I was reading an online article on the NY Times Technology page with regard to HDTV sets. It dawned on me that as these sets become more wired (or in the case of the article, un-wired), users of this technology will more likely start using their sets as an extension of their computer and ultimately further minimize their viewing of broadcast, cable and satellite TV. They will be consistently using this large screen fare for enhancing their online experiences, further removing themselves from standard commercial viewing.

Case in point, last weekend I was watching TV with my son. He was saying, "Dad, I just want to watch my show. I hate commercials." [He's seven!] So we turned off the boob-tube and headed to the computer. He asked me to bring up a YouTube video we watched a few days beforehand of a helicopter trip over Chicago [he loves the city] After hearing him complain about the size of the 17 inch monitor, I came up with a brilliant plan. Using the PlayStation 3  that was already wired to a 42 inch 1080p Plasma, we loaded YouTube and watched the video in both a larger format and piped through a surround sound stereo. INSTANT HAPPINESS! (Watching it over and over for 45 minutes evoked a different emotion.)

What's the point you ask? It is just another example of how technology will change how people view (or don't view) messaging from brands, and another opportunity for brands to think about how that technology affects their message delivery. It will be more important for brands to communicate (especially with 7 year olds that are already disengaged) in new ways that are more organic and relevant to its consumers.

Ideas?

Widgets got their moment in the spotlight this past week at WidgetWebExpo (http://www.widgetwebexpo.com/) in Brooklyn, NY. The conference looked at a critical emerging online trends: How to utilize the power of widgets to carry a brand to the world.

No doubt, widgets - and tools like Twitter, Plurk and FriendFeed - are changing how Word of Mouth marketing is executed on behalf of brands.

In fact, a recent article to by Abbey Klaassen for AdAge (http://adage.com/digitalnext/article?article_id=127816) attempts to define when a widget - once a fun aggregator of information - becomes a brand altering distributor of information.

The turning point? According to the article, when content from a widget becomes searchable on Google. One of the WidgetWebExpo panelists - Steve Rubel - put it this way: "companies fight for shelf space at Wal-Mart, brands are fighting for shelf space at Google." The article goes on to say that, "it's a reputation-management engine, and social media dictates what shows up on that shelf."

What this means for brand evangelism programs is that what goes on at the front end is just as important as what goes on at the back end. In other words, how information is disseminated in the beginning of an influencer marketing program will have a significant impact on how it is received at its conclusion.

This is no different than when a viral marketing effort contacts a blog. Naturally, that information is not only written for that blogger, but also his audience, and the other sites that link to his blog. Now add on widgets that comb the net for certain topics and you've got more "shelf space." Maybe someone should create a widget that can help measure that.

If you are in Chicago, and can squeeze away for a few hours, I'd highly recommend going to the PRSA Event today on Social Media.  They'll be covering lots of word of mouth marketing, buzz marketing, influencer marketing and, of course, social media marketing tools, techniques and case studess.

Stephanie Mortiz, one of our clients at ConAgra Foods, will be speaking.  She is quite the Word of Mouth Marketing advocate and has some very real and practical insights on what it takes to drive social media and WOM in the corporate world.

I was reading a post on the SWOM site (excellent use of Ning), and there was a post about Viral vs. Word of mouth. I completely agree with Ben McConnell that viral marketing doesn't exist AND that viral results are a result of word of mouth. In addition, that it involves constantly changing technology.

That fits perfectly with many discussions I have regarding technology. It's not about technology; it's about applying technology to meet a business need. In the case of word of mouth, it's about using technology to spark conversations about a brand that lead to increased discussions online and offline.

Take away: Technology may have been the vehicle that caused a great word of mouth program to go "viral", but neither technology nor "viral marketing" started the process. It was a great word of mouth program that created something worth talking about in the first place that was the foundation.

It seems strange that word of mouth and technology are mentioned in the same sentence. Maybe it should be renamed word of finger? (Not very catchy) But strange as it seems, in today's lifestyle, most of our daily communication happens on-line. That being said, it is important to note, that even though we use technology to communicate and may be a member of several on-line social networks, it's about connections.

People, who are connected to others, be it on-line or offline, share their likes, dislikes, concerns, and points of view with others they feel connected to. When people have interests in common, they will talk about those interests with others on-line or during a night out. If brands want to be a part of that conversation, they need to insert their voice into a conversation both on-line and off.

