WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING

Laura Moore | MKTG 6226

WHAT IS WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING?

Buzz

Viral Guerrilla

Social Media

"People have grown increasingly skeptical of packaged, canned, Madison Avenue-speak”

HOW EFFECTIVE IS WOM?

• In America there are 3.3 billion brand mentions in

2.4 billion brand-related conversations EVERY DAY

• Driving Forces of Purchase Decisions

• Word-of-Mouth – 54%• Website Info – 47%• Email from a Friend – 42%• Online Review – 31%

• Americans that Trust Offline Word-of-Mouth• 59%

• Americans that Trust Online Word-of-Mouth• 49%

Statistics via WOMMA

A LITTLE HISTORY• Word of Mouth is as old as oral communication

• Studying the phenomenon took off in the 20th century

KEY INGREDIENTS IN WOMM

WOMM IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET• Coverage is exponentially greater

• Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit and Youtube are key players, and more crop up all the time

• Bloggers have become very effective WOM marketers

HUMOR AND EFFECTIVE WOMM

• Creates Buzz

• Shapes brand reputation

• Increases the chance of the “word” being passed on

Strategy is still very important, there has to be a message/brand connection

BUT HOW?

HOW DID THAT DOUBLE TREE INCIDENT PLAY OUT?• A sympathetic editorial in the trade publication Travel Weekly

• Coverage in national publications such as USA Today

• An offer of a complimentary two-night stay in any Hilton Hotel

• A sizeable donation to the Toys for Tots charity

• Harm to Doubletree/Hilton’s reputation as the humorous PowerPoint inevitably spread across the web

SOME PERSONAL WOMM

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT