If you read the comments to last week’s rewards post (”On Frogs and Honeycombs“), you may have noticed that I said I’d try to reveal the date for “Shaloha” this week. Well, here’s the thing: I can’t blog about that just yet. We are working feverishly to get everything ready, tested, ready again, tested again, and ready again, again.  And we really (really!) don’t want to set your expectations only to have to reset them again. (Frankly this is why we’ve shared rewards information a little at a time … timing has a tendency to shift a bit when making a change of this magnitude.) So this week’s question has to do with Canada.

We heard from a Canadian Agent who, to paraphrase the great band WIlco, suggested we “remember to remember (her).” So this post goes out to all of our Agents in the North Country.

Our new rewards system will provide you with the very same benefits as those received by the US Agents. In fact, we expect the new system to resolve that pesky “duty” problem you faced when receiving rewards in the past. Our research suggests that you won’t have to pay a postal tax upon receipt of rewards in the new system (including Shaloha). So rest assured, there will be plenty of stuff for our Canadian friends.

And as far as a date is concerned, I hope to have more on that soon. It’s still on the tippedy top of my questions-I-really-really-have-to-answer-and-soon-on-the-BeeLog list.   But, we’re getting close………

On Memorial Day weekend, the Hallmark Channel is going to air a mini-series titled Shark Swarm (click that link to see the trailer), a genre-loyal movie about (you guessed it) killer sharks. But this movie is relevant to BzzAgent for two reasons.

Reason one: The sharks attack in swarms, much like bees.

Reason two: My brother, Matthew, wrote it (with his writing partner).

This is wildly exciting for me, and the series is going to be great (the uncut DVD comes out the following week). So if anyone is interested in shark movies or curious about how cool my brother is, check it out. And now for the most overused phrase in marketing: if you don’t get the Hallmark Channel, contact your cable operator.

Our first GoodBzz Frog has officially launched (or is it leapt?)! (Many thanks to everyone involved, especially the tech team for the quick turnaround) From the name alone, I’m sure you can guess but it’s our initiative to well, do something that gives back. In a nutshell, we’re providing pro bono services to nonprofits via the Frogpond.

We’ve worked with lots of nonprofits in the past (March of Dimes, Making Change for Katrina and Alliance for Lupus Research) but with the introduction of Frogpond, it made sense to transition the GoodBzz campaigns to the pond. Our inaugural campaign is with The Canaan Foundation, which has launched a sister site, 1,000computers.org. The foundation gathers used computers for donation to schools across Cameroon and Kenya.

I started here a little over a month ago, and so far the most rewarding part of my job is telling people who are passionately involved with a cause or organization that we’ll help spread the word about their work—no strings attached. Last week, one of the nonprofits we’re going to work with called me up and said, “You’ve made my day.” I’ll admit that it made me smile. Who doesn’t like to be told you’ve made someone’s day?

Go ahead. Check out the first GoodBzz Frog and see how you can get involved with worthy causes. And don’t forget to come back…we’ll be running one a month.

Out of the 300+ entries for the Grapevine Introduction contest, we’re proud to announce we’ve selected a winner! Who won and what did they say? You’ll have to wait to find out when the book comes out June 24. In the meantime, we’ve chosen 4 entries we thought worthwhile as runner ups. Thanks again for all of the wonderful submissions.

[Note: Grapevine Paperback release not to be confused with June 9 release of Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II - yes it’s confusing us, too!]

Grapevine Intro Runner Up #1: Submitted by BzzAgent Susie

Let’s face it! Don’t most of us rely on other peoples’ recommendations with the majority of our purchases? I know I do. Word-of-mouth is the single most useful tool in promoting a product. Manufacturers can throw their sales pitch all they want, but when it comes right down to it, “people listen.” We listen to our friends and coworkers. We listen to our neighbors and families. We listen to everyone rave, or gripe, about everything from toothpaste to the kitchen sink, literally!! Most of us don’t really trust what the manufacturer says anyway. We figure it’s his “job” to brag about his product. After all, he wants to make a sale. But we trust word-of-mouth because we figure those around us have no vested interest, no reason to lie to us. Since becoming a BzzAgent, I have become much more aware of the message I send forth on any given item. I am totally honest about what I liked, or disliked, about an item because I know that I want the same in return. I also make every effort to follow that up with reasoning behind my opinions.

That old adage, “I heard it through the grapevine,” is really true. Word-of-mouth, spread from person to person, is actually quite beneficial in most purchases we make. We can take the experiences of everyone we talk to and truly make an informed decision. Many times the pros and cons will grow as talk of an item works its way through the grapevine, creeping and growing just as a vine would, but that only gives us more food for thought when making decisions.

