Word of mouth vs. conversation marketing
Introduction
Word of mouth vs. conversation marketing
The hyper-changing media landscape
Is there an exodus from Carat Fusion?
Sarah Fay's predictions for 2007 and beyond
Berens: What opportunities have arisen for Carat and Aegis through Isobar that surprised you?
Fay: A great opportunity that I never saw coming was my introduction to Ammo Marketing, which lead to adding word-of-mouth services to the Isobar network. This happened during my quest to find a new leader for Freestyle, a highly innovative online advertising agency in the Isobar network-- Electronic Arts (EA) is our largest client.
We needed someone special to fill the role, and a few people on the team lobbied for me to meet Julian Aldridge, who had worked with some of our people at Red Sky in the late 1990s. Julian was a perfect fit for Freestyle... he also just happened to be the primary principal of Ammo Marketing, a unique service that draws on the concepts of "The Tipping Point"-- using real people to spread brand messages far and wide.
Julian's passionate belief in Ammo's services took the conversation beyond employment and into the realm of acquisition, as we realized there was a big opportunity to incorporate word-of-mouth services into many of our clients' programs. It feels like we hit the jackpot. Not only did the acquisition complete just as "buzz marketing" was turning white hot in the market, but we found our clients are really up for giving WOM a try. It was literally a matter of weeks before EA okay'd a WOM campaign to help Freestyle promote the release of their "Godfather" game. Now Ammo Marketing is one of the most sought-after services from clients within the Isobar network! No joke-- it all started with an executive search!
Berens: Word of mouth is certainly a hot category for all sorts of marketing, interactive and otherwise. Lately, we've been covering "conversation marketing" a great deal, and while it has a lot of overlap with word of mouth, many industry folks are using the two terms in slightly different ways. Do you have a take on the difference? And whatever happened to viral? Was it just too medically yucky an association to last?
Fay: Yes, you have to love the way terminology in the marketing space constantly morphs and changes. I always considered "viral" to be something that happens online, passing messages along from friend to friend. Word of mouth (to me) is broader-- the art of inspiring people to pass messages on to other people, both online and in person. For instance, Ammo Marketing hones in on finding people that truly personify and believe in brands. They become inspired to carry the brands' messages to people they know in highly credible ways.
Conversation marketing is a bit different to me -- that is asking the consumer to talk back -- or do something with your brand that can be recognized in your next communication with them. It might be as overt as "tell us something about yourself," or it might be as subtle as capturing behavioral information about that person so you can deliver a more relevant message to them next time (a la Amazon's recommendation engine).
Next: The hyper-changing media landscape