Blog

This is a sneak-preview of the Weight Watchers case study presentation that will be shared at the upcoming WOMMA Summit on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 9:00 a.m. (Studio A). Join Weight Watchers and Crowdtap in Hollywood for even more insights.   ...Read More

We (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) are proud to introduce the newest additions to our prestigious Board of Directors, joining some of the most innovative thought leaders in the word of mouth and social media space! The individuals were selected by our membership base due to their heavy involvement in the WOMMA community and overall dedication to the growth and preservation to the organization. The new additions include Sam Ford, Jim Dudukovich, Spike Jones, Rachel Caggiano and Tom Carusona. Continue reading to learn more about this stellar group. Congrats!  ...Read More

With smartphone usage on the rise, mobile is becoming the number one outlet for accessing social media and video content. This year, 83% of moms say they own a smartphone and 60% own a tablet (eMarketer, 2014). Recognizing this shift, it’s important for brands to focus on where moms are consuming their marketing messages first, and tailor content to fit those channels.   ...Read More

Social media has situated itself deeply into the fabric of life. It’s related to nearly everything we do. From photo-sharing and correspondence to all things work-related, social media has become a crucial communication platform for businesses.  ...Read More

The 8th Annual WOMMA Summit is packed full of great speakers and networking opportunities, but what fun would traveling to Hollywood be without a little sightseeing? We’ve compiled a list of 10 things not to miss while in Hollywood, California.   ...Read More

WOMMA brought together AIMsights, the Fluent Group and Current – three research and marketing organizations that are passionate about the word-of-mouth marketing opportunity of social media.  As we brainstormed and shared our research with each other, we discovered that we were living a modern day version of the Goldilocks fairy tale – with insights into marketing strategies that use too little or too much social media and strategies that can help marketers get it “just right”.  ...Read More

Welcome to the first segment of a four part blog series in which our team at r2i will provide helpful insights to effectively market to the most polarizing generation in marketing history—millennials. In this series we will cover:  ...Read More

Employee Advocacy – the whys and hows with Laura Lee, Social Media and Corporate Communications Manager at Purina A preview of Social Employees: How to Empower Employees to Share Your Brand’s Message        WOMMA Summit // Technology Track  ...Read More

Wondering how to make sense of native advertising and the ethical obligations your brand/agency should have to the audiences your content seeks to reach? Unsure how you manage practices in an era of Big Data that respects the privacy and security of your customers/prospects? Confusing how issues of transparency and disclosure is evolving as new guidance, new platforms, and new issues arise on seemingly a weekly basis?  ...Read More

I have a confession to make; I skipped school as a kid to go to Mariners games (sorry Mom and Dad). In my defense, the Mariners were pretty good in those years, which created a lot of fun baseball memories growing up.   ...Read More

Whether you call it “Native Advertising,” “Content Marketing,” “Influencer Marketing,” or “Sponsored Posts,” the Sponsored Social category has redefined what Digital Word of Mouth – or perhaps, better called “Word of Mouse” -- can be for Brands.  ...Read More

I’m willing to bet that some of you still follow that old PR maxim to never dignify a ridiculous story with a response. Maybe you believe that some criticisms are “one-day stories,” and answering them just “gives them legs.” It is particularly tempting to stand your ground when dealing with reviews of your business or product that you are just SURE are fake. And I am here to tell you that you are wrong.  ...Read More

In today’s economy and with over $21.8 billion of funding being earmarked for marketing technology, CEOs are taking a good hard look at marketing budgets on the rise and want to know how this investment in technology contributes to growing revenue and profits. They are asking pointed questions around quarter-over-quarter growth and projected revenue and profit for next year.  ...Read More

Earlier this summer, in my cubicle over 1,000 miles away from the Orlando, FL stage, I watched the Social Fresh East Conference live stream. As the event unfolded on Twitter, one handle, @iSocialFanz, specifically caught my attention with the volume and breadth of visually engaging live tweets. The man behind the handle was Brian Fanzo, Chief Digital Strategist and Partner at BroadSuite | Leading Digital & Social Business Change @iSocialFanz.  ...Read More

