P&G Gives Cincinnati the Gift of WOM
Christmas isn't just for consumers anymore. It's for cities, too, and Procter & Gamble Co. gave one in particular -- Cincinnati -- an enormous gift this past holiday season: a successful word of mouth marketing campaign, the results of which were shared last month.
P&G's Tremor organized the pro bono project, "In Pursuit of Cincinnati," late last year on behalf of Downtown Cincinnati Inc. Nearly 7,000 local women, all members of Tremor's Vocalpoint group, were asked to identify barriers to visiting downtown. To address their negative misconceptions, P&G built a trivia-style campaign. The campaign launched via an e-newsletter that directed consumers to a special website where they could learn about the city and its holiday offerings. A direct mail effort gave the campaign offline support, as well.
Consumers did, in fact, "pursue" Cincinnati, according to P&G. Attendance at holiday events exceeded expectations, and the city's reputation improved greatly among local moms -- thanks in large part to word of mouth, as half of the campaign participants told four more people about the downtown events.
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