Technologies that encourage conversation are abundant, most are FREE! Sooner or later all brands will need to figure out how to leverage these technologies, become part of the conversation on-line, allows the community to influence that brand or face extinction (a little dramatic-but you get the point)

Check out ooVoo a video conferencing tool, usable with anyone WORLDWIDE, for zilch. Imagine being able to discuss things not just through a blog, but visually. The conversation can of course continue offline and for further comment on-line. Technology=Connections

Take a look at Google’s Blogger or WordPress. Anyone can create an account and start inserting their voice or the voice of a brand. Again Technology=Connections

What technology have you found that encourages Word of Mouth and conversation?

Listen to business professionals talk enough, and you’ll hear them speak about the “marketplace” as though it is an actual, geographical place where goods and services are bought and sold.  You’ll then hear them talk about today’s marketplace being a “global” one, meaning apparently that this place exists all over the world.  Really?  While the idea that the marketplace being an actual, single place may have been true a couple thousand years ago (images of a noisy, colorful bazaar come to mind), today that description not only misses the mark; it cripples us in our capacity to move our enterprises forward.

 

Why?  Because the marketplace is not a PLACE; it’s a thing.  And that thing is a discussion; a series of ongoing, organic, and evolving conversations happening everywhere in real time.  The marketplace is the sum total of the conversations around offers…offers about businesses and brands…offers made and either accepted, rejected, or countered.  Maybe a better description for it would be the marketdiscussion?

 

It is truly amazing the speed of change we are witnessing in how we communicate with each other, and how companies communicate with their customers.  Barely four months ago, Twitter was the domain of a small cadre of uber-early social media adopters.  Now, it has grown into a 1.6 million member (and growing daily) force to be reckoned with, and is changing the word of mouth landscape in very fundamental ways.  Naturally, marketers will follow, and the following post from Silicon Valley Insider caught my attention:
  

By now, we know that Twitter isn't just for navel-gazers talking about their lunch. Hundreds (thousands?) of companies are also using Twitter to talk to customers and to talk about their businesses. Some are doing a much better job at it than others.

So, my question is: will corporate attention dull the shine on the newest social media darling, or will it help drive adoption?  Is there anything marketers can do to receive a polite welcome without being flayed on sight, even if they “do it right”?  

Just got back from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association's WOMM-U Event in Miami.  Terrific all the way around.

Thought I'd post the opening comments I made to the event in my role as the VP of WOMMA's Board.  Tried to provide an update on the industry, along with a summary of the opportunities and challenges facing word of mouth marketing.

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WOMM-U Opening Comments

 

 

It’s wonderful to be here today and I’m very excited about the learnings and fun we’ve got ahead of us.

 

This is an extraordinary time to be in the advertising, marketing and communications industry.  It’s a period of incredible change, incredible risk and incredible opportunity.

 

I’d like to spend a few moments talking to you about what I see happening in the word of mouth space, what it means for us as an industry and what I believe each of us can be doing to ensure that we and our organizations end up on the “right” side of this significant evolution.

 

Ed highlighted a few key stats about the growth of the WOM industry.  It’s invigorating to be involved in a space that is one of the toasts of the marketing world.

 

Despite all of this attention, I can also tell you that we are losing our status as marketing’s shiny new quarter.  By the way, that’s a good thing.  True growth, development and adoption will only come when WOM is not a novelty but a recognized and measurable part of the marketing mix. 

 

In the beginning – which is really just three or four years ago at most -- everyone wanted to try word of mouth.  How could they not?  When more than 90% of all consumers and more than 50% of all business to business buyers citing the recommendation of a friend, family member or colleague as the largest influence on their purchase behavior, a marketer would actually be negligent not to consider and even experiment with how WOM fits into his or her mix.

 

Well, we’re moving out of the trial phase and hopefully into the repeat, growth and sustainability phase of our industry’s development.  Like many of you, I truly recognize the power of WOM and believe it can and should be at the center of a brand’s efforts.

 

But this importance brings new scrutiny, demands, criticism and, of course, opportunity.

 

Every client I have is now expecting, actually demanding, measurable results.  We’re spending real money here, and putting our reputations on the line, they tell us. I know it’s working, they say, but how do we prove it?

 

And the answer of “accepted industry standards” isn’t acceptable, because there are no true accepted industry standards.   But we need to get there.  Or it’s a roadblock.

 

One client wanted me detail out exactly who was talking about their product and who they were talking to.

 

I asked him if he measured his other communications programs so tightly.  For example, how do you measure PR?  I got the standard impressions and pass along stat.  Circulation times a 2.5 pass along rate.  No kidding, I answered.  How do you know that every newspaper was delivered and that they read the story you were quoted in and that two and a half people picked that newspaper and read it? 

 

Blank stare.  That’s just the industry standard, he concluded.

 

We need an industry standard.

 

What about ethics and transparency?

 

It’s also a big deal.

