Word-of-mouth (WOM) and emotional brand equity have been proven to have a powerful impact on the fortune of brands. WOM plays a key role in amplifying marketing spend, and both WOM and brand emotion are predictive of business effects.

And in the first study of its kind, behavioural science leaders BrainJuicer and word-of-mouth experts Keller Fay have partnered to cross analyse their databases, providing new insights into what drives WOM and brand advocacy. This study encompasses 52 UK brands from financial services and retailers to energy brands, packaged goods and broadcasters.

Using Keller Fay's TalkTrack® and BrainJuicer's Emotion-into-Action™ brand equity measure, our joint webinar will reveal:

• The best and worst brands on emotion
• The top and bottom brands on WOM
• Which emotions drive WOM and, importantly, which prevent it
• The importance of intensity of emotion in driving WOM
• Various sector analyses showing which brands follow the rules and which ones break rank

Join us on Wednesday, 2 April for this special webinar at:
10:00AM New York / 3:00PM London / 4:00PM Geneva / 4:00PM Amsterdam

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/454905642

Register soon, space is limited. Can't attend the webinar? Let us know if you'd like to receive a link to the recording.

There is a common assumption that word of mouth tends to be negative, and that negative WOM has greater impact than positive talk.  It turns out that both are untrue.

To start, more than two-thirds of all brand WOM is actually positive in nature, while less than 10% is purely negative.  That’s over eight times more positive than negative WOM.  And what’s more, positive WOM is even more prevalent in key product categories, topping out at nearly 75% for personal care & beauty.  Even in the more polarizing categories, like telecom and financial services, over 50% positive WOM, while 30-40% is either negative or missed.

Further, positive WOM is generally more powerful than negative WOM – and by a wide margin.  Positive WOM is far more credible than negative WOM (by a margin of nearly 20 points) and also more likely to be shared with others.  64% of the time, people exposed to positive WOM describe it as “highly credible” (“9” or “10” on a scale of 0-10), versus 45% who describe negative WOM as “highly credible.” 

Of course there can be exceptions to this rule, as some dramatic case studies have shown.  Blog posts like “Dell Hell” and viral videos like “United Breaks Guitars” have won huge audiences.  But the data show these are exceptions rather than common occurrences.  READ MORE

CLICK HERE FOR SHORT SLIDESHARE VERSION

With the holidays in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take stock of the WOM generated by consumers during the season.  The sad fact is that   WOM across major consumer categories was down significantly during the 2013 holidays.  Overall, the largest category decline versus the 2012 holiday season was in retail/apparel, which includes department and discount stores along with big box retailers.  Other key categories, including tech and children’s products, also saw significant seasonal declines in WOM.

However, while the general trends were not favorable there were some clear brand winners this holiday season, along with WOM laggards.  The above chart or link to presentation shows the brands that saw the biggest increases in WOM, and those that saw their WOM drop versus a year earlier.