At the 2014 WOMMA Summit next month, House Party SVP of Research and Analytics Peter Storck and Kellogg Senior Digital Strategist Louise Cotterill will reveal “how MorningStar Farms used WOMM to drive a 6% sales lift — and had fun doing it.” We sat down with Peter recently to discuss what Summit attendees can look forward to hearing about during that presentation.  ...Read More

Word of Mouth Marketing Association October Member of the Month: Kate Newman, Account Executive, Social@Ogilvy Chicago  ...Read More

There seems to be an assumption that exists among marketers that consumers not only want, but crave personal relationships with brands. I’d argue that this isn’t true—for the most part, anyway. Perhaps there are a few individuals who truly do want to swap ghost stories with Huggies’ Twitter account, but generally speaking, when consumers interact with a brand online they are searching for information, expecting a service or simply venting frustration. What they are not looking for is another friend.  ...Read More

I am writing on behalf of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) on the subject of disclosures and transparency for advertisers using sponsored and endorsed content services, such as yours.  We at WOMMA recognize the power of your service in amplifying online conversations. You have succeeded in giving content providers and advertisers new media options that gain meaningful, contextually relevant scale and reach in their efforts to earn, share and create content initiatives.  As an organization, we are excited about the reach and impact you can provide – and about your potential for enhancing the discipline while leveraging the power of word of mouth and recommendations.  ...Read More

It’s been said that it’s not what you know, but who you know that matters in business. The problem is that you can know a lot of people but not have built relationships with them, and then the fact that you know these people really doesn’t matter at all. That’s why today I’ll be showing you how to create success through relationship-building.  ...Read More

Last week, Tim Cook shared details about the Apple Watch scheduled to launch in early 2015.  Following Apple’s big announcement, Flightpath team members sat down to share their love/hate/indifference towards the new technology and speculate how it could impact digital marketing.    ...Read More

WOMMA is doing something unique to kick off our annual Summit this year: on the morning before the main Summit session kicks off, we have put together a stellar half-day workshop focused in particular on questions of ethics in marketing and communication.  ...Read More

Once the ugly stepsister of the marketing world, email marketing has made huge strides in 2014.  Don’t take our word for it; recent email statistics prove email marketing is here to stay.  As of 2013, there are nearly 3.9 billion email accounts worldwide, with that number expected to increase to 4.9 billion by the end of 2017.  ...Read More

If you are in the public relations, social media or marketing industry, you are no stranger to content marketing. Using content to create brand awareness is probably part of your job description, but content marketing is still a relatively new concept and best practices are constantly evolving.  On the other side, if you are in charge of your company’s content marketing program and are working with your PR partners towards implementation, mastering best practices can help you stay on top of the campaign.  ...Read More

In my presentation  to the IEEE Board of Directors on organizational social media, I got a great question from a member of the board, “Our organization is not like the others that you’ve worked with. We have many local chapters that we can’t order around. How can we work with them to succeed in social media?”  ...Read More

  The most valuable corporate asset is also the one thing that rarely gets credence or investment. It’s also the only corporate asset that, if managed properly, will never depreciate. A well-managed brand can increase in value year after year, yielding dividends that account for sales revenue and customer retention.  ...Read More

Have you taken advantage of Facebook's Custom Audiences yet? This feature was released by Facebook across the board to advertisers less than a year ago. By using this option, Facebook advertisers may upload a list (either a list of email opt-ins or phone numbers from the advertiser's database - their terms of service prohibit the use of paid lists) and match that list with Facebook accounts to create a group of consumers for ad targeting. ​  ...Read More

Social Media Week Chicago is a community-sourced, city-wide experience engaging thousands of people with the brightest and most innovative perspectives on social media around Chicagoland. Social Media Week Chicago gathers and showcases thebest perspectvies on fast-moving social, digital and tech trends. Thought leaders in everything from business to nonprofit to education will share their solutions to these challenges and visions for the future.   ...Read More

In recent weeks there have been a number of significant ethics and disclosure updates that have been raised by regulators and the media. I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you all that, as members of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, your organizations have agreed to uphold our Code of Ethics and that, in addition to that code, WOMMA provides a number of resources to help you better understand both ethical and legal requirements around Word of Mouth Marketing.  ...Read More

