TiVo, the DVR company, just announced that the most ad-zapped prime-time show on TiVo is ABC's "Grey's Anatomy."  According to TiVo's metrics chief, Todd Juenger, 75% of TiVo viewers fast-forward through "Grey's" commercials.  If you just plunked down big money on an ABC buy on their premier drama, how does that fact sit with you?

For advertisers who want their messaging to break through, and for agencies who promise their work can get client's advertising talked about, the question becomes...how do you do that when the consumer is zipping through your message?  Here's a thought: Maybe we need to orient ourselves around a new objective.  What if our goal as communications experts were not to get our clients' marketing talked about, but rather to get our clients' brands talked about?  And talked about in the way we intend, increasing the value and meaning of those conversations over time?

This is not to suggest advertising, public relations, a company's website, or any other traditional form of marketing is dead; they all have their place in the world today.  But demonstrating how every element of the ever-expanding marketing toolkit uniquely and powerfully gets brands talked about should be the new standard.

Opening ourselves up to this higher calling - getting our clients' brands talked about - will lead us to consider all sorts of new communications channels, focused on driving conversations.  From online social networks, forums, newsgroups, to blogs and beyond, our energy and effort in those arenas will amplify our ability to move brands and businesses forward.


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We've always thought it was sleazy and unethical not to disclose commercial messages as such.  From fake endorsements on blogs to in-market shills who promote products without telling people that they are somehow compensated, non-disclosure has the potential to undermine the most powerful form of influence available: a true word of mouth recommendation.

Well, on April 2 2008, the British Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) highlighted a new U.K. law, which implicitly states that any commercial message should be immediately identified as such and that "falsely representing oneself as a consumer" is illegal.

WOMMA quickly put out an announcement that the law in many ways mirrors the
guidelines in the Ethics Code that WOMMA established in 2005 to help guide ethical conduct by marketers who engage in word of mouth marketing.

Sustainable word of mouth marketing is only achievable when companies and brands genuinely help and encourage consumers to share the good -- and even the not so good -- about their products and services.

Encouraging or even participating in non-disclosed engagement is the equivalent of polluting -- even poisoning -- the word of mouth marketing well.  It wouldn't take long for consumers to realize they can't believe a recommendation without checking if it is commercially prompted. 

In many ways I'm glad to see the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for helping implement into law the European Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD).  In other ways, I'm reminded that unethical practices and people exist in every industry -- and sometimes legislation is required.  Let's hope U.S. marketers pay attention.

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It's human nature. When someone addresses you by name, the conversation is more credible, personable and enjoyable. The same is true for companies looking to create brand evangelism with Word of Mouth. In fact, knowing these evangelists by name can mean the difference between building temporary "buzz," and starting a meaningful, sustainable conversation.
 
In this era of WOM 2.0, brands doing it right are not only sizing up their "target consumer," they're also getting to know them by name. In other words, thanks to the recent popularity of Word of Mouth, the traditional engagement between a brand and its consumer is getting personal. Case and point: Starbucks. Recent news of Howard Shultz's return highlights his desire to reprioritize of the store experience and make it more intimate.
 
As a daily Starbucks customer myself (o.k. twice daily), I have seen this come to life. Upon entering my local Starbucks this week, I heard my regular barista whisper to a new colleague at the register, "his name is Michael." I was then greeted by name. A meaningful conversation followed the introduction. Later that week, I was asked to complete an online survey about my experience, which I happily did. Knowing me by name and engaging me in meaningful conversation were metrics they measured. It also was a "metric" that I appreciated as a customer. You can bet I recently introduced a new colleague to the baristas at our local Starbucks.
 
What else is in a name? How about the difference between a positive and negative brand experience. Another colleague of mine recently sent an email to Potbelly Sandwich Works  - a brand known for making Word of Mouth a marketing priority - after a dis-satisfactory store experience. Within 15 minutes, the email she sent to a general company inbox, was turned over to a local manager who called my colleague directly to have a conversation. "Yes, this is Carly?" is how the phone call began. That conversation was then followed by a personal email from the manager, which included complimentary sandwich coupons for Carly to share with her officemates. Crisis averted.
 
More than anecdotes for a speech at the next sales and marketing conference, knowing one's most important consumers by name can move the needle and be a serious competitive advantage. And, thanks to technology, it isn't just for restaurants and coffee shops anymore. All brands can meet and greet their most important consumers by way of tools like online communities and blogs. Do you know any of your consumers by name? 


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The words "stalled economy" rarely make it into a brand's positioning. Or, do they?

 

In Friday's New York Times, Stuart Elliott's column discussed the desire for marketers to appeal to worried consumers by acknowledging tough times (link). For example, B.R. Guests Restaurants new advertising asserts, "The economy stinks - twenty percent off online gift card purchases." And, Unilever's Suave brand advertising states, "Say yes to beautiful without paying the price."

 

For Word of Mouth marketing professionals this is good news and bad news. On the one hand, the frank messaging brands are forced to deliver in a tough economy brings them closer to a plain spoken, talkable position that's easy for influencers to understand. At the same time, these same brands run the risk of compromising their positioning with discount marketing messages that fail to articulate their core values, much less drive brand evangelism.

 

Finding the right balance is key. No one can "own" the economy empathy message. Although, it does create good fodder for viral marketing campaigns. And, granted, it's easier for some brands - like Wal-Mart - to do so. However, a valuable lesson can be learned others making a go of it. As the article put it, "you've got to tell it like it is." Good advice for today's tough times, and tomorrow's cluttered marketplace.

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A new study by Publicis media network ZenithOptimedia and reported in an AdAge article highlights that word of mouth trumps all other touchpoints when it comes to influencing purchases.

According to the study, recommendations from family and friends led the pack with an average score of 84. TV ads and Internet search were next, with an average score of 69 and 67, followed by magazine ads at 60, newspaper ads at 55, outdoor ads at 45, radio ads at 42, and Internet banner ads at 41.

Though word-of-mouth may be one of the greatest influences on brand choice, still face a great challenge is making it scalable, said Bruce Goerlich, ZenithOptimedia's president of strategic resources, North America.

"Word of mouth is incredibly powerful, but we as an industry are not doing as good a job as we could do in generating it," he said.

Bruce is right. But we, as an industry, are also getting much better at driving and measuring word of mouth marketing, influencer marketing, buzz marketing and digital word of mouth. 

If you haven't already signed up for it, the WOMMA Conference coming up in Miami on May 8th and 9th will be a great place to learn best practices and connect with industry leaders. 

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