Sweet ‘Free Donuts’ Deal Shows How Information Travels

Many companies use internal newsletters to share important information with employees, but how do they interact with that information once it’s delivered to their inboxes?

How does news of free donuts spread through an office? That’s what PR firm Walker Sands wanted to find out via a “social experiment” they concocted, which set out to answer several key questions: Does anyone actually read their internal newsletter, and would they act on the information in it? Were there any employees who acted as “connectors,” sharing the information with many people? Would the effect of physical proximity on sharing be tempered by instant communication tools?

What ensued holds plenty of lessons for marketers about employee engagement, where to place a call to action, and the power of instant messaging.

Click here for the results (PDF). An interactive version is also available here.