a platform where connections are made, friendships formed and information and
opinion exchanged. The new social web makes different demands on both consumers
and advertisers. Consumers are not merely finding, they are contributing; writing,
uploading pictures, videos, creating regular status updates and live streaming their
every day happenings. Social networks have become more embedded in our everyday
lives, whether it’s Facebook, Orkut or LinkedIn, we now contact more people in our
personal life through our social networks (our research shows that on average we stay
in contact socially with 52 people via these networks) than we do through any other
means including face to face contact, email and phone. It’s essential for brands to
understand why and where different groups of consumers participate in this new
world. It’s not merely a question of identifying the best places to target – the classic
media planning/buying approach – but truly knowing what motivates them to be
part of it. Understand that and brands can create campaigns, messages and
communities that consumers want to be part of, spreading the message far and wide
much more effectively than simply buying banners and buttons in these spaces.


14

The social challenge for brands


15

The social
landscape
What is MENA up to?


16

Comparing MENA to Global

•  In order to understand the region more, we need to put MENA activities into
context. Therefore, to aid our understanding of the social landscape, we have
compared this introductory section to activities in the Global domain
•  If we examine how the active internet users in MENA compare to Global, we will
surprise ourselves. Often MENA is considered to be behind the global digital
developments. However there are certain aspects of social media which have
much higher adoption that expected


17

Setting the scene

•  Before we explore the social landscape in details, we firstly need to understand
what kind of technology our internet users

•  Figure X shows us that over half of our active internet users own a computer with
50% own a laptop and having access to broadband

•  Portable devices such as MP3 players and smart phones are also popular with this
audience

•  Unsurprisingly we see that almost 90% access the internet from home with less
than 20% accessing from a mobile device


18

Ownership of technology and devices

Q: “Which of the following do you own?”

A desktop PC
A broadband internet connection MENA
A laptop/netbook
A home printer
A Digital Camera
A portable mp3
A smart phone (e.g. iPhone, Blackberry)
A PS3
An Apple laptop
A Personal Video Recorder (that records TV progs
digitally) An Apple desktop
A portable games console (e.g. Nintendo DS)
A Wii
An e-book reader
An Xbox 360
A PDA

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

%
Base: Active internet users in MENA


19

Internet accessed mostly from home and work

Q: “Where have you accessed the internet from in the last month?”

At home MENA

At work

Via mobile device

At university/ school

Other

0 20 40 60 80 100

%


20

Computer usage shows slower adoption of activities

If we look at the computer activities ever done, we can see that as expected MENA is
behind on many activities as would be expected from an emerging market.

With 16% owning a smart phone is also unsurprising to see that MENA internet users
are still transferring photos and videos from their mobiles rather than uploading
directly onto the internet.


21

Computer usage shows slower adoption of activities

Q: “Thinking about your computer, which of the following have you ever done in the
last 6 months?”
Installed an open source operating system
Upgraded my operating system (Windows etc) Global
MENA
Installed a new Internet browser (Chrome etc)
Installed a widget
Sent an email
% Ever Done

Created a PowerPoint / slideshow presentation
Created and edited a short Video
Edit photos
Created a piece of music
Copy tracks from a CD to the hard drive
Transferred videos from a mobile phone
Transferred photos from a mobile phone
Transferred videos from digi camera/ camcorder
Transferred photos from digital camera

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%


22

Internet activities are more aligned

•  Yet if we look at the actual internet activities we see a very different picture.
Whilst the lower adoption of computer activities is expected, the top 10 internet
activities are very similar

•  Everything from watching video clips online to the use of instant messenger,
visiting a friend’s social network pages to reading blogs / weblogs and sharing
video clips

•  The only difference to note is the creation of new pages on social network sites
and uploading photos to a photo sharing site (such as Flickr). With social
networking sites being relatively new in the MENA region, it is expected that
there will be continued creation of new pages. It is also widely know that photo
sharing sites such as Flickr were until recently banned in some parts of the MENA
region .


