Story Telling

by Kelly Basinger | Men's Book Atlanta magazine | November 18, 2011

For this Atlanta native and founder of Decatur-based marketing agency Fizz, it all started in a college computer lab. In the age of floppy disks and dial-up, Ted Wright was staring at the blue background of his monitor when the guy next to him leaned over and asked, “Why aren’t you using Google?” Ted’s response: “What’s a Google?” Little did he know this one suggestion would help him discover the counterintuitive approach called word-of-mouth marketing that would later become the philosophical cornerstone to his company, Fizz. Wright is quick to say that he didn’t invent WOMM—which he originally referred to as “influencer marketing.” But he is one of only a handful of guys who helped shape it into what it is today. He explains that at some point over the years, because of the continual onslaught of ads employed by traditional mass marketers, the messages began to lose their authenticity and, in turn, their effectiveness with consumers. Based on the belief that 10 percent of the population determines what the other 90 percent will do when it comes to consumer habits, WOMM relies and focuses on this 10 percent, known as the “influencers.” The power of the influencer to relay an authentic message resides in their lack of self-interest and, instead, on the pleasure they get out of exposing others to joy.

So, after crunching some numbers and graduating seventh out of his MBA class at University of Chicago, Wright decided to take his new theory to the CEO of Pabst Brewing Company in 2001. With no more than some hypothetical assumptions and a gut feeling for his pitch, his honest appeal landed him the chance to experiment with two of PBR’s smallest markets at a time when the Budweiser frogs were croaking. With little time to work, and even less money, Wright and then brand manager Neal Stewart took a very different approach. For example, they started sending out beautifully handwritten condolence letters from PBR’s CEO to specific neighborhood pubs that had lost lifelong customers and loyal drinkers of the PBR brand. (You can still see many of those letters posted in pubs all across Chicago today.) At another point, they heard the story of a group of guys who would ice down their PBR in a washing machine for easier cleanup after house parties. Immediately, Wright and Stewart had a handful of old washing machines painted in random graffiti and sent them out to patrons to use as hip, makeshift coolers—perfect fodder for cool stories to flourish.

It’s these types of unorthodox methods that create incredible stories. According to Wright, without an anecdote that is interesting and relevant to the consumer, the influencer has nothing to share, and hence, the WOMM approach fizzles.

The passion, playfulness and authenticity that oozes from him and his Fizz team are the same qualities they aim to reproduce for their clients. Whether they are defibrillating an old-school brew like PBR, marketing a revolutionary Intel computer chip or reinventing a 135-year-old Bissell vacuum, they have a story to tell. It’s just a matter of choosing the one that speaks for itself.