Facebook Audience Drives Strong Brand WOM…Offline
by Ed Keller, November 18, 2009The question about whether brands are a welcome part of social networking sites like Facebook is a robust one for commentary and debate among marketers and the marketing trade press. Facebook recently earned the #1 ranking on AdWeek’s Digital Hot List 2009, and not a week goes by without new reports touting its power as a brand building force. This past week alone has seen stories that highlight “The Secret to Brand Social Popularity,” . More >
Car Talk and the Value of Advertising
by Ed Keller, October 28, 2009The tumultuous year for the auto industry has Americans buzzing. Word of mouth about auto brands spiked a dramatic 10% from the beginning of the year to now – fueled first by the economic downturn which led to steep declines in auto sales, followed by news stories of bankruptcies and bailouts, and then a heavy dose of advertising touting Cash for Clunkers and new models. Yet despite the summer burst of Cash for Clunkers advertising, the . More >
New FTC Guidelines are Here: Is Your Marketing Transparent Enough to Stand the Test?
by Ed Keller, October 8, 2009This week, the FTC released its revised Guidelines for Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, the first time its Guidelines have been updated since 1980. The Guidelines have significant implications for both brands and individuals (especially bloggers) engaged in social media: Advertisers are subject to liability for false or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsements, or for failing to disclose a material connection between themselves . More >
Economy Outweighs Healthcare on People’s Minds, Says New Study
by Ed Keller, August 26, 2009If you are a news junkie like me, then you’ve been following the raging debate about health care. Perhaps, like me, you’ve also been wondering whether the town hall meetings are really representative of the conversations taking place on Main Street. Is health care a topic that people across the country are talking about, or only a smaller number of activists on both sides that are turning out to express their views? According to ongoing . More >
The Water Cooler is Not Online
by Ed Keller, July 30, 2009The overwhelming majority of word of mouth about brands takes place offline (90%+), while less than 10% occurs online. Further, less than 2% of word of mouth takes place via blogs, chatrooms, or social networking sites; the remainder of online WOM is via emaiils or texts people send to each other. Face to face = 76% Phone = 15% Email = 3% Text/IM = 3% Chat/blog/social networking site = 1% Other = 1% These findings from my firm’s ongoing . More >
Can We Plan Media for Word of Mouth? “Yes We Can!”
by Ed Keller, July 15, 2009The rising power of word of mouth, and social media, has led some prognosticators to proclaim the “death of advertising.” But increasingly, we see that there is a symbiotic – not adversarial – relationship between advertising and word of mouth advocacy for brands. And there is now new evidence that media plans can be designed and evaluated on the basis of their ability to help advertisers drive word of mouth. Previously in this . More >
Is Your Brand Seeking to Win Friends and Influence People?
by Ed Keller, July 1, 2009At last week’s ARF Audience Measurement 4.0 Conference, Gregg Liebman, SVP at CNN, and I presented a paper on “The Marketing Value of Influencers,” in which we presented new research in support of influencer marketing. We highlighted three primary reasons why influencers and influencer marketing brings considerable value to marketers: - Influencers generate reach, making marketing more efficient and effective - Influencers accelerate product . More >
The Role of Advertising in Word of Mouth
June 27, 2009Click here to view this article
It Pays to Get People Talking, But is Paying for Talk Ethical?
by Ed Keller, June 17, 2009One sure sign that an industry has “arrived” is when debates about ethics, or the need for regulation, become heated. Certain practices in social media and word of mouth are now in the ethical hot seat. Whether “the next big thing in marketing” continues to grow and thrive, or has the brakes applied via government regulation or declining consumer trust, all depends on the practices marketers and the agencies that serve them adopt . More >
TV is a “Word of Mouth Winner” in the Economic Downtown
by Ed Keller, June 1, 2009American Idol was again the most watched show on television this year, according to the Nielsen ratings for the 2008-2009 season. But the Fox Broadcasting juggernaut was not the king of “buzz” on TV for the season. That honor goes to CSI on CBS, TV’s word of mouth winner for the second year in a row, according to my firm’s latest word of mouth tracking research. To be sure, American Idol enjoys remarkable success as a word of mouth . More >
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