23

Little difference within the top 10 internet activities

Q: “Thinking about the internet, which of the following have you ever done in the last
6 months?”
MENA Global

Watch video clips online (e.g youtube.com) Watch video clips online (e.g youtube.com)

Use Instant Messenger (e.g Windows Live
Visited an official company / brand websites
Messenger)
Use Instant Messenger (e.g Windows Live
Visit a friend's social network page
Messenger)

Visit a message board / forum Visit a friend's social network page

Manage a profile on an existing social
Visit a message board / forum
network
Create profile on new social network(e.g
Read blogs / weblogs
facebook)
Manage a profile on an existing social
network

Visited an official company / brand websites Listen to live radio / audio online

Listen to live radio / audio online Visit a photo sharing website (e.g flickr.com)

Share a video clip with a friend (email etc) Share a video clip with a friend (email etc)

0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
% %

Base: Active internet users in MENA Base: Active internet users Global


24

The importance of social networks

•  Social networks enable us to create a network of digital friends that may or may
not correlate with our “real world” friends.

•  So it’s no surprise that meeting people, staying in touch and sharing experiences
are key motivations for signing up to these platforms; acquiring a sense of
belonging is another reason to be part of it.


25

Social Network Sites

Within the MENA region we see potential growth for social network sites with almost
60% having created a new profile in the last 6 months
Q: “Thinking about internet, which of the following have you ever done in the last 6
months?”
100

MENA Global
80

60
%

40

20

0
Create profile on new social Manage a profile on an existing Visit a friend's social network page
network(e.g facebook) social network


26

Social networks are popular sites for connecting and
conversing with old and new friends
Q: “Which of the following have you done with your social networking profile,
amongst those who have used a social network in the last 6 months”

Update my profile Global

MENA
Find new friends

Find old friends

Message friends

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%



27

Not just social network pages…

•  Whenever you mention social media, the first thought is “Facebook” However,
social media extends beyond just social networking pages.

•  Content creation is one of many activities where we find MENA matching our
Global counterparts especially when it comes to uploading video clips to video
sharing sites where we find MENA surpassing Global

•  Perhaps this is a reflection of the culture of storytelling which has a long history
in the region.


28

… also content creation

Q: “Thinking about internet, which of the following have you done in the last 6
months?”

Watch video clips online

Global

Upload video clip to video sharing MENA
website

Visit a photo sharing website

Upload my photos to a photo sharing
website

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%


29

… and blog and weblogs

Q: “Thinking about the internet, which of the following have you ever done in the last
6 months?”

Global

MENA

Post / write stories for my own blog / weblog

0 20 40 60 80 100
Base: Active internet users in MENA %


30

Reading of blogs in MENA is varied

Q: “When you read about blogs, what type of blogs do you read about most often?” -
Amongst those who have read a blog in the last 6 months
Other
Celebrities/ entertainment
Travel (holidays, destinations) Global
Parenting
Gaming
Film / TV MENA
Sport
Science
A company / brand blog
Business news (relevant to my current job)
Business (general news and opinion)
Computers
Health
Technology
Music
Product recommendations
News / Current Affairs
A blog written by a friend on their social network page
Family or friend Blogs
Personal Blogs (diary sites)
0 20 40 60 80 100
Base: Active internet users in MENA %


31

Whilst writing of blogs is more focused on specialist
issues
Q: “When you write / post blogs, what topics do you write/post about when writing
blogs?” - Amongst those who have written /posted a blog in the last 6 months

Other
Celebrities/ entertainment Global
Travel (holidays, destinations)
Parenting MENA
Gaming
Film / TV
Sport
Science
Company / brand
Business news (relevant to my current job)
Business (general news and opinion)
Computers
Health
Technology
Music
Product recommendations
News / Current Affairs
Family or friend
Personal
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
% 

32

Micro blogging

•  Micro blogging is a great example of a new form of social media that has, within
an incredibly short space of time, become a mass market activity.
•  Clearly, the fact that it doesn’t require an enormous amount time spent creating
content, but still allows you to maintain a constant stream of news, updates and
opinion has much appeal. But it is also its position as an undiluted way to
communicate with audiences, without the need to engage with a sometimes
difficult or prohibitive mass media, that gives it real potency. This has been clear
during recent news events when people sent regular updates on, for example, the
Iran protests or the Mumbai bombings that added a more personal and visceral
dimension to the ensuing events. For the same reason it has been adopted
wholesale by the marketing fraternity, in particular many high profile celebrities.
•  There is still much debate about how many people are actually tweeting vs
following, however, with its integration into a number of simple mobile
applications its growth will continue.


