October 2006
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Be part of the only conference on metrics and measures dedicated to quantifying word of mouth marketing -- WOMMA's Word of Mouth Research Symposium in Washington, D.C., Dec. 11. Co-located with WOMMA's Word of Mouth Summit, the biggest word of mouth event ever, our Research Symposium will satisfy your hunger for the newest data and the biggest numbers.
Every major word of mouth research expert will be here -- you need to be, too. All attendees will receive a free copy of our exclusive, 200+ page research book, Measuring Word of Mouth Vol. 2. Last year's event sold out, so register today.
Event highlights:
1) 20 fascinating research papers
2) Deep discussion of measurement issues
3) The best data and research available
4) The biggest research names and experts
Register
WOMMA responded to increasing concerns about marketer transparency and disclosure this week with the release of its Ethics Assessment Tool, a powerful ethics evaluation tool that helps marketers identify and eliminate unethical word of mouth marketing tactics before they are implemented.
The Ethics Assessment Tool guides marketers through 20 questions they should ask before initiating a word of mouth campaign. The answers generated will quickly identify unethical actions and point out safeguards for avoiding them in the future.
View the tool and submit a comment
WOMMA is revolutionizing the typical conference experience by allowing attendees to build their own conference sessions, known as "YouSessions." The closing day of WOMMA's Word of Mouth Marketing Summit will feature six exciting YouSessions suggested, developed, and voted on by attendees, who will also star as exclusive YouSession speakers.
We're accepting YouSession ideas until Saturday, Oct. 28, after which we're calling on all attendees to vote for their six favorites. Voting begins Monday, Oct. 30, and closes Friday, Nov. 10. Don't miss your chance to speak up and be heard!
Suggest a YouSession idea and vote for your favorite
Check out these groundbreaking authors at our Word of Mouth Marketing Summit in Washington, D.C., Dec. 12-13:
* Jackie Huba, author, "Citizen Marketers"
* John Moore, author, "Tribal Knowledge"
* Debbie Weil, author, "The Corporate Blogging Book"
* Jon Berry, author, "The Influentials"
* George Silverman, author, "The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing"
* Greg Stielstra, author, "PyroMarketing"
* Rex Briggs, author, "What Sticks"
* Andy Sernovitz, author, "Word of Mouth Marketing"
Learn more
WOMMA is pleased to partner with the following companies for its upcoming Word of Mouth Marketing Summit:
* The Public Relations Society of America
* The Association of Internet Marketing and Sales, Canada
* MediaPost
* Keller Fay Group
Support our partners: PRSA's 2006 International Conference is Nov. 11-14 in Salt Lake City. Register at www.prsa.org/conf2006.
Register for the Summit
Even more companies have joined WOMMA. Welcome to:
Gaul Advertising, Neukunden.com, Voce Communications, Pod Digital Design, and Dairy Management/National Dairy Council.
We thank everyone for their support!
WOMMA has a new director of member relations, Tarah Remington. Tarah has several years of association experience, primarily in the medical profession. She comes to WOMMA from the American Optometric Association, where she was the membership manager for paraoptometrics, as well as manager of several member affinity programs. Welcome, Tarah!
Thanks to member Jackie Huba for recommending new member company Voce Communications ... Member Tina Wells, CEO of Buzz Marketing, was quoted recently at MSNBC.com ... Member company Maxwell PR Studio recently promoted Laura Bishow to account executive and made two new hires -- Sam Burton as account executive and Kay Ulloa as account coordinator ... Congratulations to Paul Leinberger, formerly of member company GfK NOP, who has a new position with member company ComBlu.
Are you speaking at a conference? Quoted in the press? Making a change at work or at home? Tell us about it and we'll spread the word! Email editor@womma.org.
WOMMA Publishes Ethics Tool To Protect Companies and Consumers
Chicago, 10-26-2006 -- The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) today released the WOMMA Ethics Assessment Tool, which helps marketers identify and eliminate unethical word of mouth marketing tactics before they are implemented.
Modeled on the WOMMA Ethics guidelines of honesty of relationship, opinion, and identity, this tool guides marketers through the questions they should ask before initiating a word of mouth campaign. The answers generated will quickly identify unethical actions and point out safeguards for avoiding them in the future.
"We're empowering marketers to sort out the good ideas from the bad ones," said WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz. "We're ending the 'don't ask/don't tell' option for stealth marketing."
For brands and agencies, one of the ongoing challenges is to ensure that all staff and contractors are aware of the ethics rules and are given the training to recognize an inappropriate program when it is proposed.
Unethical campaigns often happen when a junior executive isn't fully aware of the ethics rules, or when agencies that use unethical practices are hired without the client understanding the implications.