West Virginia University Alum, Mark Schaefer, took to the stage two years ago at INTEGRATE (WVU's Integrated Marketing Communication Graduate Program’s annual conference) to present key points from his book Return On Influence. With a Klout score of 75, Mark knows more than a thing or two about social media, blogging, and marketing.  ...Read More

A few weeks ago, I began seeing troubling bits of news in my Twitter feed about Ferguson, Mo.  After watching an escalation of news in my twitter Twitter and Facebook feeds over a matter of hours, I was baffled by the absence of the news as a trending topic. , and apparent absence from my feed on Facebook. How could everyone I know (and follow) be watching the events in Ferguson, and have it still not surfacing among trends on social networks?   ...Read More

Kaylee Dugan Communications Coordinator for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts  ...Read More

We are looking forward to kicking off the 8th annual Word of Mouth Marketing Association Summit on November 17 in Hollywood, California.    ...Read More

Lifestyle content is important for building relationships with consumers. They use social media because they want to be social, they don’t want to be subjected to a sales pitch (Social Media Today, 2013). Normally, it’s a struggle to get brands to publish less self-serving content and more lifestyle content. But what if your brand does the opposite by posting so much lifestyle content that it compromises the brand’s goals and objectives?  ...Read More

 Major events like the World Cup, Super Bowl, Olympics and The Oscars offer brands the ability to participate in real-time events with a highly engaged fan base. Brands’ activities during the World Cup demonstrated that fans are more likely to support and engage a brand both during and after an event, when their content is relevant and real-time.  ...Read More

If you were unsure of the power of social video before, Instagram’s latest brainchild, Hyperlapse, will make you a believer.  Launched earlier this week, Hyperlapse is a stand-alone app for iOS that condenses and stabilizes phone videos into trendy timelapses.  ...Read More

If you’re looking to cultivate loyalty and create brand ambassadors, why not start by leveraging your own army of employees?  ...Read More

I recently read the article titled “Social Risk: Why Word of Mouth Doesn’t Work in Social Media.” Marsden, the author, said people don’t really make recommendations online to friends because they worry about social risk. I disagree with the statements made, and guidance recommended.  ...Read More

Attend almost any marketing event and you will find speaking tracks around marketing analytics, integrated data, big vs small data, smart data, cross-channel data, customer profiles and how to personalize using data. There is no question that the right data sets can help inform marketing decisions, reveal what’s working and what’s not and help decision-makers evaluate ROI on campaigns and other investments. And, with integrated technology as well as advanced analytics programs available to marketers, there’s no excuse to not capture, track, analyze and leverage the data around customer behaviors, engagement and points of conversion.  ...Read More

Over the past several decades, back-to-school has evolved into a major retail event that produces over $72 billion in yearly revenue.  Saavy brands understand the key to capitalizing on back-to-school season: making your product irresistible.  ...Read More

To snap, or not to snap?  That is the question many brands and marketers are currently asking.  Snapchat has been around since 2011 but the direct messaging app is suddenly grabbing marketers’ attention thanks to their heavy-hitting stats: 30 million users, 80% of which are between 18 and 25 years of age.  In their 2014 marketing deck, Snapchat claims users send over 700 million photos and videos on a daily basis.  ...Read More

There isn’t an industry today that hasn’t been affected by digital disruption, which has challenged brands to transform themselves. The traditional role of the chief marketing officer is not necessarily equipped to navigate the transformation, which includes formulating a digital business strategy, developing new integrated programs and finding organizational digital alignment.  ...Read More

When it comes to social content, a low-hanging fruit that many brands grasp is the daily, promotional holiday—those funny, weird holidays like Caviar Day, Old Stuff Day or Elephant Appreciation Day. If you’ve ever turned to one of these calendars for content inspiration, chances are you were able to craft several hundred posts. But ask yourself, did the content work hard for the brand?  ...Read More

The number of social networks that offer advertising grows every day and it can get confusing formatting ads for each specific community. The bottom line: Looks are everything.  In order to get the best ROI on social media ads, your ads not only need quick, smart copy but they also must have stunning, well-formatted images optimized to display on mobile and desktop devices.  ...Read More

We all agree that Word of Mouth is the best form of advertising. That is not just an opinion--it is actually a fact according to experts like Nielsen and the Keller Fay Group, and the majority of brand marketers according to our latest survey with the AMA.  ...Read More

