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Press Release: Event: Viral, Buzz, Blog, Evangelists, Influencer, Grassroots, and Word of Mouth Marketing Issues Debated Live

PRESS RELEASE

First-Ever Word of Mouth Marketing Conference

Viral, Buzz, Blog, Evangelists, Influencer, Grassroots, and Word of Mouth Marketing Issues Debated Live

Case Studies, Controversy, and Brand-on-Brand Action

CHICAGO, IL -- March 9, 2005 -- Eight major authors and 53 experts are gathering at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association's first conference on of word of mouth marketing. The conference will bring together the best in the business to compare tactics and share best practices in the fields of viral, buzz, blogs, word of mouth, evangelism, grassroots, and other customer-centered marketing strategies.

The Word of Mouth Marketing Summit will be held at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business on March 29 & 30. Full information is available at http://www.womma.org/summit.

Word of mouth marketing is increasingly becoming a core part of the marketing mix. Whether a company is actively using word of mouth techniques or is just entering the field, the Word of Mouth Marketing Summit will teach tactics to make campaigns more effective, present case studies on marketing successes, and share best practices that deliver measurable results.

"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about," said WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz, shamelessly quoting Oscar Wilde. "Marketing is changing, the consumer is in control, and innovative marketers are learning how accept this change for a powerful new relationship with the public."

The conference will also include in-depth exploration of critical issues facing all marketers using these techniques, including ethics, elimination of deceptive practices, and protecting minors. WOMMA is the leading organization fighting for ethics in word of mouth marketing.

Guy Kawasaki and Emanuel Rosen Keynote

The featured keynote speakers are Guy Kawasaki and Emanuel Rosen. Kawasaki is a consultant, entrepreneur, and author of eight books, including the acclaimed Selling the Dream, which introduced the concept of customer evangelism. Rosen is author of The Anatomy of Buzz, considered the ground breaking work on the topic.

Six Major Authors Tell You The Best Part of Their Books

Explore the big-picture issues from fascinating authors Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba (Creating Customer Evangelists), Ed Keller and Jon Berry (The Influentials), Mark Hughes (BuzzMarketing), and George Silverman (The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing).

53 Expert Speakers Share Their Secrets

Learn from the top practitioners who inventing and innovating in word of mouth marketing: Alloy, Arnold Worldwide, Association Forum, Astronaut Projects/Business Blog Book Tour, Beck Ag, BigChampagne, Bolt, Brains on Fire/Rage Against the Haze, Brand Experience Lab, Burson-Marstellar, Buzzmetrics, BzzAgent, Conference Calls Unlimited, DEI Worldwide, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, EchoDitto, Edelman , Electric Artists, FanPimp, Forrester, Friendster, GSD&M, Intelliseek, Kintera, LEGO, Liquid Intelligence, M80, Matchstick, MotiveQuest, NOP World, Organic, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Presslaff Interactive, Rowland Communications, Six Apart, Soapbox Marketing, Starcom IP, StartSampling, Target, The Anatomy of Buzz, UbiSoft, Unplugged Studio, Word of Mouth Marketing Association, and Zondervan.

Six Revealing Case Studies Show You How It's Done

The conference will offer real-world lessons from marketers who have proven that word of mouth works:
Music: Fan Clubs, File Sharing, and More.
Non-Profits: Organizing and Activating Grassroots
Politics: The 2004 Election
Hollywood: WOM, Movies, and TV
Beverage Industry: How Drinks Get Hot
Marketers: Brands Talk About Word of Mouth

Nine Essential Techniques You Must Know How To Use

Blogs: Creating and using them to spread WOM
Customer Evangelists: Motivating Customers to Talk About You
Buzz: Earning it and Making it
Measuring Word of Mouth
Tracking Online Conversations
Working with Online Communities
Agents and Activists: Using an Organized Advocate Program
Creating Viral Advertising Campaigns
Jumpstarting WOM: How to Get People Talking

About WOMMA

WOMMA is the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry. Its members are committed to building a prosperous word of mouth marketing profession based on best practices, effective standards, and ethical leadership. The association has more than 50 corporate members and more than 2,500 active participants in its email discussions. For more information on WOMMA or the Word of Mouth Marketing Summit, please visit http://www.womma.org/summit