 

I’m sure all of you are familiar with the UK legislation that recently got announced.  It says that nondisclosure in word of mouth marketing efforts is a criminal offense.  This announcement is in response to an Apr. 2, 2008, warning issued by the British Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) detailing the new U.K. law, which implicitly states that any commercial message should be immediately identified as such and that "falsely representing oneself as a consumer" is illegal. The offenses defined by the new U.K. legislation are flagged as unethical word of mouth marketing practices in WOMMA's Ethics Code -- a Code that WOMMA established in 2005 to help guide ethical conduct by marketers who engage in word of mouth marketing.

 

The new law addresses a key component of WOMMA's Ethics Code: transparency

You wouldn’t think this would be an issue today.  But it is.  I regularly come across companies that don’t know any better—or have hooked up with a vendor who tells them it is just fine to pretend on-line that you are a sixteen year old girl who just loves the latest acne crème.

 

Unethical and non-transparency is like poisoning our own drinking water.  If people decide they can’t trust an on or off line recommendation because it might be a shill, we’re in a heap of trouble

 

Let’s all get behind the WOMMA Code of ethics and make sure that we keep WOM ethical and transparent.

 

Two more points.

 

Where does WOM fit into the marketing mix?  Is WOM its own discipline?  Is it a media buy?  Is it PR?  Is it advertising?  Is it interactive?  Maybe it is all of the above…

 

WOM has to be part of every successful brand’s DNA.  I think WOM is its own discipline.  However, the lines between all of the disciplines is blurring by the day.  I’ve sat through big ad agencies presentation and some of them aren’t even recommending advertising anymore.  They are recommending PR, WOM, Direct, Interactive, Experiential, Mobile and everything in-between.

 

But WOM is different.  And helping brands understand, embrace and foster word of mouth is a special skill set.

 

Which leads me to my last point.

 

I’ve guest lectured at a number of leading Universities on WOM.  And I’m struck by how different the students are today than they were just a few short years ago.  They get this shift that’s going on.  They actually embrace it.  But they lack the real world experience to truly affect change.

 

That’s why you’re here.   You get it.  You’ve got the experience.  You’ve got the vision.  And you know what it’s going to take to help your brands and your organizations take advantage of these wonderful opportunities.

 

Thank you for being here today.  Thank you for having the foresight to help your organizations grow.  Thank you for supporting Word of Mouth.

 

We are in an amazingly transformational period of marketing.  And you’re right in the middle of it.   I’m excited by what you are going to learn over these next couple of days.  I’m excited by what I’m going to learn. 

 

 

 

 

These days, it seems there is a constant stream of new social media tools and applications to whet the appetite of everyone from brand managers to agency folks who are eager to crack the code of reaching audiences in an increasingly media-dispersed world.  Twitter.com, tumblr.com, stumbleupon.com, facebook.com are the current darlings, but there are countless others that are helping to propel social media into the forefront of marketers minds.

 

While it’s no secret that brand managers are ardently exploring ways to integrate social media into traditional marketing programs, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect in how to measure the impact of digital word of mouth.  And therein lays the threat to ensuring social media becomes a useful marketing tool rather than a disappointing experiment—how do you incorporate programs using a very new and very fluid channel to reach an audience that increasingly demands engagement over interruption, while using old-school metrics to measure success and justify budgets?

 

In fact, it is a new and evolving world, and there needs to be a period of incubation that allows the medium to mature enough that metrics can be applied that actually mean something.  As it stands, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison to apply direct marketing metrics to online engagement.  The same can be said for banner advertising and other paid initiatives.  Currently, there is no commonly accepted way to measure online success, although Industry desperately wants one.  In fact, it behooves brand managers and agencies alike if there is an established industry standard for measuring the effectiveness of online marketing initiatives.  To this end, Zocalo Group has developed a methodology for measuring success in online engagement, which we will be introducing in the coming weeks. Necessarily, this will be an evolving methodology to make sure it remains relevant and realistic.  It is a first, imperfect step in a long process we will all need to participate in.  As we begin to roll this out, the Digital Footprint analysis, please let me know your thoughts and suggestions on the things we all need to consider as we create usable and meaningful measurement.

We've always thought it was sleazy and unethical not to disclose commercial messages as such.  From fake endorsements on blogs to in-market shills who promote products without telling people that they are somehow compensated, non-disclosure has the potential to undermine the most powerful form of influence available: a true word of mouth recommendation.

Well, on April 2 2008, the British Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) highlighted a new U.K. law, which implicitly states that any commercial message should be immediately identified as such and that "falsely representing oneself as a consumer" is illegal.

