WOM and the Diffusion of Innovations

The book "Brand Media Strategy" aims to discuss how integrated marketing communications plans incorporate various media channels, like TV, radio, newspaper, etc. Recently in my Campaign Planning and Management class we discussed sparking consumer brand conversations through media, and more specifically, the power of Word-Of-Mouth (WOM). As Chapter 6 progresses, I begun seeing terms like "early adopters." This instantly triggered a whole concept I previously learned in my Promotional Strategy class with Professor Costanzo.

There is a term in marketing called the diffusion of innovations theory that categorizes different consumers based off their desire to purchase new products. There are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. Each of these categories attempts to label the consumer on their purchasing habits. The first group are the innovators. These group of consumers are the very first to purchase a new product and make up only 2.5% of consumers. These consumers are not afraid of trying new products that suit their lifestyle and will also pay a premium for that benefit. Relating back to WOM discussed in "Brand Media Strategy," these group of consumers influence WOM because they have the first opinion on a product at the beginning of its life cycle.

The next group of consumers, and one the book touches upon, are the early adopters. More consumers make up this category at 13.5%. Unlike the innovators who tend to purchase on impulse, these consumers purchase early in the product life cycle, but it is after some thought. The influence of this group of consumers is incredible because these group of consumers decide whether the product is "socially acceptable." So, in terms of WOM, this group is the most influential. The groups of consumers who follow look to the early adopters to see if the purchase is worth it.

The next group are the early majority. This group on consumers relate to the early adopters in the sense of they purchase the product early in its life cycle and it is after careful thought. They differ because the early majority is influenced by the early adopters' decision on whether the product is deemed "socially acceptable." It is interesting to note that 34% of consumers make up the early majority. On the opposite side of the early majority are the late majority and laggards. Neither of these groups have influence on WOM because they look to the innovators, early adopters, and early majority to sway them into a purchase.

"Brand Media Strategy" discusses the influence of the diffusion of innovations because WOM has such a huge influence on the success of a product, especially in the digital generation we live in. With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram consumers can easily see what others are saying about new products. The laggards and late majority look at what the innovators, early adopters, and early majority are saying about new products via social networking sites. The important thing to stress here is that WOM has a significant influence on the success of a brand and understanding the diffusion of innovations can help marketers analyze just how consumers are interpreting WOM.