March 2005
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THE CARTOON BANK LAUNCHES "HUMOR IN BUSINESS" AWARDS
Conducts National Search for Companies and Individuals Who Use Humor in Business for Fun and Profit
NEW YORK, NY--March 29, 2005 — Humor anthropologist Bob Mankoff and The Cartoon Bank, a division of The New Yorker Magazine and the world’s leading licensor of magazine-style cartoons, today announced the first annual "Humor in Business Awards" to recognize companies and individuals who actively harness humor in the workplace to create a more fun and prosperous environment, to build employee, client and customer loyalty, and to differentiate their brands.
The awards program seeks to identify and honor those companies and executives that have effectively integrated humor into their corporate culture and business practices. The Cartoon Bank particularly seeks to recognize 'humor evangelists' who help spread the use of humor throughout their organization to help build success. The Cartoon Bank launched the national search with its charter sponsor, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), at the start of the group's first annual conference, March 29-30, in Chicago. WOMMA's mission is to promote and improve word of mouth marketing.
The Cartoon Bank created the awards program to heighten awareness of the role humor can play in increasing productivity, creativity, employee retention and overall success. Ten finalists will be chosen for national recognition and awards. The top awarded company and/or humor evangelist will receive a free humor workshop and consultation with Bob Mankoff, founder and president of The Cartoon Bank and cartoon editor of The New Yorker, including a trip to New York and two-day Cartoon Bank Humor Fellowship, plus a signed original cartoon custom drawn by a New Yorker cartoonist to capture the company's humor culture.
"It's all about being human and interacting with each other as human beings rather than as cogs in a corporate machine. Humor helps build relationships and normalizes them; humor fosters cooperation which leads to increased productivity." said Mankoff. "Humor is the tool that transforms the petty annoyances of corporate life from anger and frustration into laughter. It helps you laugh at yourself and serves as an icebreaker in meetings and negotiations by stimulating fresh ideas, making personal connections and persuading an individual or a group in closing a deal," he added.
"There's nothing more genuine than how a good joke spreads between friends," said WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz. "It's funny how effective and authentic you can be with a little good humor. We're pleased to work with The New Yorker’s Cartoon Bank to help spread the word about this great program."
The Cartoon Bank is accepting nominations for the "Humor in Business Awards" beginning today through September 30, 2005. Any individual working for a U.S.–based company can enter a nomination. The first 25 entries will receive a signed copy of "The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker." Winners will be announced on October 31.
Full details and entry forms are available on: www.humorinbusiness.com; you can also phone The Cartoon Bank at 1-800-897-TOONS.
About The Cartoon Bank
The Cartoon Bank, a New Yorker Magazine company, features the world’s largest resource of magazine-style cartoons. Bob Mankoff, founder and president, and The Cartoon Bank provide consulting, humor workshops, cartoon licensing and other products and services for businesses to use humor to grow their business. Mankoff also serves as a commentator on the role of humor in popular culture, politics, business and life.
100 COMPANIES JOIN WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING ASSOCIATION IN JUST FIVE MONTHS
Rapid Association Growth Reflects Emerging New Priorities for Marketers
CHICAGO, March 28, 2005 -- The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry, announced today that it hit the 100 member milestone, only five months after it was founded. Member companies have joined WOMMA to build a prosperous word of mouth industry based on best practices, effective standards, and ethical leadership. This is an extraordinary growth rate for any association.
"WOMMA's growth is exceeding all expectations, and we're delighted to hit the 100 mark on the eve of our Word of Mouth Marketing Summit this week," said WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz. "We greatly appreciate the support from our charter members."
More than 350 marketing professionals will assemble in Chicago on Tuesday for the first-ever conference on the topic of word of mouth marketing. Demand was so strong that WOMMA had to shift locations late last week. Information about the summit and audio recordings are available at http://www.womma.org/summit.
Association Focus
"WOMMA's amazing membership growth is proof that word of mouth marketing is more than a fad. When we started WOMMA, we knew we were addressing a new reality for brand stakeholders. It is an important shift that presents both opportunities and challenges for marketers, and this is why WOMMA is critical," said Pete Blackshaw, co-founder of WOMMA and CMO of Intelliseek.
WOMMA members are mastering the art of honest, authentic two-way communications with customers. Blogs, communities, viral marketing, buzz, evangelism, word of mouth, and other new techniques are creating a fundamentally more open relationship between businesses and the people they serve.
"The world of marketing is rapidly changing, again," continued Sernovitz. "But this time, it's not about bits and bytes. It's about learning to talk to each other."
A growing number of marketers are testing and qualifying word of mouth marketing techniques. When WOMMA was founded, it provided an instant home for all of the experts in the field. Many marketers are joining to participate in WOMMA's best practices and standards-setting programs.
“When we founded WOMMA, we knew it would be big -- but not this quickly. There's a growing recognition that if we can speak a common language around critical areas like measurements and ROI, this industry will bloom," said Dave Balter, WOMMA co-founder of WOMMA and CEO of BzzAgent.
Last month, WOMMA published the first draft Ethics Code for word of mouth marketers, and more than 50 companies subsequently joined.
"The first thing WOMMA did was take a strong stand on ethics, and the marketing community has shown its support for ethics by supporting our process," said WOMMA co-founder and BuzzMetrics CEO Jonathan Carson. "We couldn't be more proud that this vital issue is being validated by industry-wide support."
