Instead of focusing on the attributes of a brand and how they lead people to recommend it, the agency has looked at how different types of people talk about personal brand experiences and product categories they are interested in.

Triggering recommendations, Spring argues, is not just a case of making someone happy with a brand. Clients also need to understand the context and motivation that cause people to make recommendations – which have more to do with the person doing the recommending than with the brand they are talking about.

Steve Phillips (pictured), CEO and founder of Spring Research, said: “Marketers’ previous models have been very brand-centric. But looking at it from a consumer’s point of view, people don’t see themselves as brand advocates; a brand just becomes a part of their life.”

Phillips hopes the new model will help clients understand how word-of-mouth recommendations drive purchases.