"This is the first item in WOMMA's Practical Ethics program to provide the tools marketers need to ensure ethics are implemented throughout their company," said Jim Nail, CMO, Cymfony, co-chair of the project. "It ensures that all personnel know what to look for."
The Ethics Assessment Tool will put powerful economic pressure toward stamping out stealth marketing by driving clients away from unethical vendors.
"We're going to make it awfully hard for a stealth marketer to get a job," Sernovitz said. "We're going to drive business to firms that stand for ethical, consumer-protecting practices."
WOMMA is calling for public comment from marketers and consumers in order to make this tool as useful and effective as possible. For more information, or to submit a comment, visit http://www.womma.org/20questions.
About WOMMA
WOMMA is the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry. Our 300 corporate members are committed to building a prosperous word of mouth marketing profession based on best practices, measurable ROI, and ethical leadership. Learn more about us at www.womma.org.
Contact
Word of Mouth Marketing Association
312-853-4400
andy@womma.org
Understandably, many in the blogging, PR, marketing, and word of mouth marketing worlds are concerned about ethics and disclosure issues surrounding Edelman's recent blogs for Wal-Mart.
WOMMA is committed to open, honest discussion and is therefore encouraging everyone to participate in the dialog surrounding this issue.
To facilitate that dialog, we've created this public forum in which to share your thoughts. We encourage bloggers to link to the forum and hope that all interested parties will voice their opinion.
Join the conversation on this important issue
The consumer is in control. It's what we've been saying all along, and the upcoming WOMMA Summit is no exception. The second day of the Dec. 12-13 event will feature six exciting sessions that we want YOU to suggest, develop, vote on, and participate in. That's right; WOMMA is practicing what we preach and handing over the reigns to our attendees!
Learn more and suggest a YouSession idea
Join smart people from the biggest brands for a brands-only breakfast at WOMMA's Word of Mouth Marketing Summit. Rise and shine the morning of Dec. 13 to network with other brands who get that word of mouth marketing works. Share ideas and inspiration in a fun, vendor-free environment.
To take part, register for the Summit
We're looking for word of mouth superstars to contribute to our case studies project -- a database of the best word of mouth tips and techniques, directly from the people using them. Send us your coolest campaigns and your most successful solutions. Start writing now, and stay tuned for more information soon!
WOMMA hosted its Board of Directors at its Chicago headquarters last week for a productive, all-day Board meeting.
The day's highlights included:
*Energetic working sessions on WOMMA's event program and marketing efforts
*An analysis of membership renewals and recruiting
*Preliminary review of WOMMA's proposed 2007 budget
WOMMA's next Board meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 2007.
Meet WOMMA's Board
Even more companies have joined WOMMA. Welcome to:
Publicis Dialog USA, Sony, ACD Systems, eTrafficJams.com, and Mr. Youth.
We thank everyone for their support!
WOMMA has a new vice president of membership, Greg Fine. Greg has extensive association experience and serves as vice chair of the American Society of Association Executives' Membership Section Council. He comes to WOMMA from BICSI, where he was director of membership and communications. Welcome, Greg!
Congratulations to member Allison Gower of qtags, who is featured this week at MarketingProfs.com and who recently gave birth to her second child ... Congratulations to WOMMA member companies BzzAgent and Arnold Worldwide, who recently won the Promotion Marketing Association's Most Innovative Promotion award ... Congratulations to Brad Bodigan, who has a new position as CEO of member company Biz360 ... Member Brad Fay of Keller Fay Group was quoted this month in AdAge ... Member Gary Spangler of DuPont spoke recently at the eChemicals 2006 conference in Amsterdam.
Are you speaking at a conference? Quoted in the press? Making a change at work or at home? Tell us about it and we'll spread the word! Email editor@womma.org.
YouSessions is a way for Summit 2 attendees to make some demands. WOMMA is letting all conference-goers suggest and vote on six additions to the Summit agenda.
Remember what we said about listening to the customer? This is WOMMA's way of practicing what we preach.
Take a look at the existing agenda. See something missing? Make a suggestion.
From Oct. 30 to Nov. 10, the polls will be open. Be sure to cast a vote and get your favorite YouSessions added to the conference agenda.
We promised you the biggest experts in the WOM industry, and that's what we're serving up. Here are five authors who have joined our speakers' roster:
- John Berry, Co-Author, The Influentials
- Jackie Huba, Co-Author, Citizen Marketers
- John Moore, Author, Tribal Knowledge: Business Wisdom Brewed from the grounds of Starbucks Corporate Culture
- George Silverman, Author, The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing
- Debbie Weil, Author, The Corporate Blogging Book
We're adding new speakers every day. Check back frequently to see the new additions.
