by: David Armano
Several weeks ago, I extended an invitation to visualize the concept of "word of mouth". The winning participant in this exercise will receive a free pass to WOMM-U happening in South Beach, Miami. (a 1,500 value for non WOMMA members). After reviewing all of the submissions (you can view them in the comments) I’ve selected Mario Vellandi’s depiction of "word of mouth" (above).
Here’s why I like it. Mario breaks it down into three potential scenarios. Promoters, passives and detractors. I think the visual shows that passives who have mediocre experiences don’t talk about them and so there is no conversation around the subject (this is where most word of mouth marketing initiatives fail). Promoters have a good experience and tell people about it, while detractors who have a bad experience with something tell even more people about it. There seems to be a bit of truth to this and I like the fact that Mario captured the double edged sword of it. Word of mouth isn’t always positive, it’s often negative and that’s where there’s opportunities to engage detractors, change opinions and improve products and services. In fact, that could be another scenario displayed in the visual.
But I like what Mario did and I understood it immediately which was the main quality that made it a win for me (and let’s face it, the middle finger was a nice touch). So congrats to Mario for a job well done and for taking the time to participate. I’ll be reaching out to the event organizers to let them know. Congratulations and enjoy South Beach.
Original Post: http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2009/04/word-of-mouth-visualized-the-winning-entry.html
