Brains On Fire Word Of Mouth Marketing Nazi?s At It Again
Gosh I really can?t stand it when these righteous word of mouth companies get up on their soap box telling the world that WOMM (word of mouth marketing) is the best thing since sliced bread. Some of the guys really know what the heck their talking about but others drive me nuts. ?
Enter Brains On Fire newest blog entry. Spike Jones once again gets on his WOM high horse (he?s apparently the self proclaimed master of WOM) and rambles on about a company breaking Ogilvy?s Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics. Though Ogilvy did a fine job of inventing these ethics they?re certainly not a rule. At least I didn?t get the official word on rules. They?re nice ideas but not rules. Who the hell is Spike Jones to slam a company over these ?rules?? There are no rules. Do whatever you want for God?s sake. If it doesn?t work then you may want to try a different approach. But these are not, repeat, not official rules.?
Personally I like most of these suggestions and recommend them. Spike Jones is a wanna be sales weasel at best. If you read his?blog regularly you?ll notice it?s a lot of regurgitated stuff from other WOM guys (guys that know what their talking about). Personally I?d recommend Jonathan Salem Baskin http://dimbulb.typepad.com/ or John Moore http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/. ?They?re always doing great stuff and as far as I know neither of them have claimed to be the WOM expert like Spike Jones.?
Listen, WOM is a great marketing tactic without doubt. But there is no ?best? tactic. A multi-tiered branding program is still the way to go. You mix in some social media, search engine optimization, internet marketing etc. etc. Heavens forbid I say Direct Mail or Print Advertising. Gosh that would really send poor old Spike off his rocker. I might get hit by the WOMM Police. What?s the going rate on a ticket for breaking Spike?s make believe rules??
Remember to always leverage your brand identity. That?s the real key. Don?t do anything without asking yourself ?how will this impact my brand identity???
And to Spike Jones, please let Ivey & McCoig know that I appreciated Their Christmas Card. Marvin the Martian Rocks!
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December 23rd, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Thanks for the shout-out … really appreciated.
Don’t be so quick to dismiss Spike Jones at Brains on Fire. Sure, he has strong point-of-view when it comes to all things WOM-related but he also walks what he talks. The work Brains on Fire is doing with Fiskars to generate community-centered WOM is a marketing case study that will be talked about for many years.
Have you read Spike’s MOVEMENTS vs. CAMPAIGNS post? It’s brilliant. In this vintage post on the Brains on Fire blog, Spike wrote … “Campaigns have a beginning and an end. Movements go on as long as kindred spirits are involved. Campaigns are part of the war vocabulary. Movements are part of the evangelist vocabulary. Campaigns are dry and emotionally detached. Movements are organic and rooted in passion. Campaigns rely on traditional mediums. Movements rely on word of mouth.” BRILLIANT.
December 23rd, 2007 at 9:05 pm
John, I?m a big fan of yours and I respect your opinion. I hope you come back often to my blog and comment. That said we are going to have to agree to disagree on this topic.
I think Spike is a hypocrite and arrogant. I find him to have a superiority complex and he obviously rubs me the wrong way. It seems like Spike?s way is the only way and I find this to be insulting and shortsighted.
I think WOMM is an excellent tactic but it?s not the be all to end all. He criticizes too many people unfairly and I for one will give it back to him. I?ve been at this for 20 years and I know what I?m talking about. And for someone to get on their soap box and say the things he does?well that annoys me.
So when he makes these broad posts that make no sense?I?ll be here to explain to people that he is off his rocker.