February 2007
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Starbucks knows its customers have extreme drink preferences. The company also knows that so many coffee-related decisions can be intimidating for the uninitiated. The milk choices alone -- whole, 2%, nonfat, soy, organic, breve, no foam, extra foamy, etc. -- are enough to trip up the uninformed. So Starbucks has created a site that details all of the beverage choices, and is letting latte loyalists design their own branded T-shirts that reflect their unique drink preferences.
At www.starbucks.com, enthusiasts can pick and choose various drink elements, as well as icons designed by "Project Runway" cast member Mychael Knight, to individualize their T-shirts -- in much the same way that they can personalize their favorite Starbucks beverage. Of course, the T-shirts are free of charge (including shipping costs!), and Starbucks gets to clothe eager fans in custom-made, word-of-mouth-worthy gear.
Learn more (Yahoo!)
Political candidates are finally acknowledging the impact of online word of mouth and are gearing up to put the power of the online activist community behind their campaigns. When Democrats Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama announced their presidential intentions early this year, both of them did so via online videos hosted on their campaign websites.
Within a few hours of announcing her bid, Clinton's website had pulled in 10,000 messages of support as well as 2,200 submissions for a blog contest. The site also signed up 100 people a minute to its email list. While gaining the support of this "netroots" contingent doesn't guarantee actual election results come 2008, candidates' online efforts seem to acknowledge that the support -- and conversations -- of internet supporters could give their campaigns a helpful boost.
Learn more (Wall Street Journal Online)
Before the movie "We Are the Strange" had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last month, its YouTube-hosted trailer had already been downloaded by 648,000 people. The film's writer (and director, and animator, and effects coordinator), Michael Belmont, has been working hard over the past several years to create a devoted cluster of fans, all of whom have long been anticipating the film's release.
Belmont, who is known by fans as "M dot Strange," has been interacting with his movie's enthusiasts online, and even went so far as to allow them to suggest possible endings for the film. "We Are the Strange" didn't fare so well at Sundance (a large portion of the audience left mid-movie), but with the kind of fan base that Belmont was able to accumulate pre-launch, it's going to take more than a panned premiere to put out the movie's fire.
Learn more (New York Times)
Learn more (Reveries)
Learn more (We Are the Strange)
If word of mouth marketing is something you've been itching to try, you need to attend WOMMA's Word of Mouth Basic Training (WOMBAT) event, April 17-18 in New Orleans. Get the tools you need, then dig in and get started.
WOMBAT has tons to offer the word of mouth novice, including:
* Real Case Studies: See how other companies used word of mouth to meet their marketing objectives, from start to finish.
* Practical "How-To" Instructions: Tactical information and hands-on advice. Find out how to get your word of mouth activities off the ground.
* Useful Tips and Techniques: Word of mouth marketing encompasses a wide spectrum of techniques. Find out from the experts what's out there and which techniques will best meet your needs.
* Intense Networking: One of the best ways to generate ideas is by picking the brains of savvy marketers who've been through the process and who get what you do.
You already know that word of mouth is the most powerful tool; now, figure out how to make it work for you.
Register today.
Ikea isn't treating its cache of consumer-generated videos like advertisements or PR, nor is it asking consumers to act as a pseudo marketing department. With the help of consumer-generated video network Shycast, Ikea is using the CGM model instead for good, old fashioned customer promotions.
So, what makes this different from other consumer-generated media efforts? Ikea's promo is simple: It features a contest and a prize without using the consumer-generated videos as advertising. Ikea is hosting a competition asking participants to make a video which breaks the rules of how to make a bed. The winner of "best video" wins a $5,000 prize, and Ikea wins a pool of eager evangelists who are willing to publicly endorse the Ikea brand.
Learn more (MediaPost)
Learn more (Tech Crunch)
In a move to replicate the past success of its Monk-e-Mail viral smash, which prompted more than 12 million people to pass along talking-chimpanzee messages, Careerbuilder launched its Ago-o-Matic campaign last month. The Age-o-Matic site allows users to upload photos, rate the heinous conditions of their work environment, and see what they'll look like in 2057 if they keep it up.
The not-so-subtle message the campaign conveys is that there should be more to a job than "surviving the work week," and that putting in time at a thankless job will age you -- a message the company is hoping will prompt viewers to head on over to Careerbuilder.com to look for a new job. Of course, once users have created a much-aged and "crusty" version of themselves, they can forward the image -- along with a personalized, spoken message -- to a friend, hopefully replicating the viral wildfire that sparked Monk-e-Mail's success.