33

Micro blogging is still yet to make the same impact in
MENA
Q: “Thinking about using the internet have you used/viewed
a micro blogging service like Twitter or Jaiku in the last 6 months?”
40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5% What is a micro
blog?
A blog on which
0%
updates are restricted in
MENA Global length (usually to 140
Base: Active internet users in MENA and Global characters or less)!


34

However with the region itself, the biggest tweeters
reside in the UAE and Qatar?
Q: “Thinking about using the internet have you used/viewed
a micro blogging service like Twitter or Jaiku in the last 6 months?”
35.00

30.00

25.00

20.00
%
15.00

10.00

5.00

What is a micro
0.00
blog?
A blog on which
updates are restricted in
length (usually to 140
Base: Active internet users in MENA characters or less)!


35

Social Networks


36

Introduction

With the growth of the social media landscape in the MENA region, the opportunities
for brands to engage with the consumer are expanding in many directions and
various forms.
Very few brands have been able to properly benefit from these opportunities when
presented and we believe that this is mainly due to a mismatch between what the
consumer is expecting and what experiences the brands have been creating.
For years we have been talking about what changes technology has brought to the
consumer’s behavior, especially in what customization he expects from brands where
the content and context have to be on his terms. This becomes most important to
highlight when defining the winning social media platforms and experiences that
brands should be aspiring to.
Throughout the rest of this report, we will be showing how brands should pay
attention to both, the level of engagement they offer on their social media platforms
and the nature of the experiences they should be after.
Different consumers are demanding different experiences from different brands and
categories, the way forward is for brands to understand what is expected from them
on the social media landscape.


37

Multi-faceted social networks

Q: “Which of the following do a good job when you want to...”
When consumers engage socially online they do so to meet certain needs. It could be
to promote themselves, to share new experiences with others or just to have fun and
waste time. It is a community peopled by a broad range of users

Therefore looking at why people engage in social media and how effectively each
social media platform is able to meet these needs becomes of paramount importance.
We can see that blogs, message boards and video sites (see Figure 3) deliver specific
needs. Video sites are great for having fun and being entertained, message boards are
great for seeking alternative opinions and changing those of other others and blogs
are powerful platforms for self expression and self promotion.



38

Multi-faceted social networks (Figure 3)
Be creative
Stay in touch with friends 50 Change opinions
Share new experiences 40 Earn respect

30 Explore the world around
Share knowledge
me
20
Seek other people's
Express yourself
opinions 10

0
Promote yourself Feel like you belong

Meet new people Hang out or waste time

Manage my life better Have Fun/be entertained

Make money Keep up to date
Make contacts for work Learn something new

Search Engines Instant Messenger Message Boards Blogs Video Sites



39

Multi-faceted social networks

Q: “Which of the following do a good job when you want to…”
Social media are often lumped together too. Sometimes the term is used
synonymously with social networks but Facebook and its brethren are merely major
players in a diverse eco-system. In fact the social media universe includes a wide
range of different platforms ranging from IM, blogging to photo and video sharing
sites.

Social networks are trying to offer many of these functions in one place but the
reasons why consumers use them, whether they are on a social network site or a
separate platform vary widely.

What is surprising is how effective social networks are at meeting
so many other need states, ones traditionally better serviced by
more specialized platforms, like instant messaging.



40

Multi-faceted social networks cont.
Be creative
Stay in touch with 50 Change opinions
friends
Share new experiences 40 Earn respect

30 Explore the world
Share knowledge
around me
20
Seek other people's
Express yourself
opinions 10

0
Promote yourself Feel like you belong

Hang out or waste
Meet new people
time

Have Fun/be
Manage my life better
entertained

Make money Keep up to date
Make contacts for
Learn something new
work

Search Engines Instant Messenger Message Boards Blogs Video Sites Social Networks


41

The gravitational pull of social networks

It is, perhaps then, unsurprising that social networking is causing the most
fundamental shift in social behaviour seen since the invention of email. They have
moved from being places to meet friends and stay in contact to multi-faceted
platforms capable of delivering a wide variety of social needs.

