In the USA, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has launched a web site devoted to teaching marketers how to use ethical word of mouth marketing techniques.
Entitled 'Word of Mouth Basic Training' (that's 'WoMBaT' for short), the site provides original content in the form of a blog, a podcast series, and a companion e-mail newsletter.
Expert tutorials
According to WOMMA, the site showcases practical how-to exercises and case studies from industry experts. For example, in its first week, Ketchum's Paul Rand and Intelliseek's Pete Blackshaw shared advice on word of mouth issues while author Jackie Huba inaugurated the site's podcast series. A number of other marketing professionals, authors, analysts, and academics have also agreed to contribute to the training programme as it continues on a weekly basis.
According to WOMMA's CEO, Andy Sernovitz, "Word of mouth has exploded into the mainstream marketing mix. A recent eMarketer/WOMMA report showed that nearly half (43%) of all marketers plan to incorporate word of mouth into their marketing programmes in 2006."
Live training conference
Apart from the new WoMBaT web site and educational series, WOMMA is also holding its Word of Mouth Basic Training Conference (19th to 20th January 2006 in Orlando, Florida) to provide more detailed how-to sessions, seminars, case studies, and lessons from established word-of-mouth experts.
WOMMA is a trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry, with members that are committed to promoting the use and development of word of mouth marketing technique based on best practices, measurable ROI, and ethical leadership. The association currently has more than 200 corporate members.
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