Learn more (CareerBuilder)
Learn more (Wall Street Journal)
In a recent campaign, Kimberly-Clark's Kleenex brand is featured in sometimes funny, sometimes touching "drive-by therapy" sessions. People walking on the street are invited to join a Kleenex spokesperson on a distinctively vibrant blue couch (which was transported to various curb-side locations) to "let it out."
In the resulting commercials, participants are shown crying, weeping, sobbing, tearing up, and wailing their way through personal anecdotes. Of course, a ready supply of Kleenex facial tissues is there to dry the eyes of those who choose to "let it out." The commercial drives viewers to the campaign's accompanying website, www.letitout.com, where users can create an account and share videos, photos, and stories, then comment on each others' posts, creating a community ripe with word of mouth opportunity -- all in the spirit of letting it out.
Learn more
WOMMA is pleased to announce author Chip Heath as keynote at its Word of Mouth Basic Training conference, April 17-18 in New Orleans. A professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, Heath is the best-selling co-author of "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die." He'll tell a crowd of the industry's leading word of mouth marketers why "naturally sticky" ideas -- ranging from urban legends to "Chicken Soup for the Soul" stories to business strategy myths -- survive in the social marketplace. Don't miss this exciting learning opportunity: Register for Word of Mouth Basic Training today and find out how to make your own messages stick.
Register now!
To generate buzz about Windows Vista, WOMMA member company Microsoft created an elaborate puzzle with online and offline pieces. For the first wave of the promotion, Microsoft sent prominent bloggers "puzzle boxes" containing a USB key and a message from a character from the Vanishing Point game. The first major clue in the puzzle was revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and subsequent clues have been released via the Vanishing Point website and in zany offline ways -- such as the cryptic skywriting messages that have appeared over major cities around the world.
According to Brian Marr, Vista's group marketing manager, the campaign was intended to reward those who are already Vista enthusiasts, which is why the focus is on the puzzle and prizes and not the features of Vista. Buzz about the effort, which has generated tens of thousands of hits on the Vanishing Point site, is making its way around the blogosphere, where users are commenting on the scope and ambition of the campaign. The first prize for the puzzle-solving champion: a 63-mile ride into space -- "the ultimate vista," according to Microsoft, and certainly something worth talking about.
Learn more (Red Herring)
Learn more (Fox News)
If you want to know more, dial in to hear Brian Marr speak at WOMMA's Word of Mouth Wednesdays Teleconference at noon EST on Feb. 28, 2007.
To sign up, click here.
Flip, WOMMA member company Conde Nast's recently launched social networking site for teen girls, is offering more than just chat opportunities for its users; it's also giving them control over how advertising is displayed on their personalized pages, or "Flip books." Users can choose to populate their pages with ads from any of the five premier sponsors Conde Nast has signed, and the ads consist of unbranded digital images. For example, Nordstrom ads feature models decked out in Nordstrom fashions, images that girls can use to personalize their Flip books (the brand behind the photos is only identified when the images are clicked). Certain areas of the site still have traditional banner-style ads, but even with advertising the Flip users are in control, choosing which sponsors' ads will appear on their individual pages and using a "doodle" tool to scrawl comments directly onto ads.
It's reasonable to anticipate that the luxury of picking and choosing which ads show up alongside a personalized profile will prove a powerful draw for social network users -- and the element of choice will make the branded content more potent to potential viewers.
Learn more (MediaWeek)
Learn more (MarketingVOX)
Peter van Stolk, Jones Soda Co.'s president and CEO, contends that the company has been able to carve out a niche in the soda market because of its adherence to a "do things completely different" policy. According to van Stolk's January keynote at the 2007 Northwest Food Manufacturing and Packaging Expo, the keys to success are "understanding your market" and "not doing what somebody's doing somewhere else."
Jones Soda has lived up to its "make your own rules" credo with novelty holiday packs -- which include soda flavors such as turkey and gravy, brussels sprout, fruitcake, mashed potato, and green bean casserole -- and bottles adorned with photographs submitted by customers. What's more, as part of Jones Soda's ongoing word of mouth efforts, the company sponsors local, homegrown skateboarders, snowboarders, and other alternative athletes. The idea behind this initiative is that these edgy individuals are the kind of folks that have strong word of mouth sway within their peer groups. The clever pairing of Jones Soda's unique attributes with these enthusiastic influencers has significantly upped the beverage's "cool" factor, making it a great example of word of mouth success.
