Word of Mouth Marketing

Apr 26, 2009

Spike Jones from Brains on Fire spoke at the April 24, 2009 San Diego Ad Club morning seminar.  On a whole, Spike was a great speaker. I really like how he integrated the entire word of mouth (WOM) spectrum through online and traditional mediums. Interesting facts:

• 92% of word of mouth happens offline
• Reframe the conversation.  It’s not about the product, it’s what you do with the product.
• Movements are about getting people involved with events that they want to get involved with.  Campains have a start and end date.  Movements get people engaged.
• Movements are a volumn dial.  Sometimes they run high or low, but they are always running.
• Campaigns have the mentality of “us vs them” whereas movements have the attitude of “we’re all in this together”

7 Lessons learned from WOM movements:

1. Passion conversation vs product conversation.
2. Movements have inspirational leadership.
3. Empower with knowledge. Give advocates background on the company, teach them how to use the technology, etc.
4. Shared ownership.
5. Make advoates feel like rock stars.
6. Live online and offline.
7. Move the needle.