WOMMA quickly put out an announcement that the law in many ways mirrors the
guidelines in the Ethics Code that WOMMA established in 2005 to help guide ethical conduct by marketers who engage in word of mouth marketing.

Sustainable word of mouth marketing is only achievable when companies and brands genuinely help and encourage consumers to share the good -- and even the not so good -- about their products and services.

Encouraging or even participating in non-disclosed engagement is the equivalent of polluting -- even poisoning -- the word of mouth marketing well.  It wouldn't take long for consumers to realize they can't believe a recommendation without checking if it is commercially prompted. 

In many ways I'm glad to see the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for helping implement into law the European Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD).  In other ways, I'm reminded that unethical practices and people exist in every industry -- and sometimes legislation is required.  Let's hope U.S. marketers pay attention.

A new study by Publicis media network ZenithOptimedia and reported in an AdAge article highlights that word of mouth trumps all other touchpoints when it comes to influencing purchases.

According to the study, recommendations from family and friends led the pack with an average score of 84. TV ads and Internet search were next, with an average score of 69 and 67, followed by magazine ads at 60, newspaper ads at 55, outdoor ads at 45, radio ads at 42, and Internet banner ads at 41.

Though word-of-mouth may be one of the greatest influences on brand choice, still face a great challenge is making it scalable, said Bruce Goerlich, ZenithOptimedia's president of strategic resources, North America.

"Word of mouth is incredibly powerful, but we as an industry are not doing as good a job as we could do in generating it," he said.

Bruce is right. But we, as an industry, are also getting much better at driving and measuring word of mouth marketing, influencer marketing, buzz marketing and digital word of mouth. 

If you haven't already signed up for it, the WOMMA Conference coming up in Miami on May 8th and 9th will be a great place to learn best practices and connect with industry leaders. 

A group call Satmetrix just released a study on the Economic Impact of word of mouth marketing.

As WOM becomes accepted and embraced as part of the marketing mix, the demands for ROI and other measurements intensify.

According to Satmetrix's model, which focused on the computer hardware industry, each Promoter was worth approximately $2,634. Promoters spend $203 more than the industry average of $1,615 and account for roughly one-half of a new customer acquired through positive word-of-mouth. In comparison, each Detractor can cost a business 0.84 percent of a new customer through negative word-of-mouth. by only $158.

Keep an eye out for more word of mouth marketing measurement.  We've got a new model we're formalizing as well.  It's a sign the industry is growing up.

Recession or no recession, one thing is certain: The current economic outlook isn’t pretty. This past week, the Fed said it would consider additional rate cuts [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120300010108468545.html?mod=economy_lead_story_lsc], but post-holiday spending dropped significantly [http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSL1476656220080216], which means consumers are spending less and evaluating their purchases more. This has several brands revisiting their sales forecasts and adjusting their marketing plans. However, few are taking advantage of the sensitive marketplace to build meaningful, sustainable relationships with their most influential consumers. In fact, a recent Ad Age article took a look at how various industries are responding to the slowed economy [http://adage.com/article?article_id=124972&search_phrase=recession], but none of the advice provided by industry players stressed the importance of word of mouth during these trying times. If there’s any silver lining to the current economic landscape, it’s that consumers will invest greater thought and consideration in their purchases. They will seek advice from influential friends to manage their buying confidence and will express that attitude with their wallets. It’ll be interesting to see which brands consider a more targeted approach with more frugal marketing budgets. In the meantime, government stimulus packages aside, sound, sustainable word of mouth could provide the right kind of road map for today’s timid consumers.

A few days ago, I outlined a client’s WOM marketing initiative to its global sales organization at their annual conference.  Not surprisingly, there was a lot of interest and excitement, which was accompanied by a number of questions.  The surprising part for me weren’t the questions themselves, but rather the thrust of the questions: Can business-to-business word of mouth be truly effective?  How do we control what people say on blogs and social networks?  Should we just do more advertising? 

Studies show that word of mouth recommendations drive more than 50% of all business purchases, and while most of these occur offline, they are impacted by discussions online.  To create truly sustainable word of mouth that leads to tangible business benefits, it’s important that B2BWOM marketing programs incorporate both online and offline opportunities to engage audiences—customers, partners, thought leaders, prospects and employees—in relevant conversations about what’s important to them.  All of which must tie back to the organization’s “ownable position.” 

My message to the sales organization: word of mouth is as powerful, and perhaps even more effective, in the business world as it is with consumers.  The thrust of B2B word of mouth is long-term engagement, rather than buzz tactics that focus on short term spikes in awareness.  It’s not a one-shot deal, but rather an ongoing conversation.  Done properly, it can lead to authentic, long term word of mouth that ultimately results in recommendations.