Word of mouth advocacy and conversations about brands sparked by advertising are increasingly important drivers of sales and advertising effectiveness. Research shows that most brand conversations occur offline between friends and family, and that positive word of mouth from these conversations strongly influences purchase decisions. Advertisers are designing campaigns to spark conversations that create brand awareness and persuasion, with some finding that over 10% of their sales are directly attributed to word of mouth generated by their ads. Research also indicates that 20% of word of mouth discussions reference paid advertising, and these advertising-influenced conversations are more likely to involve product recommendations.

1. Word of Mouth Advocacy
A New Key to Advertising
Effectiveness
Presented By -
Rajalaxmi
Source : Journal of Advertising
Research

2. Introduction
As social marketing is reaching its peak, a new
terminology ‘Word of Mouth’ has come into the
limelight.
A popular example, the Old
Spice Campaign.
The emphasis on sharing – an
impact on the design
of advertising campaigns.
Joe Tripodi, Coca Cola Chief Marketing Officer
emphasizes on expressions.
Source : Journal of Advertising
Research

3. Measuring WOM Holistically
Occurrence of these expressions - face to
face(75%), voice to voice(15%), online(10%).
An average American consumer engages in 9
offline conversations/10
brand conversations/day.
The objective - to create advertisements that
spark conversation, which would lead
persuasion of the prospect and eventually to a
Source : Journal of Advertising
purchase. Research

4. WOM Drives Sales
Conversations about brands have
a powerful impact on people.
58 percent of consumers attribute
high credibility to the information
they hear during a WOM conversation.
50 percent say they are very likely to buy as a
result of that conversation.
AT&T conducted a research and discovered that
WOM was one of the most powerful metrics
directly influencing its sales(more than 10%).
Source : Journal of Advertising
Research

5. Word of Mouth Makes
Advertising Work Better
A 2009 research indicated that 20 percent of
WOM discussions refer to paid advertising in
media.
Advertising-influenced conversations - more
likely to involve recommendations to buy.
3.8 billion instances every week in America -
consumers exposed to brands
through WOM conversations
that are sparked by
advertisements.
Source : Journal of Advertising
Research

6. Industry % of WOM
Influenced
by Advertising
Media/Entertainment 31
Telecommunications 29
Personal Care/Beauty 28 Type of Ad % Referenced
Technology 27 in WOM
Automotive 27
Television Ad 11.4
The Home 27 Internet Ad 4.5
Household Products 26 Newspaper Ad 4.0
Retail/Apparel 25 Magazine Ad 3.0
All Category Average 25 Radio Ad 2.0
Billboard Ad 1.7
Travel Services 25
Any Other Ad 2.8
Food/Dining 24
Children’s Products 23
Beverages 22
Sports/Hobbies 21 Source : Journal of Advertising
Research
Financial Services 19

7. Source : Journal of Advertising
Research