Mediaedge Talks Up Word Of Mouth Marketing
New research published by Mediaedge:cia has urged advertisers to exploit the influence of word of mouth as an integral part of marketing campaigns in order to maximise effectiveness.
The research shows that over three quarters of those questioned cited word of mouth as their main influence when deciding whether or not to purchase a product, while only 15% claimed advertising helped them make a decision.
A study into the effects of word of mouth was last carried out in 2001 by the Royal Mail and, while there has been a marked 5% increase in those favouring word of mouth, the figure for those relying on advertising remained unchanged at 15%.
Past experience of a company was ranked as the second most important factor for customers in the study with 68% of respondents rating it as important to them, while having “plenty of information” from a company took third place with 29% importance.
David Fletcher, head of Mediaedge’s research arm, Medialab, explained the implications of the research for advertisers, stating: “Advertisers should avoid thinking of word of mouth as being a standalone activity. Don’t think of it as a box you can tick to say you’ve done it. Viral marketing is very much like that, it’s an activity you use to generate word of mouth. Our view is that there isn’t a thing that you are doing that can’t potentially be a driver of word of mouth.”
He added: “You should think of everything in the marketing mix from how a product is designed and packaged to how it’s promoted at the point of sale to the way in which you run the website and carelines. All of those things have the potential to increase word of mouth.”
Fletcher explained that the use of even the smallest talking point could be enough to tip the balance and create word of mouth promotion. Citing the dashboard mounted vase in Volkswagen’s new Beetle and Virgin Atlantic’s offering of ice creams to passengers as excellent examples, the research head reiterated that “it’s the little things that make a difference, just adding small touches to make products different can be enough.”
The latest research from Mediaedge:cia follows a study by the company of 11,300 people in 20 countries last month revealing that brands advertised through product placement in Holywood films are more likely to be noticed by movie fans than those in text messaging or radio commercials – and are only marginally less noticeable than than those in television ads (see Product Placement Is An Effective Brand Strategy).
Mediaedge:cia: 020 7803 2000 www.mediaedgecia.com
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