Back in 1994, MIT’s Media Lab created Ringo—an algorithm-based system designed to automate the process of “word-of-mouth” music recommendations. Here’s the overview of the project: Recent years have seen the explosive growth of the sheer volume of information. The number of books, movies, news, advertisements, and in particular on-line information, is staggering. The volume of…
Tag Archives: word of mouth marketing
From the archives: Ringo, the WOM-based music recommendations engine
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Accommodate your talkers
A few months ago, Springwise shared the story of Elvine, a Swedish clothing brand offering a free place to stay for visiting “creators.” The room, called “Creators Inn,” is located in Gothenburg, Sweden and is complete with free wifi, a guest book, and a balcony with impressive views of the city. Foreign visitors are given priority, but…
Word of mouth research: WOM is the most influential factor in BtoB purchase decisions
Word of mouth is the most influential factor in BtoB purchase decisions, according to a 2006 Keller Fay. The study focused on US and UK executives and found that word of mouth has more than twice the influence of advertising, direct mail, or press coverage. Other findings include: 86% of executives say they recommend a brand…
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Word of mouth from a group art project
To gear up for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, Molson Canada is creating an outdoor “mega-mural” using thousands of pictures submitted by their fans. Once the mural is complete, Molson promises to create a special message for Team Canada as they prep for the Games. While Molson is using a fairly sophisticated system to allow…
From the archives: Positive relationships between employees and customers increase word of mouth
A 2000 study co-produced by Bowling Green State, Kansas State, and Arizona State Universities examined the effects of interpersonal relationships between consumers and employees on word of mouth activity. Through the polling of more than 1,500 random customers of a major southwestern bank as well as customers of a dental practice in the same region,…
Word of mouth research: The psychological burden of surprise and its influence on WOM
Straight out of something our friend Andy Nulman would riff on, a 2003 study conducted by Christian Derbaix and Joelle Vanhamme of Belgium’s Université catholique de Louvain shows the influence of surprise on word of mouth. Through a questionnaire, Derbaix and Vanhamme asked respondents to describe details of a consumption or purchase experience which surprised…
Making each of your locations a destination
If you have multiple locations, is there any reason for people to visit more than one (other than convenience)? Would they take a picture of your different locations? Would your customers challenge their friends to visit them all? Austrian grocer MPREIS (the self-proclaimed “Seriously Sexy Supermarket) goes all out by vastly varying the designs of…
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