If you’ve read my other posts on this topic, you may be wondering: How can I control the effect word of mouse has my brand? Well, you can’t ––but you can certainly influence it. Last fall, Microsoft launched Aggrega8, a social networking and collaboration space for the IT community. Now Global Spec has officially announced CR4, a forum for engineers, scientists and technical researchers to discuss engineering news, seek technical help and get answers. At the annual conference of the Association of National Advertisers last October, Procter & Gamble Co. CEO A.G. Lafley went so far as to urge companies to "let go" of their brands. To underscore the point, he then proceeded to show an animated Pringles commercial made by a teenager. For those unfamiliar with the controlling ways of P&G, this marketing “heresy” should serve as a wakeup call to the rising power of word of mouse. Conversational marketing (responding to comments on boards and blogs, both positive and negative), incorporating customer feedback into marketing planning, podcasting, wikis and even social networking are all ways that marketers can influence the increasingly pervasive word of mouse.
— Brian Davies, Managing Partner
