Word Of Mouth Marketing Strategy

Word of Mouth – A Prescription for a Bad Economy

It looks like we’re in the big R…

2009 Anticipated Declines: - 15% Newspapers - 13% Consumer Magazines - 10% Radio - 4% Network TV

Smart Marketers are Now Rethinking Traditionally Held Views...

Another Change You Can Believe In Is Coming …

Word of Mouth is Catching On…in All Its Forms

Buzz Marketing Customer Collaboration Social Media Brand Communitie

Influencer Marketing Social Networks Referral Programs

User Generated Content

Grassroots/Cause Marketing

Experiential Marketing

Viral Marketing

The Fastest Growing Marketing/Media Segments

Expected 5 year Compound Annual Growth Rate

Word of Mouth 27% Internet/Mobile 14% Branded Entertainment 13% Custom Publishing 11% Others 10%

Fact - Most Traditional Media is an Inefficient Cost…

…Word of Mouth is a Wise Investment

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Reasons Why Word of Mouth Deserves Your Consideration In This Economy

Reason #1 – Word of Mouth Gets Noticed

- 4% any ad recall from last TV show watched (down from 34% in 1965) -70% of people frequently consume multiple media simultaneously

- 93% of people believe word of mouth is the most reliable way to find out information about products and services

Reason #2 – Word of Mouth Stimulates Action

70% - percentage of people affected b 90% - proportion of people who -can word of mouth conversations skip ads, do skip ads - 37% buy it/try it - 24% consider it - 9% avoid it

Reason #3 – Word of Mouth is a Competitive Advantage

- Only 1-2% of marketing budgets are currently spent directly on creating word of mouth -Year Round Community - $100-500 - Word of Mouth Campaign - $40-150 -Blog /Social Media Outreach $30-100 against the Typical Research - A 7% increase in positive word of mouth equates to 1% business growth

Reason #4 – Word of Mouth Targets Influence

- With rare exception (i.e. magazines), mainstream media has a tough time targeting audiences and specifically influencers

- 70% of Wikipedia’s content is produced by 1.7% of its audience - Top ranked Influencer belief – “I love talking to others about things I’ve just discovered”

Reason #5 – Word of Mouth is More Trusted

60% of people have a much more negative view of marketing and advertising than a few years ago

 Word of mouth is the #1 trusted source, up 50% vs. a generation ago

27% trust manufacturers

 61% of people claim to buy the same brands as their friends

 14% trust ads

 82% trust their friends

 8% trust celebrities

Reason #6 – Word of Mouth is More Customer Centric

WOM Provides: Mass Media Provides:

 Entertainment Value  Information Value

        

Entertainment Value Informational Value Explicit value (rewards) Intrinsic value (feeling of belonging) Experiential value (immersion) Social value (making connections) Talent value (expressing skills/creativit Service value (adds to the product) Collaborative value (1+1=3)

Reason #7 – Word of Mouth is the Now & the Future

 Marketers plan on spending more/less in 2009: More Less Newspaper 5% 32% Radio 5% 33% TV 4% 37% Magazines 3%

 58% of marketers agree that word of mouth influence will overtake traditional media influence within a generation  73% of marketers believe marketers will become much more important in an organization by leveraging word of mouth strategies and tactics

We plan, seed, incubate execute, measure, live and breathe the spectrum of word of mouth Integrated  Brand Community-building  Influencer-driven  Challenge/intervention Grassroots sponsorship/cause-driven Offline  Experiential  Buzz/Guerrilla Online  Social Media Production/Outreach  Viral  User-generated

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Let’s Start Your Next Conversation…

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