The American Consumer Seesaw
By Ted Wright
The American Psychiatric Association says that 48% of Americans are anxious about the possibility of getting coronavirus, while 62% are anxious about the possibility of family or loved ones contracting the disease. Anxiety intermixed with the unprecedented boredom only weeks of social distancing can create and you have the unsavory recipe for the American consumer […]
Word of mouth marketing and the famous brunch test
By Ted Wright
One of the core ideas about our word of mouth marketing practice is igniting stories that Authentic, Interesting and Relevant. This is much, much harder than it seems. In fact, when we are working on a client project, we may spend a couple of weeks just brainstorming and refining ideas for our clients. The whiteboards […]
What are the best word of mouth marketing jobs?
By Ted Wright
A lot of people ask me about word of mouth marketing jobs and the type of people we hire here at Fizz. We’re constantly on the lookout for talent so indeed, this is an interesting and relevant question. Obviously, we have the best word of mouth marketing jobs, but you might be interested to hear […]
New research shines light on importance of Word of Mouth Marketing
By Ted Wright
In an era of declining ad views, un-trackable digital marketing initiatives, and fake news, we know that word of mouth is the single most reliable source of brand information. A new UK study confirmed what we’ve already known here at Fizz for more than a decade. According to a new Customer Advocacy Research Report, 51 […]
The BANJO people
By Ted Wright
Readers of my posts know that I’m rather demanding when it comes to the accuracy of marketing speak and the effectiveness of marketing channels. For me either something works or it does not. As such, I enjoy getting into discussions with Scott Guthrie about Influencers, who is one, who is not and why that distinction […]
How do you identify the ideal audience for word of mouth marketing?
By Ted Wright
How does a story find its ideal audience? This is a very common question and an important one. If you’re trying to activate word of mouth marketing for the first time, what’s the process to identify the ideal audience targeted for your stories? There is a very old adage in sales and marketing – you […]
What are the signs you need to keep working your company story?
By Ted Wright
The heart of the word of mouth marketing process is the company story (or stories!) – something that is authentic, interesting, and relevant to a group of people who can become your customers. At Fizz, we put a tremendous amount of effort into creating these stories. It might involve weeks of research and days of […]
How do you embed word of mouth marketing in a company culture?
By Ted Wright
Here is a great irony of word of mouth marketing. It is the oldest type of marketing known to the human race – we have always sold stuff by talking to others. And yet, in a modern company culture, it might be the most unfamiliar marketing option available to us. And, embracing the unfamiliar, like […]
What’s the role of word of mouth marketing in branding?
By Ted Wright
A brand is a symbol for trust. A brand is something in people’s mind stands for something. As a marketer, you want your branding to stand for something as valuable as possible. Ideally, as quickly as possible. Lucky for you, word of mouth marketing is the most efficient channel you have at getting that trust […]
Why every company needs a customer-based story
By Ted Wright
I recently saw this headline: Why Your Brand Needs a Signature Story and How to Tell It.” Well, that attracted my attention since that is the centerpiece of what we do at Fizz. The article defines a “signature story” as: “An intriguing, authentic, involving narrative with a strategic message that clarifies or enhances the brand, […]
‘Tis the season for your best word of mouth marketing success
By Ted Wright
When you see the Christmas holly, Word of Mouth gets very jolly! Do you like my poetry? There is actually an important lesson here and maybe that phrase will help you remember the connection between holidays and your Word of Mouth Marketing success! The part of the year between Thanksgiving week and New Year’s Day […]
Word of Mouth Marketing Strategy. It’s just this simple.
By Ted Wright
Word of Mouth Marketing Strategy is just this simple. Feel free to run out and get this as a tattoo! When starting your journey, you’ll have to do a ton of work before you can quickly or easily fill this out, but once you do, questions like “why” and “how” will be more easily understood. […]
How do you create a contract with an influencer?
By Ted Wright
How do you create a contract with an influencer? The answer to this question is simple. In fact I can answer this in two words: “You don’t.” When you try to contract with an influencer – specifying that they post so many times for a certain amount of money, for example — it rarely goes […]
Branding is a long-term commitment – And it’s not easy
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright I don’t think there is any question that in this information-dense world, branding is more important than ever. You always have to be thinking about continuously building your brand. And It’s harder than ever now. It’s more expensive. It takes more time. Everybody wants growth quarter after quarter after quarter. You’re never […]
Influencers – Buy their time, not their mind
By Ted Wright
Just a quick note. If you must use an “influencer,” approach the relationship by seeking to buy their time not their mind. The more requirements you put on them (i.e. # of posts, length of video, etc) the more you make the relationship about the contract and not the partnership. As my good friend Chrissy, […]
Here’s a solution to corruption in the influencer marketing space
By Ted Wright
The Wall Street Journal just published an in-depth post about the corruption and lack of accountability in the influencer marketing industry. Is this the beginning of end for this marketing mega-trend? Let’s take a look at this today. The problems with influencers Here are a few highlights from the WSJ feature: Influencer marketing is […]
Influencer or Advocate, you make the call.