I once had an Advertising Age story brought to my attention by a colleague, where a Procter & Gamble exec speculates the extent to which social media is changing how we do market research. The story on its own is interesting, but especially so because it quotes P&G. It’s news when a company with the marketing chops of P&G has something to say about social media. But the news extends far beyond what Ad Age has to say.  ...Read More

It’s not clear exactly when the marketing world entered the ‘Nice Age’ but if recently your heart has been melting more and more as you’re exposed to commercials, ads and branded content then you’re experiencing this industry shift firsthand.   It’s hard to believe how far marketers and brands have detoured from a very product and sales driven belief system to a socially and emotionally connected one.  ...Read More

The dog days of Summer are here, so grab an umbrella drink, your laptop, find a space next to the air conditioning, and join us for social media marketing certification courses. We'll even give you a shiny digital certificate to show off afterward.   ...Read More

Word of Mouth Marketing Association August Member of the Month: Rebecca McCuiston, SVP Influencer Marketing, 360i  ...Read More

Today we live amidst the workings of a “sharing economy.”  By sharing economy, I mean an environment where we have commercial interactions that are based on personal and many-to-many versus one (impersonal)-to-many.  For a detailed explanation on what constitutes a sharing economy, check out Wikipedia's entry.   ...Read More

Is your brand on Instagram? Do you believe it should be but are having a hard time convincing your CMO? The numbers are in, and engagement levels are staggering compared to more popular social media platforms by volume of users. Not only does Instagram have 200 million active monthly users, 50 million of them signed up within the last six months. At that growth rate, Instagram could boast 300 million active monthly users on Instagram in 2015. While the numbers continue to go up, your brand remains on the bench. It’s time to make it a key player. Here’s how.  ...Read More

A new study by Adaptly, in partnership with Facebook and Refinery29, shows that sequential Facebook ads that incorporate brand storytelling and awareness outperform sustained campaigns with ads solely focused on getting conversions.  ...Read More

There is a lot of interest in the marketing community about understanding the millennial generation, including who they are, what their interests and expectations are and what their preferences are relating to products, services, and shopping.    ...Read More

Mary Meeker’s must-read 2014 Internet Trends Report has been out for over six weeks now and while marketing and tech chatterboxes have pretty much maxed out the conversation on it at this point, there’s still so much relevance to feed from for so much longer.  ...Read More

I’ve had a lot of luck over the years. I’ve never been out of work—and while I’d love to attribute that to my exceptional skills and determined attitude, the truth is that I’m truly lucky to be able to say that. I avoided layoffs at IBM during my 30 years there, when others weren’t so fortunate. I watched many people I know who are just as skilled and hard-working as me (if not more so) end up on the unemployment line. So, I can’t say that I have been in the position of needing a job. But I am going to give some advice to those of you that are. And the advice is simple: Don’t just ask for help from your social network. Provide help. Instead of using your social network, work your network.  ...Read More

​Consumers today are leveraging social media to identify themselves with brand values and discover potential new brand experiences. It’s the job of marketers to tap these emotions and keep consumers motivated to purchase. In the US, this comes in the form of digital feedback from friends, family and influencers, and less on brand-generated messages (70% from friends and family vs. just 10% from brands) according to Forrester.   ...Read More

Admit it.  Sometimes in the dark of night, when you’re alone and no one is looking, you gripe about how annoying those people who expect customer service on social are.  They get in the way of how corporations wanted to do customer service: “Your call is very important to us, please continue to hold.”  ...Read More

Marketing on Twitter?  You may want to consider using Twitter cards.  Twitter cards allow users to showcase media-rich tweets that expand to reveal more information and visuals.  Technically, Twitter cards have been around since 2012 but in the last several months the feature has improved dramatically, now offering marketers 8 different cards with varying functionality.  The cards seem to be especially useful for e-commerce companies and brands that regularly produce a lot of content.  ...Read More

Team USA may not have won the World Cup but soccer in America sure didn’t lose either.  The 2014 World Cup made it very clear that Americans have officially joined the rest of humankind in the worldwide obsession with soccer.    ...Read More

