Recently I was theorizing for an anti-smoking campaign to change attitudes, increase intention, perceived risk, perceived benefit, behavior, etc. I wish I had thought about ‘positive deviance’ when thinking of ways to inform influencers and mobilize people to say no to smoking.
According to what I read in a recent announcement from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, positive deviance suggests that ‘in every organization or community, there are people who solve problems better than peers who have exactly the same resources.’ The RWJF article quotes from a CDC announcement that explains how positive deviance was instrumental in reducing the number of infections in hospitals, as certain individuals figured out highly efficient ways to discard infected gloves and clothing.
This is the crux of innovation – when someone figures out a better way of doing things and paves the way for others. It could also be a new dimension in influencer research. When looking for those who are more outspoken and convincing than others, we could also study their approaches to problem solving.
Idil has devised marketing and communication strategies for Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations for 20 years. She is the author of 'Implementing Word of Mouth Marketing: Online Strategies to Identify Influencers, Craft Stories and Draw Customers' (Wiley, 2010), as well as numerous industry briefs and articles on online communications.
Idil has been a public speaker on word-of-mouth marketing, women and ethnic minorities’ use of digital communications, and e-CRM. She has been widely quoted in trade journals and newspapers such as CNet news, CBS Market Watch, San Jose Mercury News, Chicago Sun Times, Harvard Business Review, the Financial Times and the New York Times. In 2010, she was selected ‘Digital Communicator of the Year’ by PRNews.
Idil is currently VP of Media Analytics at Nielsen, working with public sector, technology and telecom clients, gauging their advertising and brand communication effectiveness. She also serves on the Ad Council’s Research Committee.
Previously, she was a VP of Client Development at NM Incite – a Nielsen / McKinsey company, identifying and amplifying business opportunities in social media for clients. Prior to her roles at Nielsen, Cakim was a Senior Vice President in the global PR agency Golin’s digital practice and a Director of Burson-Marsteller’s think tank—the Knowledge Development group.
A native of Istanbul, she holds an M.A. in Communication from the Annenberg School at University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Sociology from Bryn Mawr College.
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Merhaba:Bugün Leonore Annenberg’in taziye sayfasında adınızı gördüm, sonra da bu sayfanızı buldum.Ben Annenberg’in ilk Türk mezunuyum (’85). Şu anda sizinle çok yakından ilgili bir konumdayım: İstanbul Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Halkla İlişkiler Bölümü’nde profesörüm. Türkiye’ye geliyorsanız, öğrencilere bir konferans vermenizi sağlayabilir miyim?Veysel Batmazveysel.batmaz@gmail.com
Merhaba:Bugün Leonore Annenberg’in taziye sayfasında adınızı gördüm, sonra da bu sayfanızı buldum.Ben Annenberg’in ilk Türk mezunuyum (’85). Şu anda sizinle çok yakından ilgili bir konumdayım: İstanbul Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Halkla İlişkiler Bölümü’nde profesörüm. Türkiye’ye geliyorsanız, öğrencilere bir konferans vermenizi sağlayabilir miyim?Veysel Batmazveysel.batmaz@gmail.com