A perfect example of word-of-mouth is something that happened in my family nearly ten years ago, long before I became a BzzAgent. It all began when my husband and I bought a new minivan (I won’t mention make or model). We were so pleased with it, and yes, we bragged about it. Soon after, my brother and his wife purchased the exact same minivan, although a different color. Shortly after that, my sister and her husband bought the identical minivan. Within the year, two more sisters and their husbands also purchased the same van. That Christmas was a sight to see!! Five minivans lined up in my parents’ driveway, identical except for color. We all joked that we could have been doing a commercial for the dealer. But in all reality, it was word-of-mouth that convinced each of my siblings to purchase that vehicle.

The workplace is an excellent arena for word-of-mouth. Likewise, neighborhood and family gatherings are terrific mediums for spreading word-of-mouth. I, myself, used “girls’ night” and family get-togethers to sample new products, get opinions and pass along information about the products during various BzzCampaigns. I utilize user reviews for most major purchases, especially when buying electronics. People want to hear the experiences of others. They trust these evaluations much more than just hearing it from the manufacturer or through commercials. We want to hear true stories from ordinary people, just like us.

Ultimately, every decision we make about what to buy, or what not to buy, is our own. However, finding out through word-of-mouth exactly how a product will perform allows each of us to make an informed decision based, not on a sales pitch by the manufacturer, but rather on a “tried it out” test run by other consumers just like ourselves. What better way to get the real truth on what works and what doesn’t? The BzzAgent is definitely the most efficient method to get the Bzz….out there, and spread word-of-mouth through the grapevine, giving the ordinary consumer the true, hard facts about everything from A to Z.

I was traveling most of last week, so I apologize for not being on the BeeLog much. (Incidentally, I was in New Orleans, and if anyone is considering visiting that city, you really should. They are still rebuilding – it looks great in the French Quarter – and are struggling to attract tourists to return.) But I am in all week, and looking forward to seeing the discussion triggered by this week’s post. NYKaren927 knocked it out of the park this week with her email-submitted question. She wrote:

Just a question I hope you might address on the beelog regarding the Frogpond - will the new rewards system bring changes there that will allow us to “fill our honeycombs” without spamming our friends? I actually LOVE the frogpond just don’t spend much time there because it doesn’t seem the time spent is very productive in gaining tier/rewards.

The short answer to this question is: In the new system, it will be much easier to earn tier credits (aka, fill your honeycomb) by being involved in the Frogpond.

Now for the longer answer. In the past, tier credits were linked to the number of clicks triggered by an Agent. There were two drawbacks to this model: 1.) As NYKaren927 points out, some Agents found it too pushy; 2.) other Agents found it to be a lot of effort for a little benefit.

So the new system will provide motivation for opinion sharing. Specifically, you will be able to fill your honeycomb and get perks that correspond to your status by filling out as few as three Frogpond surveys. And since the Frogpond is open to all Agents all the time, it shouldn’t be very difficult to find three sites worth checking out.

That’s all for now. More next week.

This post is completely gratuitous, has very little in terms of content and you won’t learn anything from it. Aside from the fact that the marketing team and part of the engineering team is moving from their existing workstations to a new room which was previously sub-let and had never really been used by BzzAgent employees.

As usual with those things and though it is for the greater good, while some are psyched, others are less than enthralled at the prospect of the move. Sue and her team are doing their best to make it easy for all and I am sure that everyone will be quite happy in the end.

I came upon this sight today, as our BzzGuide library is being moved to make room for the new settlers and I thought it warranted a photo (can you recognize any BzzGuide from campaigns you were part of ?):

This is the new room, still under construction:

As of Monday, April 21, 2008 at 6:22 p.m. (also known as, “right now”) the word “tier” appears 16 times in the comments following last week’s rewards post. It’d be hard to pick a more popular topic to discuss. So let me consolidate those various references to tiers into a single, cohesive, and eloquently articulated question: What the &$#@! is going on with the tiering system?

The short answer: a lot. For the longer answer, please read on.

We created a tiering system for one simple reason: to provide a fun incentive to keep you all active and engaged. And for many of you, the system works. But for most of you, it doesn’t.

What’s wrong with exactly?

• There are too few levels.
• It’s not clear what you need to do to climb to the next level.
• It’s (way) too easy to slide back down a level.
• And it’s just sorta drab – there’s nothing really “BzzAgent” about it?

So those are the shortcomings we’ve set out to fix. There will be new tiers and it will be much more clear what you need to do to climb up the ladder (or – more accurately – what you need to do to “fill your honeycomb”). It’s going to be remarkably difficult to drop down a level. And the spirit of the whole thing will be more lighthearted, more “BzzAgent.”

And please remember, when the system goes live, you will carry your existing level over to the new program. So if you have already earned Agent status, fear not!