WOMMA Charter Members
Alloy
Arnold Worldwide
Beck Ag Com
BigChampagne
Biggs-Gilmore
Bolt Media
Brand Autopsy
Brandimensions
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Burson-Marsteller
Buzzmarketing
BuzzMetrics
BzzAgent
The Cartoon Bank
CEI-Star
The Clorox Company
ComBlu
ComScore Networks
Conference Calls Unlimited
Conkling Fiskum & McCormick
CRM Metrix
CTSG and Kintera
Customunity
DDB Issues & Advocacy
Decision Analyst
DEI Worldwide
Dell
Dewey Square Group
Digital Cement
Discovery Communications
EchoDitto
Echopinion
eCRUSH
Edelman
Electric Artists
FanPimp
FieldWorks
Fila Online
Fleishman-Hillard
FreeSuper
Friendster
GasPedal
Genuosity
Ground Force Network
GSD&M
Harvard Business School
Hass MS&L
Intelliseek
Interpret-Her
Intuit
Keith Bates & Associates
Ketchum Communications
Kraft Foods
Lemon Foundation
Liquid Intelligence
M80
Marketing Technology Solutions
Matchstick
Mediaedge:cia UK
MotiveQuest
Motorola
NOP World
Northlich
Omotion
1QuickReferral.Com
OnMessage Communications
Organic
Oslo - Inteligencia de Mercado
Paterno Wines International
Pearson Education
The Phelon Group
Presslaff Interactive Revenue
ProFlowers
Pronto Communication
The Prostate Net
Public Relations Partners
Reach Media
Renegade Marketing Group
Richards/Gravelle
Rowland Communications Worldwide
Ruxton Ventures
S.C. Johnson
Schneider Associates
Slack Barshinger
Soapbox Marketing
Sprint
Starcom MediaVest Group
StartSampling
TaylorMade-adidas Golf
TechSmith Corporation
Texas Arts Marketing Network
Tickle
Trendum
Tribe Networks
The Tweedy Group
The Vandiver Group
VantagePoint Venture Partners
Verizon Wireless
Visible Path
Vocanic
The Well Advertising
Zondervan
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 100 corporate members and more than 3,000 active participants in its email discussions. Learn about WOMMA at http://www.womma.org.
# # #
WOMMA welcomes its newest members:
ProFlowers
Brand Autopsy
Texas Arts Marketing Network
Starcom MediaVest Group
Thanks for your support!
Assistant Professor
Louisiana State University
Manship School of Mass Communication
Laboratory for Creative Arts and Technology
Porter has more than 12 years of marketing experience in the entertainment, biotech, hospitality, banking and insurance industries. He has focused on new media since 1995, when he built his first commercial Web site.
Prior to starting New Media Mind, Porter spent four years as executive director of Internet marketing for Disney, formulating the creative and media strategies for more than 80 films released under Touchstone and Disney Pictures. In 2002, he won both a Clio and a Key Art Award for his work as a producer on the official movie site for "The Royal Tenenbaums." At the University of Georgia, Porter helped start the New Media Institute.
Porter holds a Ph.D. in mass communication with an emphasis in new media from the University of Georgia. He currently serves as an assistant professor of advertising and public relations in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. He holds a joint appointment with the Laboratory for Creative Arts and Technology (LCAT), where he heads an interdisciplinary project conducting research on the uses and applications of online media.
Professor of Marketing
Fuqua School of Business
Duke University
Carl F. Mela is a Professor of Marketing at Duke University. He received his Sc. B. from Brown University and Ph.D. from Columbia University. His research focuses upon the long-term effects of marketing activity and Internet marketing. Articles along these lines have appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, the Journal of Consumer Research, and other journals. His research has received nine best paper awards from the Marketing Science Institute, the European Marketing Academy, the Institute for Operations Research and Management, the Direct Marketing Education Foundation, and the American Marketing Association. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Marketing Letters and the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing as well as the analytics adviory board of Information Resources.
His home page is located at http://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~mela/bio
WOMMA welcomes its newest members:
Digital Cement
FieldWorks
TechSmith
richards/gravelle
Schneider PR
Thanks for your support!
WOMMA welcomes its newest members:
Genuosity
Interpret-Her
Tickle
1QuickReferral.com
The Clorox Company
Thanks for your support!
Walter J. Carl, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies
Northeastern University
Dr. Walter Carl conducts research and teaches in the areas of interpersonal and organizational communication. His publications include book chapters and journal articles on the topics of social interaction, personal relationships, and how relationships serve as a basis for influence and persuasion. His most recent research investigates word-of-mouth as it is embedded in routine, everyday communication practices, with a special emphasis on analyzing actual conversations and unique relationship histories. Dr. Carl also designs research-based consulting and training interventions for companies, universities, and not-for-profit organizations to help them with a variety of interpersonal and organizational communication processes. Dr. Carl received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and his master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Home Page: http://www.atsweb.neu.edu/w.carl
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
Word of Mouth Marketing Summit 2005
Chicago, March 29-30
http://www.womma.org/summit
The first-ever conference on
the art and science of word of mouth marketing.
We have 40+ amazing speakers confirmed, including the smartest authors to ever spread the word on word of mouth:
Guy Kawasaki: Selling the Dream and Art of the Start
Emanuel Rosen: The Anatomy of Buzz
George Silverman: The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Jackie Huba & Ben McConnell: Creating Customer Evangelists
Mark Hughes: Buzzmarketing
Ed Keller & Jon Berry: The Influentials
Don't miss this event if you're involved in viral, buzz, word of mouth, evangelism, grassroots, and other customer-centered marketing strategies.
Seating is limited - this will sell out - sign up soon.
Full details at http://www.womma.org/summit
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