WOMMA/Summit - Day 2: International: WOMM Around the Globe
Moderator: Dave Balter, CEO, BzzAgent
Panelists:
* Thomas Reemer, CEO, Berlin LLC and Founder, Artists First
* Jonathan Carson, CEO, Buzzmetrics
* Steve Barton, President, WOM UK
* Rena Tavukcuoglu, Project Director, FikriMuhim.com
Key points:
* WOMM is growing tremendously internationally
* If there is a case study developed in one country, feedback is often received from an international audience
* Carson said that non-U.S. companies are increasingly wanting to know how to apply WOM to their industries/companies
* Tavukcuoglu said that her company is the only WOM one in Turkey (and is now one year old)
* Barton said that cynicism towards WOM is apparently a problem in the U.K. - senior managers are fascinated, but when the ones who would be needing to implement/apply this are contacted, there is some trepidation
* Turkey is very open to WOMM, but the means and the metrics to measure the impact of what's being created within the Turkish market isn't readily available yet
* From a measurement perspective, WOMM is challenging on the international field
* An audience member from Sweden stated that in Sweden people are very open to WOM, but that there is a desire to be able to see the ROI
* Is the development/growth going to come from the U.S. or from local expertise? Carson said that a local flavor is necessary
* Tavukcuoglu said that some WOMM in Turkey is simple and offline, but that online WOM is growing
* Barton said that in the U.K., several big successful campaigns within the country will help alleviate the suspicion and help people plow forward
* What are some political hurdles that countries need to overcome?
- Reemer said that in his work with China, the fear of "loss of control" that WOMM is perceived as is quite strong
- Tavukcuoglu said that in Turkey, one finds out what one did wrong after the fact
- There was some disagreement regarding loss on control was inevitable or not (using China as an example)
* Are there cases that have helped sell WOM in different countries?
- Carson said that American data he had that related to the U.S. market was favorably regarded by a Japanese automobile manufacturer client since it apparently reflected there the client wanted to go