Last week we looked into how campaigns are structured and how some of the demographic and psychographic information is used. But how does the invite process work

Well, let’s take Campaign B and let’s say it’s a 3,000 agents campaign. We’ll work with our client to identify the appropriate Agent segmentation for the campaign. Let’s say individuals within 30 zip codes in the U.S. who like to drink coffee and have a cat and two parrots. Note that the campaign is also capped so as to limit the male participants to no more than 20% of the total group. Let’s not talk about special benefits like Golden Keys & Early Invites for now - but rather just look just at the invite mechanism.

• When the campaign launches all of the Agents who qualify for the segmentation, say 20,000 people, will be invited to the campaign.
• Then the campaign starts filling up; on occasion it takes days but most times it’s very quick, a matter of hours.
• Once a ‘cap’ is reached, for example when we have all the male agents we need [600 of them], no additional agents within that profile will be able to join the campaign.
• And once the campaign fills up for all profiles, no other Agents can join at all.
• Occasionally we’ll have a little difficulty filling a campaign with very strict segmentation requirements and we’ll work with the client to relax those a few days after it has started or recruit more agents that git the existing profile.

[editor’s note: The concept of Communities of Influence - or groups of people who influence the target consumer - is a hard one to drive home for traditionally-minded marketers. We spend a ton of time educating our partners on that theme].

Just so you know, passing on a campaign you’re invited into doesn’t prevent you from getting future ones. If you don’t think you can Bzz a particular product, that you’re not interested in it for whatever reason, that’s fine by us.

So what do you think? Next week, we’ll chat about the Ranking and Tiering benefits and how they affect campaign invites.

This week I’ll tackle one-and-a-half rewards questions from the rewards-questions mailbag, err…blogbag.

First up, the whole number question. Heather, a visitor the BeeLog, asked if we will have:

small point-valued rewards for the people who have just recently joined” and added (insightfully) that such rewards will “suffice for the leftover points others are so worried about.

Well, Heather, I just looked into this and my man David E. tells me that any Agent with as few as 40 points will be able to claim a reward during Shaloha! So file a report and take a couple of polls and you’ll be all set!

The half question (I say it’s a half because it’s really a statement, not a question) comes from Rebecca1340. Never one to mince words, she posted:

I just hope this new system is worth all the hype and drama.

C’mon Rebecca! You know you are one of my favorites (you do know that, right?), but that’s just not fair. When we don’t post about rewards, you guys let us have it … now we’re trying to communicate more, and you are letting us have it for hyping the new system. We aren’t promising a Cadillac to every Agent. We’re just saying that we have come up with a new system that we believe meets many of the needs you’ve expressed to us.

Will it be perfect? Unlikely

Will it be a significant improvement? We believe so.

And we hope you agree!

I was recently testing some code that I’d written for the BzzAgent website and during the process I discovered a new appreciation for how time-consuming our signup process is.

In order to test my code, I had to sign up as a new agent about a dozen times, using different values for country and language preference. That’s a dozen times of entering my name, username, password (twice), email (twice), phone number, address, birthday, gender, and that silly little spam check thing where you have to enter the text from the image in the box and half the time you get it wrong because you can’t even figure out what the stupid letters and numbers are. And then I have to answer at least 1.7 million questions about what kind of car I drive, where I work, and how many times my Aunt Millie has gone to the movies in the last six months. Sheesh! Seriously, I think you can take the SAT in less time than it takes to sign up to be a BzzAgent.

Today I came across an article online in which the author, Luke Wroblewski, argues that “sign up forms must die” and that we should strive for “gradual engagement.” Wroblewski states,

…I believe we can get people engaged with digital services in a way that tells them how such services work and why they should care enough to use them. I also believe we can do this without explicitly making them fill out a sign-up form as a first step.

This got me thinking about how we can implement this concept of gradual engagement at BzzAgent. Here’s an example that I think would be much cooler:

1. During the sign up process, we only ask for an email address and a password.
2. After signing up, a new Agent is automatically invited to join one of our active campaigns (how annoying is it to spend all that time signing up and offering up all that personal information only to find out you can’t even participate in a campaign right away??).
3. If the Agent decides to join a campaign we ask for an address (so we can mail the BzzKit).
4. When the camaign is over we ask the Agent to complete the profile information (those 1.7 million questions), which allows her to be invited to more campaigns.

Sweet. We’ve made it easier to sign up and given the Agent an opportunity to kick the tires before asking for a complete life history. But if it were that easy, we would have implemented this a long time ago. The biggest hurdle is allowing a new Agent into a campaign before we know anything about her. Our clients rely on the answers to those 1.7 million questions. Also, we have a limited number of slots in each campaign. Every slot taken by a new Agent is a slot that is no longer available to an existing Agent. If I had my way, every single Agent would be invited to every single campaign, but I don’t think our clients would agree with that approach (asking them to give out 400,000 product samples is an expensive proposition).

Ok, so it’s easy to sign up, but not so easy to actually implement. But that doesn’t mean we’re not going to work at it. In the meantime, if you guys have ideas of your own, I’d be glad to hear them.