April 2005
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WOMMA has been in the field promoting word of mouth, ethical leadership, and best practices. The mainstream media has responded with great coverage this month!
Business 2.0: Heard About the Word-of-Mouth Industry?
Wired: Marketers Feverish Over Viral Ads
Newsweek: Is It Buzz or Merely the Noise of a Pest?
AdAge: Go ahead, laugh it up
The Economist: Creating a buzz
>> More info:
http://www.business2.com/b2/web/articles/0,17863,1046202,00.html
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,66960,00.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7433759/site/newsweek
Are you going to AD:TECH next week? WOMMA is hosting an info session for prospective members. Current members and staff will be on hand to explain the WOMMA mission, answer questions, and talk about the benefits of membership.
DETAILS: Tuesday, April 26, 3:30 p.m.
San Francisco Marriott, Salon 14
WOMMA will be on hand at AD:TECH to teach best practices and spread the word about word of mouth marketing. WOMMA members are presenting two panels on word of mouth marketing:
- Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek
- Jon Berry, NOP World
- Jonathan Carson, BuzzMetrics
- Andy Sernovitz, WOMMA
- Jim Scheinman, Friendster
- Dave Balter, BzzAgent
- Troy Young, Organic
- Dan Hess, comScore Networks
* Measuring How Buzz Impacts Brand: Measuring, quantifying, and leveraging word of mouth. How do you account for the marketing impact of passionate fans discussing your brand in the blogosphere and in the real world? Not only can you track the success or failure of explicit word of mouth campaigns, but you can audit the entire marketing mix by tracking how your mainstream campaigns are picked up and relayed in key influential communities.
* Creating and Energizing Customer Evangelists. How do you turn a regular customer into an excited evangelist? Why do ordinary buyers decide to invest time and effort in promoting their favorite brands? Learn to create genuine two-way communications with customers. Create feedback and loyalty programs that earn respect and recommendations. Also understand the complex issues of loyalty programs, especially when points and incentives are involved.
>> TRAVEL TIP: Don't forget to pack and wear your WOMMA pin.
WOMMA presented to the largest names in online retail at the Shop.org Online Marketing Workshop held on April 20-22. WOMMA presented a discussion on viral marketing strategies, with panelists including Andy Sernovitz, Mark Hughes of Buzzmarketing, Linda Jane Bennett of Yahoo!, and Jared Blank of Tommy Hilfiger.
WOMMA also hosted two roundtable discussions about word of mouth by retailers. Issues raised included best practices, the ethics code, and starting or improving a WOM program.
STANDARDS COUNCIL
The Standards Council has been hard at work developing common standards and terminology for the word of mouth marketing industry. We are getting close to publishing the first defining framework and a white paper.
You should get involved if you are interested in metrics, measurability, and ROI in word of mouth.
The next scheduled conference call of the Ethics Council is Thursday, April 14 at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST. Contact WOMMA to get the dial-in number.
ETHICS CODE
We have received significant feedback on the code of ethics, along with extensive discussion at the WOMMA Summit. This week we begin drafting the next version of the WOMMA Code. Other future activities for the Council beyond the Code will also be considered and examined.
Please participate. This is a vital issue that impacts everyone. The next call is April 13 at 5 p.m. EST. Contact WOMMA to get the dial-in number.
It's not too late to sign up and participate, but don't wait! Contact WOMMA Membership VP Larry Forssberg at larry@womma.org to find out how you can get involved today.
On March 29-30, WOMMA hosted the very first Word of Mouth Marketing Summit in Chicago. 350 marketing professionals gathered for two days of intense learning, debate, and networking. Based on all the feedback we've received, our first-ever Summit was a fantastic success!
You can visit the site to get more information on the topics covered and amazing speakers. Unfortunately, you had to be there to share in the spirit, enthusiasm, and general pumpedupedness of the experience.
To download presentations and photos, or purchase audio recordings, go to http://www.womma.org/summit.
We're grateful to all of our speakers, sponsors, and participants who made it possible.
WOMMA welcomes its newest members:
DuPont
Moroch
Coleo Marketing Group
Thanks for your support!
Dr. Dina Mayzlin
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Yale School of Management
Professor Mayzlin's research focuses on word of mouth online. She is studying how firms can influence online conversations as well as how firms can measure these conversations to perform market research. Her other interests include public relations and the marketing of fashion goods.
Working Papers
"The Effect of Word of Mouth Online: Online Book Reviews" (with J. Chevalier) October, 2003
"Using Online Conversations to Measure Word-of-Mouth Communications," (with D. Godes) 2003
"Promotional Chat on the Internet," 2003
"The Influence of Social Networks on The Effectiveness of Promotional Strategies," 2002
Official Site
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