When trying to determine on which networks to conduct social marketing, the usual suspects immediately rise to the top; Facebook & Twitter, then LinkedIn (especially if you’re B2B), then maybe some Google Plus to hedge SEO bets.  So at what juncture do brands get excited about Pinterest?  ...Read More

In today’s world of constantly connected consumers, brands face increasing difficulty in breaking through the digital content clutter to create compelling word of mouth marketing experiences. One key way to overcome this hurdle is to take advantage of real-time marketing, which requires an appetite for taking risks and being bold.  ...Read More

360i & WOMMA recently hosted a #WineWednesday panel called “Influencers as Storytellers: The Rise of the Digital Celebrity.” Panelists included photographer and award-winning Vine creatorMeagan Cignoli, fashion illustrator Katie Rodgers of Paper Fashion and illustrator and style expertDallas Shaw. 360i’s own SVP of Influencer Marketing, Rebecca McCuiston, served as moderator as panelists discussed how they achieved their “digital celebrity” status and what it’s like working with brands from Chanel and DKNY, to Lowe’s and HBO.  ...Read More

​The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) is currently conducting a landmark study, “Return on Word of Mouth,” led by House Party SVP of Research & Analytics (and WOMMA Research Council Chairman) Peter Storck, to quantify the value of online and offline word of mouth. We sat down with Peter to find out what the study might reveal and what it means for brands and marketers.  ...Read More

Traditionally, B2B marketing focused on product attributes and business value.  While great product features are key for selling, we cannot ignore the influence emotions play on buying decisions even in the B2B marketplace.  ...Read More

With potential new consumers and existing product fans increasingly connecting with one another, it is important to see word of mouth marketing no only as part of your discovery and sales funnel, but also as a critical part of your liability model. Engaging with consumers directly and controlling your message are the best ways to ensure consumer intent is aligned with reality, while limiting your exposure to misrepresentation due to well-meaning fan(atic)s.   ...Read More

By now, there can be little doubt that marketers recognize the opportunity social media presents. And yet, while 86% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business, 83% feel that creating a social strategy is still a major concern. That’s not surprising given how much things have changed in just the last year alone. Consumers are becoming more socially savvy and expectations for brand engagement are evolving. Combined, this makes it challenging for marketers to keep up with the latest social media tools and trends.  ...Read More

Jessica Jacobs is the U.S. Marketing Manager for Unmetric, where she handles digital marketing and events. Prior to joining Unmetric in February of 2013, she held various product marketing roles at financial services companies. Jess is a graduate of Boston College.  ...Read More

Today’s word of mouth marketers are becoming increasingly overwhelmed with content and data and the demands upon them are accelerating.  We’ve read countless articles about the challenges and struggles of analysts and observed them pouring over spreadsheets in attempts to piece together the heart of their customer’s story.    ...Read More

Influencers are becoming a critical element of word of mouth marketing programs as they can have large networks that follow their content, comments, recommendations, and product reviews.  They can sway others’ opinions and cause changes in behaviors… all of which can lead to powerful changes in brand image and loyalty.  As a result, many marketing professionals are interested in incorporating influencer marketing programs into their social media strategies.  So how can you get started developing your own Influencer Marketing program?  Here’s a simple list of 10 steps to get your started.  ...Read More

It’s no secret that digital coupons are on the rise. In 2013, more than 28% of consumers with a smartphone redeemed a digital coupon [Blackstone Media, 2014]. In the last year alone, digital coupons have doubled their redemption value. These redemptions make up only 3.1% of all coupon redemptions [Marketing Charts, 2014], but if the momentum continues, digital could consume nearly 50% of coupon redemptions in five years.  ...Read More

Social looked a lot different during the 2010 World Cup. Pinterest had just launched, Instagram was not yet live, and Facebook was still a privately held company. Fast forward four years and the 2014 World Cup has already claimed the title of “world’s most social sporting event.” Since June 2013, there have been 19 million social mentions including the phrase “World Cup,” exceeding the number of social mentions for the Super Bowl and Sochi Winter Olympics, respectively.    ...Read More

Change and evolution are inevitable in the marketing world. Luckily, if your brand outgrows its Facebook fan page name and the name no longer reflects your brand’s intent, Facebook offers the option for a “Significant Page Name Change” once per calendar year.   ...Read More