What is a social
network?
A site designed to allow
users to meet,
communicate, share
content and build
communities.



42

Growing fast

Q: “Thinking about the internet, which of the following have you ever done?”
The multi-faceted capability of social networks is increasingly its popularity among
other forms of social media. Creating or managing profiles are among the most done
activities done.
Used a micro blogging service
Post / write stories for my own blog / weblog
Visit a photo sharing website
Take part in a multi-player online game
Use IP Telephone
Download music
Download TV shows
Listen to live radio
Read blogs
Create profile on new social network
Manage a profile on an existing social network
Visit a message board / forum
Visit a friend's social network page
Use Instant Messenger
Watch video clips online

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%


43

A popular mean of connection..

Q: “Approximately how many people do you stay in contact with in your personal life
on weekly basis through the following means?”
We are seeing a large rise in social connections via all digital means but leading the
way are emailing which are outstripping face to face connections. On the other hand,
and what is more surprising is that social networks are a very close third to face to
face. This is to say that although social networks are doing a great job at answering
many other need states, they keep improving on the prime function being connecting
people.

My personal blog 19.6

Forums / message boards 29.1

Text Message 30.5

Instant Messenger 31.6

Social Network 38.7

Face to face 39.4

Email 41.6


44

Content sharing is migrating

“Thinking about using the internet, which of the following have you done in the last 6
months?”
Giving the increasing popularity of content creating and sharing, social networks
were able to quickly adapt their platforms to offer the same capabilities whether it
was for photos and videos.
They have managed to attract significant amount of activities from the traditional
website that were specialized in these functions, and this is especially the case for
photo sharing where 65% of the activity took place on social networks.

Upload Photos 65% 35%

Upload Videos 53% 47%

Social Networks Stand Alones


45

The Socialisation
of Brands


46

Introduction

Social networks have proven their power to not only bring people together but also
their entertaining value which is growing their popularity among other social media
platforms.

Seeing that people are increasingly participating in social networks, which is
dramatically widening the reach of the popular platforms, primarily Facebook, the
question that becomes evident for brands is how would they be able to take
advantage of this opportunity?

Is it through online communities created around their brands, and if yes, why only
very few communities were successful in attracting fans and followers?

In the next section, we will go through what the consumer is expecting from joining a
brand community.


47

Non traditional brand space is a clear contender

There is much debate about the role that brands can or should play in social media.
The big question is do people actually want a social relationship with them at all? Or
would they only want the formal interaction through the traditional company
websites. These questions become even more critical when brands are trying to shift
their communications effort from the paid media into the earned media. The MENA
results were impressive where 26% of the regular online users have joined at least one
brand community compared with 57% who visited official company websites.
Although joining online communities are less frequent, each such incident is much
more powerful from a qualitative perspective considering the engaging power of a
community.

Joined an online community around a brand/
product

Visited an official company / brand websites

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%


48

Large numbers are already joining brand communities

Q: “Have you ever joined a brand community online?”
Our Wave 5 research shows that, globally, nearly half of the active internet universe
claims to have joined a brand community at some point. This clearly identifies a
demand for brands in the social space.
Within the MENA region, although it is a bit shy, we observe similar trends in terms
of joining online communities.
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%



49

Is this true for all categories?

Q: Amongst those who show an interest in an category, how many want an interaction
with companies in that category (i.e. At least one or more interaction). These
included a range of interactions from getting access to advance news of products to
being able to access decision makers and influence product development

Is social demand true for all categories? Well, we asked people if they wanted an
interaction with brands beyond a simple transaction across a number of
categories (see figure 23). These included a range of interactions from
getting access to advance news of products to being able to access
decision makers and influence product development. It’s clear Music 
57% 
from the results that, even though the level of social demand Movies 
differs by category, there are significant numbers of people 74% 

who do want to engage with brands in all categories (even if
this engagement was more superficial, like just having access Health 
75% 
to breaking news). Food 
61% 

So8ware 
Telecom  79% 
Fashion  75% 
Travel  Cars 
59% 
Base: Active internet users in MENA 71%  66% 


50

What is the benefit to brands?