Many in the blogging, PR, marketing and word of mouth marketing worlds are understandably concerned about ethical and disclosure issues surrounding Edelman's "Walmarting Across America" blog.
The agency's lack of disclosure on the blog is a violation of WOMMA's Code of Ethics, which requires honesty and full disclosure in all marketer-sponsored communications.
Such transgressions, particularly by a member, are of grave concern to WOMMA, which has led the fight for high ethical standards in word of mouth marketing and social media. Our Ethics Code sets clear guidelines for disclosure by marketers.
WOMMA has held discussions with top Edelman executives regarding this situation. The company has committed itself to a global training program to ensure that all of its employees and sub-contractors fully adhere to the WOMMA Ethics Code, and to establishing mechanisms to assure compliance.
We are assured by Edelman management's public actions to accept full responsibility, pledge to make certain that the error will not be repeated, and again endorse the WOMMA Ethics Code.
In the fast-changing social media environment, it is likely that many other situations like this one will occur as companies experiment and learn how to work in this new world. Mistakes will be made.
WOMMA is committed to educating and training, to helping companies learn to prevent problems, and to establishing clear rules and guidelines.
Along with our existing Ethics Code, WOMMA is accelerating already-planned action to further our commitment to ethics education and training. We are releasing an Ethics Assessment Toolkit that will enable marketers to identify and reject unethical practices before they are implemented. This simple tool will provide clear guidance to marketers, agencies, and subcontractors as to which practices should be avoided.
WOMMA will continue to solicit public comment on how we can improve our work on ethical practices.
The Word of Mouth Marketing Summit is coming -- and you need to be there. In fact, so does everyone you know! Help us spread the word by blogging about the conference.
Here is a sample paragraph to use on your website and in your blog or newsletter (please remember to mention that it came from WOMMA):
I'm spreading the word about WOMMA's Word of Mouth Marketing Summit. Scheduled for Dec. 12-13 in Washington, D.C., this is the ultimate word of mouth marketing event. There will be more than 70 speakers, several big-name authors, and three incredible keynotes. Anyone who wants to get into word of mouth, viral, buzz, or blog marketing needs to be at this conference! Register online now at www.womma.org/summit2.
Don't forget to grab a free banner, too!
Be part of the only event that can help you master word of mouth marketing -- WOMMA's Word of Mouth Marketing Summit, Dec. 12-13 in Washington, D.C. The official event for word of mouth marketing, the WOMMA Summit is a complete course in word of mouth, viral, buzz, and blog marketing.
Event highlights:
1) Lessons from 70+ experts
2) Big questions, important issues, and straight answers
3) Practical "how-to" instructions for doing WOM
4) Fantastic networking opportunities
Register and learn more
If you're making waves in the world of word of mouth marketing, we want to hear about it. Put us on your press list today!
Let us know when you're making news by emailing editor@womma.org.
Give us just two hours a month and we'll give you the chance to build an entire industry. Create an impressive resume within the growing word of mouth world by joining a WOMMA Group. Whether you get excited about ethics, viral marketing, communications, or research, we've got a group where you can make your mark.
Get involved
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Learn more
Consumer-generated media is in the spotlight, thanks to recent headlines surrounding LonelyGirl15, and WOMMA has responded with a call for discussion:
* Last month, we issued a press release asking for comments on the issue of marketer disclosure in social media.
* On Sept. 27, we sponsored an exclusive teleconference featuring Paul Rand of Ketchum Communications and Pete Blackshaw of Nielsen BuzzMetrics, who discussed questions of ethics and creativity as they relate to social media environments.
Comment on the issue and learn more
Even more companies have joined WOMMA. Welcome to:
Icosystem, Influencer50, Hyperactive Interactive, MCC Theater and Russian Doll.
We thank everyone for their support!
WOMMA has a new research editor, Shannon Stairhime. Shannon has a background in market research and joins WOMMA from RFL Communications, where she was an associate editor. Welcome, Shannon!
Congratulations to member company Edelman, mentioned in the Sept. 24 issue of Advertising Age for its word-of-mouth-worthy website ... Members Dennis Smith of CNET Networks, Max Kalehoff and Pete Blackshaw of Nielsen BuzzMetrics, Joe Crump of Avenue A/Razorfish, and Rohit Bhargava of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide spoke at OMMA East Sept. 25 in New York ... Member Rob Key of Converseon spoke at the Conference Board's Corporate Reputation Conference Sept. 27-28 in New York ... Members Gary Spangler of DuPont and Jim Nail of Cymfony were quoted recently in BtoB Magazine.
Are you speaking at a conference? Quoted in the press? Making a change at work or at home? Tell us about it and we'll spread the word! Email editor@womma.org.
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