How-To: Avoiding Mistakes in Word of Mouth
5 Tips from DDB Issues and Advocacy's Pamela Long
Word of mouth is brilliant when practiced appropriately, but what about those campaigns that aren't so successful or are just plain offensive?
"A bad word of mouth campaign is perhaps the best way to turn off consumers and create negative talk value for your company and brand," says Pamela Long, Management Supervisor and Director of the New York office for DDB Issues & Advocacy.
Here are Pamela's tips on avoiding word of mouth mistakes:
Tip #1. Watch for "Strategically flawed from the get-go"
Recently Quaker Chewy Granola bars hired street teams to drop individually wrapped granola bars throughout the city, on the ground. Though many consumers may have noticed them, who wants to eat "found food?"
Tip #2. Avoid messengers that lack credibility
Somehow, marketers have decided it's okay to hire cheap labor to promote products (mostly in the form of college students looking for beer money, or models looking for exposure).
The quality of your message depends largely on the quality of your messenger. Sending out uninformed kids in matching t-shirts, or paying an uninspired celebrity to talk up your product, is a sure-fire way to guarantee a negative brand experience.
Tip #3. Find your target audience
Non-targeted or poorly targeted approaches amount to wasted marketing dollars. As with any other marketing tactic, WOM campaigns should begin with an understanding and agreement on who the campaign targets. Getting a reaction with no regard for who is impacted is irresponsible and wasteful.
Tip #4. Forcefeeding is not nice
A recent WOM campaign targeted commuters in Seattle on ferry boats. Not only were people annoyed, they were downright ticked off. A captive audience might seem appealing as you are planning a campaign, but you shouldn't have to force people to be a part of it. WOM efforts should invite rather than invade.
Tip #5. Make WOM relevant and easy
Whether it's a little bit of online entertainment to escape from work briefly, or an actual physical product being handed out on the street, make it relevant and easy -- and think it out. If it doesn't make sense, doesn't tie in to the brand, or just isn't practical for the environment it's living in, don't do it.
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