All good things come to an end – and for some brands that end is predictable, because it happens every year. Whether it’s the end of a sports schedule, television show season or a vacation season, maintaining a rich dialogue with the fans, followers and consumers of your brand once that “off-season” arrives can be a challenge.  ...Read More

As marketers, we swim through the trenches of shiny objects, stunning platforms, and sparkly tools. We want it all. And in today's world, we can mostly have it. The barrier to entry through social media channels is minimal. We wave victory flags as channels launch and skim past real performance and absolute impact. But as the world gets crazier around us and we have less control on the media we actually own, it is necessary to stop and reset what we are doing, what we have done, and where we're going next. You know, back to the basics.  ...Read More

Twitter has been around for over 6 years now. It is still one of the best tools for brands to connect with influencers and customers one-on-one. One of the traits of Twitter as a social network that makes it so challenging for marketers is how open the network is. The openness of the network makes it amazingly useful for brands and for connecting with almost anymore.  ...Read More

​Even if you use many sources to brainstorm your search keywords, how do you know if your customers are starting to change the way they search for your products? Have you listened to what your customers are saying? Listening to customers used to demand expensive focus groups and surveys, but that time has passed. Nowadays, you can listen to social media conversations and analyze them for any number of purposes, including search keywords.  ...Read More

In short, this isn’t just an “encyclopedia anyone can edit.” That tagline has been widely understood. But much less understood by professional marketers, professional communicators, and corporate executives is the fact that contributions must be objective, accurate, sourced, and—where conflicts of interest are at play—that they must be fully disclosed and should, by and large, lead the person involved not to make any direct changes to pages.  ...Read More

Influencer marketing is one of the hot trends in word of mouth marketing in 2014.  With the rise in social media over the past five years, Influencer marketing programs have become an important part of any social media marketing strategy.      ...Read More

It’s always wonderful, as a marketer, when intuition and statistics line up, when what you feel in your gut turns out to match the data. Here at House Party, we’ve known for years that consumer advocacy can be more powerful than any traditional form of marketing — known it so confidently, in fact, that we started the company with this as the foundational tenet.  ...Read More

Internet celebrities have been around since the early years of the web – but more recently, online video stars are emerging en masse thanks to the rise of new social video services (like Vine and Instagram Video) and a push from more-established platforms to elevate individual content creators.  ...Read More

CEOs are under pressure to have a clear vision of their companies' futures based on a first hand knowledge of the needs and desires of their customers. Today's business leaders also need to gauge their company’s ability to attract and meet these needs and desires at any moment due to the ability for prospects and customers to go online to search for information they need.  ...Read More

The smartest people realize they can never stop learning. The most brilliant marketers know that something in the industry changes every day—new technologies and platforms are developed, new research and case studies emerge, and the laws of social engagement change.  ...Read More

Writing an eBook for content marketers isn’t easy. That’s because content marketing isn’t easy. Seemingly every week there are new platforms, new tools and new trends that change the game from marketers. To keep up you have to move fast. But sometimes it pays to slow down, go back to the basics and get advice from practitioners with in-the-field experience.  ...Read More

This month we are proud to feature active member, and all around awesome guy, Jim Dudukovich, Senior Marketing, Digital & Social Media Counsel with The Coca-Cola Company, where he has worked since 1998.  In his role with Coca-Cola Jim negotiates sports and entertainment marketing transactions and advises and counsels his business partners on advertising, marketing, sponsorship, and general intellectual property law issues, talent rights (including application of the SAG—AFTRA Commercials Contract), rights of publicity, copyrights, trademarks, social media marketing, music law, and product claims.  ...Read More

The WOMMY Awards celebrate and recognize our industry’s most inspiring work. Word of mouth marketing is not solely about creating word of mouth — it’s about learning how to leverage word of mouth within a marketing objective (price, product, place, promotion, people). Plus, you get bragging rights and this glorious paper weight.   ...Read More

Twitter activism has been getting a lot of press as of late, particularly related to the #BringBackOurGirls trend advocating for intervention to rescue the young women kidnapped in Chibok, Nigeria just weeks ago. For the sake of this post, I am going to set aside the obvious tragedy, and focus on the social trend itself and the context immediately surrounding the incident and the trend.  ...Read More

