With the fragmentation of media and non-traditional forms of
marketing gaining prominence, marketers have turned more
conspicuously to the ‘princess of media—word-of-mouth’. This article
traces the proliferation, its ‘creative’ practice that generated prolific
debates in the areas of measurement of word-of-mouth marketing
and the ethical issues involved. Histories have been made, civilizations have been created and cultures have survived via the
“princess of media – Word-of-Mouth ( WOM)”. Extending it to marketing, the underlying
assumption in all marketing activities is positive word-of-mouth.
Follow these instances: Steve Heyer (COO of Coca-Cola in February 2004), announced that
Coke would look more to the entertainment business for the enduring connections needed to build
profitable brands instead of turning ‘reflexively’ to TV advertising.
In 2005, Jim Stengel, the global head of marketing at P&G, called for ‘life beyond’ the 30-second
ad and a permission-based approach. He almost declared traditional marketing as ‘obsolete’ and
‘broken’.
McDonald’s Global Marketing Chief, Larry Light, introduced a new approach called ‘brand
journalism’ in which there are many stories, and not one are communicated about the brand, thereby
making brand positioning and advertising-centricity era a page in history. |