Q: “As a result of joining a brand community, please indicate how much you agree
with the following statements?” (Amongst those who show an interest in an category)
The other big debate in social media is identifying the value of brand community
engagement and interaction. Of those people who joined a brand community, 76%
said they thought more positively of the brand as a result, 72% said they are more
likely to buy the brand, 73% said they felt more loyal to the brand and 63% said they
recommended others to join.
So clearly there is an opportunity to build brand equity, drive sales, increase loyalty
and create brand endorsement all of which sounds a lot like the holy grail of
marketing communications.

76% 72% 73% 63%

“I thought more positively “I am more likely to buy “I felt more loyal towards “I recommended others
of the brand” the brand” the brand” to join”


51

So why are people joining brand communities?

Q: Agreement with the descriptions of why they joined a brand community
amongst those have ever joined a brand community online by region.
To support a cause I like
100%
To share my appreciation with
To get advance news of products 80%
others
60%

40%
Because it was recommended to 20% To associate with something I
me think is cool
0%

To fill time/have fun To learn more about it

To feel part of a like-minded
To get free content
community



52

So why are people joining brand communities?

Having established the fact that people are increasingly joining brand communities
and across the different categories, understanding the motivations behind this trend
becomes critical.

In the MENA region, “getting advance news” and “supporting a cause” are the most
important drives, but this is not to say that other factors have a significant
importance especially the inclusive parts such as feeling part of the community and
associating with something cool.
To get
free
content

To
Learn more
about it


53

Which type of brand communities create the most
positive brand benefit?
Q: % reason why people, who thought more positively about the brand after joining,
joined a brand community.
Clearly, the brand communities that managed to offer the consumers the experience
of belonging and association were the winners on enhancing their positive image.

To get free content

To get advance news of products

To learn more about it

To fill time/have fun 72%

To support a cause I like

Because it was recommended to me
“I thought more
To share my appreciation with others
positively of the brand”
To associate with something I think is cool

To feel part of a like-minded community

Base: Active internet users in MENA 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%


54

The social landscape of categories

The first thing we have to understand is the level and nature of the interaction that
consumers are expecting from different categories.

This critical information when considering that some brands have been too intrusive
and demanding in what they are offering the consumer where others have been a too
shy.

For example, the movies category has shown significant
interest in terms of both active involvement and passive
observance while Non-alcoholic drinks, has shown the lowest
interest on both scales.



55

The social landscape of categories

Q: “Thinking about how you seek and share information regarding different products
and services, which of the following statements best describe how you seek and share
information in each of the following categories?”

Non alcoholic drinks
Console/P.C. Gaming
Cosmetics
Cars
Food
Home technology
Fashion
Music
Travel
Cars
Sports
Mobile phones and services
Computer Software
Movies
Base: Active internet users in MENA I create content I share content I often seek information I sometimes seek information


56

Different categories, different needs

Q: “Thinking about companies in the following categories, which of following
statements describes the kind of interaction you would like to have with these
companies?” amongst those who show an interest in theAccess to fun
category.
and
entertaining
content
We can see that different categories have Contact 50%
different social media needs. Analysis employee Access to
40%
of the movie and health categories, decision breaking news
makers &
for example, show that access to fun influence
30%
content is key for the movie Tools help 20%
category (unsurprisingly in a express An opportunity
10% to learn
very visual and content rich creativity &
something new
medium) whereas learning is make 0%
something
the dominant need in the
health category.
An opportunity Access to
to develop my unique events
skills or competitions
A personal Communicate
response to my & share
issues/ experiences
complaints with others
Movies Health & well being

57

In a nutshell

Social networks have been growing on two different levels, vertically through the
increasing number of users creating profile, and horizontally through the
gravitational pull where it has been attracting activities that are traditionally served
by specialized website such as video and sharing websites.

The demand for brands to be present on these networks is significant where we are
observing high levels of engagement from the consumers and that is across the
various categories and markets in the MENA region.