WOMMnext fulfilled its promise to showcase leading-edge content, especially around research and measurement. Three research presentations in particular revealed substantial progress in the quest toward understanding and proving the high ROI of social marketing.   ...Read More

As communications technology advanced, this spatial requirement for Word of Mouth diminished.  Enter the Internet age – where we have people from one part of the world influencing others on the other side of the globe.  ...Read More

Days 2 & 3 of WOMMnext shed insight on all of the great things word of mouth has done for brands along the years, but also gave us a glimpse into the future of WOMM. What better way to sum up the past two days than to highlight attendees’ tweets? Word of mouth at its best:   ...Read More

The first day of WOMMnext was packed with great breakout sessions and captivating keynotes, and wrapped up with great food, wine and people.   ...Read More

Recent FTC Activity in Testimonials/endorsements, use of celebrities in social media, parody in the digital age, native advertising, use of hashtags in marketing  ...Read More

As every marketer and public relations professional knows, compelling data, delivered at the right time and in the right way, can make a big impact on your branding efforts. From elevating a company’s position as a thought leader amongst target audiences to garnering broad, high profile recognition as an expert, data-driven campaigns can drive growth in a number of ways.  ...Read More

With the Federal Trade Commission’s latest crack down on Pinterest contests, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of the marketing regulations and compliance to protect yourself from getting in any hot water with policy makers.  ...Read More

In early 2013, the Federal Trade Commission updated the .com disclosures for the first time in more than a decade which offered clearer guidance for the use of disclosure across social media and word of mouth marketing channels. As a result, our official WOMMA guidance was updated to reflect these changes in “WOMMA’s Official Social Media Disclosure Guidelines.”  ...Read More

Last month, Instagram announced that it has grown to 200 million users—with 50 million new users having joined in the last month. Other data shows that there are 1.2 billion likes and 55 million photo shares daily on Instagram. For a network with such broad appeal and increasingly faster adoption rates, it’s important to evaluate what drives marketing success on Instagram and how best to leverage the platform's strengths. Furthermore, now part of Facebook's suite of products, Instagram is also in a slow roll-out of their advertising manager, which will soon allow marketers to have access to yet another paid social network community.  ...Read More

In the first of its kind survey sponsored by the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), brand marketers say word of mouth marketing is more effective than traditional marketing, and also share some of their greatest challenges. ​  ...Read More

WOMMnext is packed full of great speakers and networking opportunities, but what fun would it be to visit Chicago without doing a little sightseeing? We’ve compiled a list of 10 things not to miss while in Chicago.   We’re looking forward to seeing you at WOMMnext follow #WOMMnext on Twitter, connect with attendees and make plans to take a selfie at the bean, try a Chicago-style hot dog and, of course, do some shopping!      ...Read More

When Crane introduced the Frog and Penguin humidifier at the 2005 Chicago International Home and Housewares show we knew we had a hit!  Never before had people seen a humidifier that made them smile!  Crane’s whimsical humidifiers changed the way that people looked at children’s humidifiers. Not only was the humidifier adorable but. . . they looked great in a new baby nursery.  The perfect cute, yet healthy, baby shower gift. Who would have thought humidifiers could be so much fun!  ...Read More

It's no secret that with ever-changing algorithms and trust increasing among peers, we marketers need to know how to efficinetly plan, execute and measure socially driven campaigns. This WOMMnext speaker, Rick Liebling, will help you answer: What Is A Campaign? How and why are online Micro-campaigns the key to activating consumer communities on social?  ...Read More

The latest spin on proven marketing methods like WOMM is not social media marketing – it’s something much more powerful.   Social media marketing simply doesn’t work if the goal is measurable bottom-line results. In fact, while social media spending forecasts tend to be high, actual spending isn’t keeping up – likely because they can’t prove the sales value of social media programs that ignore tangible sales results. Not sure you believe me? The CMO Survey recently documented the continued gap between U.S. CMO plans and follow-through.  ...Read More

Ipsos MediaCT, Crowdtap, and the Social Media Advertising Consortium partnered to survey 839 millennial men and women (18-36 years old) to find the answer how Millenials feel about UCG, adn how much time they spend with it.   ...Read More