Word of Mouth vs. Advertising: Battling for Consumers' Trust and Attention; Top marketers, Seth Godin debate issues in new blog and at conference

Business Wire, August 30, 2005

CHICAGO -- Top experts have come together to discuss the impact of word of mouth (WOM) on advertising at the "Word of Mouth vs. Advertising" blog at http://ads.womma.org, hosted by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). Best-selling author Seth Godin will keynote a conference with the same name on September 28 in New York.

A vigorous discussion on the issues surrounding WOM and advertising has already started at the Word of Mouth vs. Advertising blog. The blog is an experiment in participatory blogging, with more than 50 expert co-authors invited to contribute.

WOMMA's "Word of Mouth vs. Advertising Conference: Consumers in Control" is an official part of Advertising Week 2005, where tens of thousands of top marketers will come together to discuss the future of advertising. The event is being held in association with OMMA East, MediaPost magazine's major ecommerce conference. The conference agenda is at http://www.womma.org/nyc.

Answering six critical questions

"In the end, all marketing is about word of mouth," said WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz. "What we'll find out is if an ad is the starter for a conversation between consumers -- or if consumer opinions will drown traditional advertising messages."

The blog and conference will answer six critical questions about the impact of word of mouth on advertising:

1. How do you get customers to say good things?

2. Does advertising inspire or inhibit word of mouth?

3. Does great product experience replace marketing?

4. Are happy customers the greatest ads?

5. Are marketers part of the conversation, or missing it?

6. How do advertisers learn to use word of mouth?

Conference brings top minds together

The conference features eight solid case studies and 22 speakers representing the pioneers of WOM in advertising. Seth Godin's keynote will discuss his book "Unleashing the Ideavirus", long considered a how-to manual for word of mouth marketers.

Confirmed speakers include AOL, Arnold Worldwide, Ben McConnell, BuzzMetrics, BzzAgent, DEI Worldwide, Edelman, GSD&M, Informative, Intelliseek, Jupiter Research, Ketchum, Marsteller, Millward Brown, Northlich, Organic, Patagonia, Starcom, TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

About WOMMA

WOMMA is the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry. Its members are committed to building a prosperous word of mouth marketing profession based on best practices, measurable ROI, and ethical leadership. The association has more than 170 corporate members. Learn about WOMMA at http://www.womma.org.