This is old content! The Research Blog has been retired. For the new stuff, visit 
WOM Genesis: Enron and Google?
(this is not exactly about a research project, but rather a few thoughts on Paul Rand's hypotheses on why WOM has become such a hot topic. I imagine this may be a good project, however. I'd be happy to hear from others who may want to explore this topic).
At WOMBAT, Paul Rand from Ketchum talked about a truly interesting concept: why are we suddenly so interested in Word of Mouth? We all understand that WOM has been around forever (my boss has a clever Bible quote that recommends WOM, actually) and have always recognized its importance to marketers. But why now? Why are there conferences and papers and studies and this blog?
Paul had some excellent thoughts on it. I'm going to quote from the WOMBAT Blog:
Paul, explained that the vision of WOMMA as being all about empowering the consumer, putting an end to invasive advertising and having a two way dialog with consumers that is listened to regardless of whether we like what they say. He explained that because of technology the days when marketers could put out a bad product or service and sell it before people discovered that it was bad are gone. In todays world for marketers, "there is nowhere to run or nowhere to hide."
True that. But it still leaves us thinking "why now"? I think there are 2 particular events--or rather companies--that made the last 3 years perfect for the rise of WOM: Google and Enron.
Google, first. Google is one of the most valuable companies in the world, and it was built entirely upon WOM. Google has famously spent not a dime on consumer advertising (they've done significant B2B advertising). This very public case study has not only given the markets hope for the Internet economy, but demonstrated that there is, in fact, a different way to build a company. Everyone wants a little Google magic, and it makes sense that marketers want to try to emulate their success.
Enron. I don't mean to pick on this particular company, but for some reason their story seems to resonate the strongest among the early 2000s corporate scandals. Remember when Time Magazine declared the Whistleblower the "Person of the Year"? It was clear that the public had a significant amount of frustration and distrust of companies, their officers and their public statements.
The advertising industry is the interface between companies and the public. Ad agencies, being essentially good people (no, really!) sought a way to mediate this break in trust. WOM very clearly serves that purpose. Since it puts (as Paul says) the power of communication back onto the consumers, it feels like a way to ensure that we don't get Enroned again.
Consultants often do a Root Cause assesment. That is, rather than focus on a problem/situation, they try to work backward to understand the underlying issues and conditions that brought about the situation. Understand the reasons behind the emergence of WOM should help us to do a few things: make sure that this interest isn't just a trend, and try to build upon its success. This is a good time to do this, as WOM (and WOMMA) are entering their sophmore years. The practice is growing and changing. Let's make sure that we remember how we got here in the first place.