By Ted Wright
Every marketer has influencers on their mind today. It appears to be an unavoidable conversation at any meeting or conference. But I think the term “influencer” is overly used to camouflage garden variety advertising. Same kind of messaging and effort. Differences are that the channel you are viewing it on and the people producing […]
My favorite online resources for business and fun
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright I thought I’d provide a peek at some of the daily reading I do when I get up every morning. Here are some of the most valuable publications out there. Ben Evans works at Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley that invests in software companies. He taps his connections […]
Diaper stories: A tale about word of mouth marketing adoption
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright I was just in the San Francisco airport lounge for Delta. In the men’s room this Dad is changing the diapers for his two year old son. The kid is just screaming up a storm. Now his diaper needs to be changed. It’s nasty. On some level, even the two year old […]
What is the link between online and offline conversations?
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright We are so immersed in the digital world that it’s easy to assume that it is a mirror image of society – the same conversations must be taking place online versus offline. But a new study confirms what word of mouth marketers have known all along – the two channels must be […]
The business books that have influenced me the most
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright I love peering into the minds of business leaders, especially when they discuss their greatest influences. I thought I would take a crack at that today. Here are the business books that helped direct my thinking on business, strategy, and word of mouth marketing. Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable […]
Opening a word of mouth conversation with kindness
By Ted Wright
By Scott Jenson Recently, a word of mouth marketing conversation was saved with a bag of cookies. Today I want to show you how conversations and kindness go together. I’ve been working on a program to to raise awareness of the high quality made-to-order food at our client’s chain of convenience stores. Our target audience […]
You’re probably missing this huge word of mouth marketing opportunity
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright In Mark Schaefer’s excellent book Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins, he profiles the workout gear company Lululemon and documents how the retailer has turned their brick and mortar stores into a living world of mouth marketing opportunity. Lululemon has exploded on the scene and bucked almost every retail trend. They […]
Why word of mouth marketing is like great street art
By Ted Wright
I am a huge fan of great street art … you know the exuberant expressions found painted on the sides of buildings and empty concrete spaces in nearly every big city in the world. To me, it is an unbridled and authentic story somebody is expressing to the world. I love it so much, I […]
The skills I look for in word of mouth marketing talent
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright The most important thing we do at Fizz is finding ways to transmit customer stories in authentic, interesting, and relevant ways. And while the “what” behind the story is essential, the “who” in the delivery of that story is also critical to our success. So an essential part of our job is […]
The marketing tactic adoption cycle of life
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright My friend Mark Schaefer recently wrote “Marketers flock to the most popular idea until they ruin it.” He is correct, and it prompted me to articulate my Unified Theory of Marketing Tactic Adoption or “UTMSA” for those of you looking for a new conference to start. (To get this most out of […]
Offline and online word of mouth marketing are not the same
By Ted Wright
By Scott Jenson Online word of mouth online is a much different than offline. You know this, your board of directors knows this, and most certainly consumers know this. So why is there still such an emphasis on social media without an equivalent share of mind spent on offline conversations? It’s not the wrong choice […]
A word of mouth marketing success that made me go “WOW!”
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright I’ve been immersed in the world of word of mouth marketing for more than 20 years. I’ve had a hand in many well-known case studies including Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, Intel Inside, Fireball and AT&T’s move from 3G to 4G. But the one that really made me say “wow” was a project […]
The surprising truth about seasonality and word of mouth marketing
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright I was asked, “Is there any seasonality factor with word of mouth marketing? Is there a better time of year to do activations?” There is no seasonality for word of mouth because people are always talking. In fact, they may be even talking more over holidays and down times. Holiday seasons can […]
How Big is Your Ranch?
By Ted Wright
By Ted Wright I’m often asked was asked if there were any product categories that don’t really lend themselves to Word of Mouth Marketing. In our 20 years of focus on WOMM, we’ve found three notable ones that are the most difficult — personal finance, death, and erectile dysfunction. And all of those things […]