Word-of-Mouth Campaigns: Poisoning the Grapevine

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But no matter how many trusted brands take part in direct sales, the industry will always be saddled with a certain stigma for the simple fact that many people find buying stuff from friends somewhat awkward.

Word-of-mouth marketing, however, represents a significant evolution in face-to-face salesmanship and a controversial new front in our obsessive branding disorder. Rather than sell products outright, WOM participants may just talk glowingly about the merits of the item in question. Rather than inviting you to a party in their home, they may sidle up to you at work, in the bar, or over dinner at your house. Rather than tell you what they're up to, they'll keep their motives to themselves.

For the past several years, Procter & Gamble has been building the two most advanced and comprehensive WOM programs in the world. Tremor, founded in 2000 to create and manage buzz in the teen market, now counts 250,000 teens among its members. Vocalpoint, Tremor's equivalent for mothers, has amassed some 600,000 advocates. Recruited through websites, banner ads, emails, and fellow members, these mothers and children aren't just hawking Procter & Gamble wares. For a fee, P&G hires their recruits out to brands in the entertainment, fashion, music, food, and beauty industries. At last count, 80 percent of Tremor's clients were non-Procter & Gamble brands-companies like Coca-Cola, ABC, Toyota, and the music label EMI. About 50 percent of Vocalpoint brand clients are external.

P&G emphasizes that the free products and samples in its programs are offered in exchange for participation, not as a form of compensation.

Assuming that they like the products, members are encouraged to sing their praises to friends and family (and pass on a coupon or two).

Tremor and Vocalpoint have, from Procter & Gamble's standpoint, been a huge success. Though Procter & Gamble guards clients and results closely, according to early press reports, Vocalpoint delivered double-digit sales increases in test markets.

If Procter & Gamble's numbers are right, one in every one hundred kids in the United States works for Tremor, and about seven in every one hundred U.S. moms works for Vocalpoint. Don't be surprised if you haven't heard of either program before. As with a number of other WOM efforts, neither Tremor nor Vocalpoint requires that its members reveal their affiliation.

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