Jun
26
2006
The two faces of WOMM: creationist vs. evolutionist
Posted in the Category of Events and Marketing
One of the more provocative ideas that came out of last week's WOMMA conference in San Francisco was the notion that there are two kinds of WOMM (word of mouth marketing): creationist and evolutionist. Each is legitimate but they spring from different philosophies.
Thanks to John Moore of Brand Autopsy for suggesting the terms. He couldn't be at the conference but sent a neat video [links to YouTube] which outlined his concepts.
In a nutshell, creationist WOM is marketing so clever it tempts people to talk about it. Moore's examples include Prada's pop-up retail storefront in a tiny Texas town, Carl's Junior which used sexy Paris Hilton commercials, forehead advertising (see above) and Home Depot's parking lot advertising.
Apply this notion to corporate blogging and you come up with an agency's "vision" for your blog. The agency finds writers to author your blog, monitors the comments and feedback for you and provides you with a nicely-packaged, hands-off blogging experience.
Evolutionist WOM, on the other hand, derives organically from products / services and experiences so
remarkable customers just can't help talking about them. Moore's examples: TiVo, Google's search engine, Starbucks, Skype and YouTube.
Applied to corporate blogging, it means you launch your own blog with in-house talent, genuinely engage with other bloggers, and slowly create genuine buzz around your blog AND by extension, your products or services.
I moderated the panel on Great Corporate Blogs for WOMMA and here's how my two panelists squared off: one from the creationist or agency side, the other an evolutionist or DIYer.
Creationist Blogs
Marc Schiller, CEO of Electric Artists, has created impressively content-rich blogs for clients such as Fortune (featured in my book as an example of an "event blog") and Starwood Hotels. He shared his 15 Golden Rules for Corporate Blogging which the audience loved.
Evolutionist Blogs
On the evolutionist side, Pinny Gniwisch EVP of marketing for Ice.com and Diamond.com, described how he started a blog for the high-end jewelry e-tailer and saw sales rise noticeably [can't remember the exact stats] in a period of a few months. He no longer writes the company blog but several enthusiastic staffers do. Check out Just Ask Leslie for jewelry tips and Sparkle Like the Stars for what the stars are wearing.
Useful Links
Brand Autopsy John Moore's Creationist vs. Evolutionist WOM video
Corporate Blogging Tip #4: Who should write your blog? [WordBiz Report: June 26, 2006 issue]
Technorati: womma womm word of mouth corporate blogging
Comments
Jim B said on June 27, 2006 at 02:58 AM
Debbie:
Having attended this session, I was concerned about Marc’s idea about corporate blogging. He proposes that posting be done at least daily and the CEO doesn’t have time for this committment. I guess he either wasn’t paying attention to the speakers on Tuesday who hammered home the idea that a blog has to be authentic and is most powerful if the CEO or another appropriate member of the company is posting using his or her own voice.
The only way his point makes sense is when you look at his case studies, a blog about Starwood Hotels, or the City of Chicago. Neither of these need an authentic voice and you can get away with a more general voice created by an outsider. Hopefully, the majority of corporations won’t abrogate the task to outsiders. If they do, what’s the point? I want to read what someone thinks; not what someone spins!
I was happy to hear you disagree with him during the session, someone had to.
Jim Estill said on June 27, 2006 at 08:22 AM
Interesting concepts Creationist vs Evolutionist. I suspect it is not black and white. A good creationist cannot do well long term with WOM without product that is naturally attractive as an evolutionist product.
Jen said on January 2, 2007 at 08:52 PM
Great article! Did you know that you can target your keywords for better adsense ads? For example the word “blogging” is worth $5.88. http://www.symbiotic.com/resources/B/Bl/Blogging.html
Jen
VP of Marketing
http://www.layouts.com
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johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy) said on June 26, 2006 at 10:52 PM
Nice application of Evolutionist/Creationist WOM thinking to corporate blogging. Good stuff Debbie.