On the other hand, an in order for brands to take advantage of these opportunities,
the right approach has to be adopted based on what category they fall under and
subsequently what level of interaction is expected and what experiences are most
appreciated.


58

The Social Media
Amplifiers


59

Introduction

Having defined our road map and directional strategy on how brand communities
should interact and what experiences they should be offering, the question becomes
how to tactically activate brand communities, and more importantly how can these
communities quickly grow their reach.

Through WAVE 5 we were able to identify the social media amplifiers, the selected
few from any online users who have the ability and intentions to help brands drive the
success of their brand communities.


60

A wider and faster reach
1
34  4 

Q: how many people do you have on your social network? 43  

We have been able to identify 540,000 social amplifiers in the MENA region.
56 
We define the social amplifiers as the online social media user who meets the
following criteria:
•  Higher level of online activity on the social networks 32 

•  A solid network of friends and followers
•  An influencer attitude always attempting to change opinions and offer their recommendations
1
4
One of the main benefits of the social amplifiers is their ability to reach a wider 4 
network of people within a shorter period. A social gatekeeper has an average of 345
friends compared the overall 65 average
3
12  2 

144 
45  345 
683 
Base: Social Media Amplifiers in MENA


61

Highly influential across all categories

Q: How influential do you see your self within the following categories?

The social amplifiers offer a higher level of influential power across all categories
where through WAVE 5 they have shown their aspirations to continuously change
people’s behaviour and attitudes though the different online means and especially
though social networks.

The figure on the following page exhibits the index of influence where the base is the
overall average (100) compared with the highest category being personal finance
(250) and the lowest health and well being



62

Highly influential across all categories cont.
Health and wellbeing
Computer hardware
Food
Computer software
Mobile phones & services
Portable technology
Sport
Household products
Home technology
Cosmetics
Fashion
Movies
Travel and holidays
Music
Cars
Energy and the environment
Console or P.C. gaming
Luxury goods
Non-alcoholic drinks
Personal finance

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

Times more influential than average online users


63

Higher motivations to join a brand community

Q: Agreement with the descriptions of why they joined a brand community
When considering the engagement level of the social amplifiers, we can easily
observe a higher level of motivation across all the different reasons to join.
This is clearly suggesting a higher rate and faster response to any activity or
experience a brand might create on social networks
Social Media Amplifier Average online user
46% 16% To support a cause I like

41% 16% To share my appreciation with others

48% 21% To learn more about it

42% 15% To get free content

47% 22% To get advance news of products

35% 11% To fill time/have fun

38% 15% To feel part of a like-minded community

34% 14% To associate with something I think is cool

32% 11% Because it was recommended to me


64

They are the creators of the social media scene

Considering that one of the main reason for the increasing popularity of social
networks is the content sharing, it becomes important to identify the sources and
dynamics.

Social amplifiers are clearly the main contributors to the content creation and
sharing across the social networks,, especially when we consider user generated
music.
3.43

2.22
1.66 1.59 1.56

Created music Downoaded a widget Created short videos Uploaded videos Uploaded photos
Times more frequent than average online user
Base: Social media amplifiers in MENA


65

The impact


66

The impact

Social networks are increasingly presenting opportunities for brands to socialize and
connect with their target audiences, but knowing that news, exclusivity and content
are the key success factors for any online community, the speed and wider reach of
any activation becomes critical.
Social amplifiers are potentially the agents behind any successful activation because
of their higher level of engagement, their ability to influence others, and the
important role they play behind content creation and sharing.
Having said this, we see the main challenge for brands is to quickly identify the
amplifiers within their category and to win them over by responding to their needs
which are much more demanding than the average online user.


67

What does this mean for your business?

Wave 5 – The Socialisation of Brands is an in-depth study and there are many other
aspects that we are unable to cover in this report.

If you want to know how to operate in the new social media landscape and what this
means for your business please contact:

Joe Nicolas Denh Dip
Regional Communications Planning Director – Lighthouse - UM Dubai
Director - MENA ddip@ummena.com
jnicolas@ummena.com


68

www.universalmena.com


69

UM wave5 Socialisation of Brands

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