Remember. Be kind to each other and the planet we all share. Today and all days.

Find more of Hugh’s work here: http://www.gapingvoidart.com/

Last week, my family got together to celebrate Passover. Passover is a time when Jews around the world commemorate the exodus of the enslaved Israelites from Egypt. It is a story of deceit, discovery, plagues, and redemption.

If you’ve never been, a Seder can be quite long and at one point, I must admit my mind started to wander. I found myself thinking about how this particular story has been shared for over 5,000 years.

Here are lessons all word of mouth marketers can learn from Passover traditions:

1. Be Interesting and Relevant

Stories have staying power because they become important within a specific community. Understanding your communities and making sure a story ‘talks’ to them is the most important thing you can do.

2. Don’t Change Your Story’s Core

This is the backbone of your message. You need a level of consistency that doesn’t vary so that people feel safe sharing it. Variations may develop based on the needs and experiences of your community. For example, the Passover story may have different traditions whether you are a Reform or Orthodox Jew, or if you are of Ethiopian, Sephardic, or Ashkenazi descent, but the core story elements never vary.

3. Help Your Community Put Rituals Around the Story

The Passover Seder uses food to reinforce story elements. When we talk about the ten plagues, we put one drop of red wine for each plague on our plate. If the story is important to a community, devising rituals that go along with it help a story become completely integrated into the community’s personality. Marrying a physical action that supports your story will help with that integration. Think of the associations, occasion, feel, and taste connected to placing a slice of lime in a bottle of Corona beer. J. Walker Smith, Executive Chairman of The Futures Company, stresses the importance of collaboration between the brand and its consumers during this process.

4. The Community Owns the Story

Once you unleash a story, a marker for its success is whether a community makes it their own. They may take one tenet or they make take all, bending it to what suits them in the retelling. That’s when you can achieve longevity.

5. Look for Ways to Refresh the Story

Once it has been circulating in the community, there may be additional threads that make your story relevant to a new constituency within that community. Many years ago, Jews in the Reform community asked why not ordain women Rabbis? A story spread through the community that an Orthodox Rabbi exclaimed, “A woman belongs on the Bimah like an orange belongs on the Seder plate.” It didn’t happen exactly like this (the real story involves a crust of bread), but word spread and oranges showed up on Seder plates as a symbol of equality and inclusion.

It is the task of the word of mouth marketer to find a balance. We must ensure the stories we tell are authentic and unyielding in their core message, yet flexible enough to allow communities to incorporate them into their lives. It is in that balance that our stories endure.

This was originally posted on WOMMA’s All Things WOMM blog.

Keynote speakers in anchor cities included Grammy award winning country music star, Kristian Bush in Atlanta, acclaimed author C.C. Chapman in Seattle and cartoonist Hugh MacLeod in Chicago.

WOMMA provides an excellent recap of the event here.

My inspiration of the day came from Kristian Bush when he said: “market the conversation, not the fear.”

It’s the story and the conversation that drives his band Sugarland. Over the years they’ve cultivated a strong layer of trust with fans by listening  to their needs and producing authentic content. Kristian isn’t afraid to break the mold, and advises brands to just be real and “paddle the wave.”

The tour, dubbed “In Your Hands,” provides a good example of how Kristian and his band Sugarland, practice what they preach. Allowing fans to pick a portion of the set lists for upcoming shows produced highly talk-worthy content. People just don’t expect that level of caring and access from superstars. It’s powerful because it’s surprising and catalyzes positive word of mouth.

Brands that are willing to take risks, believe in the quality of their offering. A great example is State Farm’s initiative with IDEO called “Next Door.” This community-based service in Chicago offers “no pressure” financial coaching. The goal is to develop more meaningful connections with consumers by learning about their needs, fears and recommendations. According to IDEO, “Next Door” is “built to listen.”

What I like about this is platform is that the focus is not on metrics. Instead the goal is receiving invaluable feedback from customers, and developing rich bonds that will in turn provide a greater chance of  generating lasting loyalty.

My final takeaway: In today’s world of information overload, people expect intimate interactions with brands. With the examples sited above: relevant content, authenticity and stepping outside the mold are fundamental WOM principles that catapult brands from being labeled “just another brand.”

While he worked, we chatted with him about the biz, his beginnings and how he builds his business by getting people talking.

Catch all the action live.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This year, Fizz employees took Martin Luther King Jr. Day to humbly answer that question.

Janie donated medical equipment to FODAC to help those that need medical equipment but cannot afford it.  She also will continue to volunteer her time to help a local thrift shop that helps abandoned pets.

Tanya took part in the MLK Day 5K which donates to a myriad of local charities, churches, schools, and community organizations.

Also on hand was GreenSneakers, which uses something as simple as a shoe donation to help out non-profits.  It also featured a 5K Drumline, matching beats to feet to keep the runners going.

Ross spent the day joining 150 of his closest friends and neighbors at the Tucker Nature preserve.

This nine acre park in Tucker is home to many herons, owls, foxes, woodpeckers and hawks.  The volunteer attitude spread to Tucker High School and even stopped passersby to lend a helping hand!  The work was tedious, but it helped to make Tucker a more beautiful community.

Judi spent her Monday beautifying a Southwest Atlanta park that was once home to the Negro Crackers, and currently hosts a beech tree planted by President Obama.  She split her time between laborious invasive plant pulling and in admiration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade that ran through the streets of downtown Atlanta.

Vanessa spent her second year in a row volunteering time at My Sister’s House on Atlanta’s west side.  Affiliated with the Atlanta Union Mission, the shelter’s mission is loving people back to the life designed for them to live.  Some of the residents are victims of domestic violence, and the staff gives great care to protect the anonymity of those in their care.  Vanessa met with residents and counselors as well as participated in a session for job training and rehabilitation resources.

We’ll close on this personal note from Vanessa:  “To work with these women and give them back a sense of accomplishment and worth – it’s a gift.”

Fizz and BISSELL Homecare Inc., were awarded the prestigious Gold WOMMY in the competitive Momentum category from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). The Momentum award recognizes the best word of mouth communication program that grew or reenergized an existing product or service.

Fizz and BISSELL were honored at the annual WOMMA Summit Awards ceremony in Las Vegas on Tuesday, November 13, 2012. “We’re proud to be recognized by WOMMA. This was an amazing achievement brought about through great work, mutual trust and smart thinking,” said Fizz CEO Ted Wright.

All 2012 WOMMY Award winners were selected based upon the following criteria: a clearly identified business problem, a well-articulated insight into the problem, a creative solution, and results that relate back to the business problem.

Fizz and BISSELL were celebrated for their work revitalizing sweepers, the product that launched BISSELL 136 years ago. Their program, “Picking up the P.I.T.A. Pieces”, brought sweepers to a new audience and resulted in 45% year over year growth. “I’ve been in this business a long time and tell everyone that Fizz and word of mouth marketing is the difference between success and failure for this important part of our business. Now we are applying WOMM to as many product lines as possible,” said Global Business Ventures at BISSELL Director, Chuck Martin.

Fizz has previously received WOMMYs, including an award for its work with chocolate milk, as well as a Charitable WOMMY for its partnership with PureRay, bringing lighting solutions to children with no electricity in the developing world.