WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Dec. 11, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- While "Word Of Mouth" (WOM) is rapidly becoming a key ingredient in almost all integrated marketing promotions, the key to a successful campaign is coming up with the best way "to get the conversation started," according to Mike Valentino, CEO of TMPG, Inc., the award-winning media promotion company.
Valentino claims that non-traditional radio is the most potent and cost-effective way to engage the conversation, "using popular, credible media celebrities who are key market influencers to reach out to the target audiences and convince them -- for example -- to sample a product or go to a client's website for more information."
"It's not just Word of Mouth, it's professional Word Of Mouth. The conversation can be focused around key copy points or carefully scripted to ensure that the tone, messaging and personality of the brand on strategy and reflected in the DJ banter and are seamlessly integrated into the programming content. We carefully select DJs to serve as brand ambassadors for our clients," he said.
The goal of Word Of Mouth marketing is to "plant an idea, get people to talk about what they hear, to create buzz," according to Mr. Valentino. "We like radio because it's a ubiquitous medium, it's everywhere. You can use when you're doing other things like driving, or walking. You can't do that with television or print, and the cost per impression is much less."
Valentino, who had 18 years senior management experience with major radio stations before founding TMPG in 1991, claims advertisers don't take full advantage of the marketing partnerships that radio stations gladly offer.
"Instead of using radio for paid spot ads, we use it as a generator to jump-start a promotion. We'll get a popular DJ to plant an idea about a product or service in a way that sounds more like a personal point of view than an advertisement," he said.
Statistics indicate that there are 3.5 billion brand-related conversations per day (Source: PQ Media). They also show that 80 percent of consumers trust recommendations from family, friends and 'influencers;' and that spending on Word Of Mouth campaigns will rise from $980 million in 2006 to $1 billion by the end of this year, and to $3.7 billion in 2011.
"If you have a product or service that's somewhat complex or multi-faceted, the old linear messaging platforms are not going to do the job," according to Valentino. "You need to put the message into a more relevant context so that the audience can relate the product benefits to their own lives. WOM initiates that process...but you need to get the conversation started and that's where radio comes in," he said.