Learn more
WOMMA's roster of member companies keeps growing; isn't it about time you became an integral part of this fast-growing and dynamic industry? We've got five good reasons why you should sign up today:
--> 1. You're curious about this thing called WOM, but you want to do it right. You want to be an ethical word of mouth marketer -- and you know WOMMA has the tools to get you started.
--> 2. Networking just got a whole lot easier. WOMMA's Member Center provides a ton of conversational capabilities, and it's just a click away. Start a dialog, ask a question, and meet other word of mouth marketers.
--> 3. WOMMA is always on the lookout for ways to save our members a little dough. We have discounts on domestic and international events, proprietary research reports, the latest word of mouth publications, and more.
--> 4. If you are a part of the word of mouth marketing industry, you need to be involved. WOMMA offers great opportunities for members to raise their voices and build their WOM resumes. Join a group, council, or taskforce and do something for the industry.
--> 5. All WOMMA members get deep, deep discounts on WOMMA events, which are the seminal learning sessions in the word of mouth marketing industry.
Join WOMMA Today!
WOMMA's roster of member companies keeps growing; isn't it about time you became an integral part of this fast-growing and dynamic industry? We've got five good reasons why you should sign up today:
--> 1. You're curious about this thing called WOM, but you want to do it right. You want to be an ethical word of mouth marketer -- and you know WOMMA has the tools to get you started.
--> 2. Networking just got a whole lot easier. WOMMA's Member Center provides a ton of conversational capabilities, and it's just a click away. Start a dialog, ask a question, and meet other word of mouth marketers.
--> 3. WOMMA is always on the lookout for ways to save our members a little dough. We have discounts on domestic and international events, proprietary research reports, the latest word of mouth publications, and more.
--> 4. If you are a part of the word of mouth marketing industry, you need to be involved. WOMMA offers great opportunities for members to raise their voices and build their WOM resumes. Join a group, council, or taskforce and do something for the industry.
--> 5. All WOMMA members get deep, deep discounts on WOMMA events, which are the seminal learning sessions in the word of mouth marketing industry.
Join WOMMA Today!
By empowering musicians and music fans alike, ReverbNation.com was able to stand out in the sea of social music networks that exist online, winning Mashable.com's People's Choice award for best social music network of 2006. The site allows users to leverage email, IM, blogs, etc., to move music virally; most social music networks keep music marooned onsite. ReverbNation.com built a number of tools to help music go viral in a push-button way, including:
* FanReach -- a way for artists to manage their communications with fans
* TunePaks -- easily creates hyperlinks to a pre-selected group of songs
* Tracking -- shows how far the viral efforts are spreading as well as where plays are coming from
* Music Player Widget -- allows music to be hosted anywhere on the web, including on fan sites and blogs
According to Mike Doernberg, ReverbNation.com's CEO, "Getting the music heard is the first step in ramping up the word of mouth, which leads to more downloads, ticket sales, merch sales, and buzz."
Learn more
Ganz, a Canadian manufacturer of stuffed animals, got people talking about its Webkinz plush pets recently without the aid of any traditional advertising methods. The company drove playground-generated hype by offering up something kids hadn't seen before -- "secret" online content -- as well as creating a social network on which to promote product-based interaction.
Each Webkinz pet comes with its own "secret code" that allows kids access to an online world created around the product. At www.webkinz.com, kids can log on, take their pets for a walk, purchase pet food, and go to the vet, as well as communicate and play entertaining educational games with other Webkinz owners, giving the toys a multi-faceted appeal that has kids spreading the word.
Learn more
Kodak is the latest company to join the fast growing ranks of corporate viral video makers. The company's short video, titled "Winds of Change," pokes fun at the stodgy image Kodak's narrowly defined brand has inadvertently projected in the age of digital cameras, camera phones, and Flickr. The video starts with an older gentleman in a business suit giving a refined presentation about the "Eastman Kodak Co.," but as the video progresses, the energy rises, climaxing in a frenzied rift about the digital possibilities of the company -- a culmination that seems very fitting given the video's format. The video was originally used as an internal presentation for a digital conference, but has since gained a lot of steam, making its way around the web and getting consumers talking about Kodak.
Learn more (AdAge)
Learn more (iMedia Connection)
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