Conversational Capital: How to Create Stuff People Love to Talk About

206 Pages·2008·1.54 MB·English

by  Bertrand Cesvet

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From the Library of Garrick Lee
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From the Library of Garrick Lee
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From the Library of Garrick Lee
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BY
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WITH TONY BABINSKI & ERIC ALPER
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PROJECT
From the Library of Garrick Lee
Vice President, Publisher: Tim Moore
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© 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Printed in the United States of America
First Printing July 2008 ptg
ISBN-10: 0-13-714550-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-714550-8
Pearson Education LTD.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cesvet, Bertrand, 1964-
How to create stuff people will love to talk about / Bertrand Cesvet, Tony Babindki, Eric Alper.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-13-714550-0 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Branding (Marketing) I. Babindki, Tony, 1964- II. Alper,
Eric, 1985- III. Title.
HF5415.1255.C47 2009
658.8’27--dc22
2008013639
From the Library of Garrick Lee
To my wife Josée Noiseux and our children Gabrielle and Emma,
my greatest supporters, my inspiration, and the loves of my life.
BC
To my parents Tom and Maria Babinski, and as always,
to my wife Julie Kavcic and our children Sophie, Max, and Lily.
TB
To my loving parents for their undying support
and encouragement.
EA ptg
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From the Library of Garrick Lee
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From the Library of Garrick Lee
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHORS x
HOW THIS BOOK CAME TOGETHER xi
THIS IS AN OPEN SOURCE BOOK xiii
FOREWORD BY HERMANN DEININGER xv
INTRODUCTION xvii
PART ONE: DEFINING CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL 001
01. WHAT IS CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL? 003
02. THE EIGHT ENGINES OF CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL 009
03. HOW CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL WORKS: 015
• CIRQUE DU SOLEIL 016
• IKEA 023
• SCHWARTZ’S 029
04. WHY CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL WORKS 035
05. CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL IS NOT BUZZ 045
06. CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL AND ADVOCACY 053
07. CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL IS FOR EVERYONE 055
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PART TWO: THE ENGINES OF CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL 061
08. RITUALS 063
09. INITIATION 069
10. EXCLUSIVE PRODUCT OFFERING (EPO) 077
11. OVER-DELIVERY 085
12. MYTHS 091
13. RELEVANT SENSORY ODDITY (RSO) 099
14. ICONS 107
15. TRIBALISM 115
16. ENDORSEMENT 123
17. CONTINUITY 127
PART THREE: IMPLEMENTING CONVERSATIONAL CAPITAL 133
18. GETTING STARTED 135
19. DESIGNING A SOLUTION 143
20. IMPLEMENTATION 153
21. AND TWO MORE QUESTIONS 161
GLOSSARY OF TERMS 165
INDEX 171
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From the Library of Garrick Lee
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Th is book is the product of numerous conversations with several
inspiring friends, clients, and colleagues. In addition to my two
fabulous co-authors Tony Babinski and Eric Alper, who have
been extremely stimulating and competent partners, I would
like to thank a few other important people.
Firstly, I would like to thank my business partner,
François Lacoursière, for his formidable intellect and intensity.
Th is book would not have happened without our memorable
walks and epic conversations along Lake Léman and the streets ptg
of London. Similarly, I would like to thank my wife, Josée
Noiseux, for all her patience and, more importantly, her very
valuable insight into the development of the Conversational
Capital idea.
Secondly, I would like to thank my other SID LEE partners:
Jean-François Bouchard, Philippe Meunier, Martin Gauthier,
Daniel Fortier, Pétula Bouchard, Kristian Manchester, Eva Van
Den Bulcke, Karim Kendjouh, Louis-Th omas Pelletier, Harm
Sas, Niels van de Walle, Hélène Godin, Jean-François Fortin,
George Giampuranis, and Vito Piazza, for believing in me and
for investing in my ideas.
Th irdly, I would like to thank all the SID LEE employees
with whom I have had the great pleasure of experimenting and
implementing the concept of Conversational Capital: Fran-
cis Béland, Sakchin Bessette, Stéphane Bernier, Jean-François
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From the Library of Garrick Lee
Bouchard (at Cirque du Soleil), Lukas Derksen, Andrea Doyon,
Michel Dubuc, Emily Fowler, Jean-Julien Guyot, June Leong
Son, Raphaëlle Levy, Alex Pasini, Connie Ponari, and Gabrielle
St-Pierre.
Also, I would like to thank all the clients and friends who
have also been instrumental in developing this book: Luc
Arbour, Alain Auclair, Daniel Audet, Jim Bailey, Carlo Bian-
chini, Kai and Frank Binder, Bertrand Charest, Mario D’Amico,
Hermann Deininger, Rupert Duchesne, Christian Eckart, ptg
Joanne Fillion, Mitchell Garber, David Giguère, Jean Goulet,
Jim Herler, Pierre Ladouceur, Guy Laliberté, Daniel Lamarre,
Ted Mager, Ben Pruess, Tom Ramsden, David Van Kalsbeek,
and Nicole Vollerbregt.
Finally, I would like to thank the very talented people who
are responsible for the production and the promotion of this
book: Jessica Barboza, Marie-Hélène Benoît, Ziggy Hagopian,
Russ Hall, Sjoerd Koopman, Marie-Josée Lamy, and Cindy
Levac. Last, but not the least, thanks to the entire FT Press team,
in particular Tim Moore, Ami Neidlinger, Lori Lyons, and Jake
McFarland.
Th ank you for believing in me and in SID LEE.
BC, Montréal, March 2008
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From the Library of Garrick Lee