As Geno and I are packing up to head to the WOMMA Summit in Vegas this Thursday and Friday (ya comin'?), I've been thinking about all the different companies that will be there and the philosophies they represent. Which is a fantastic thing indeed. But as we all gather as an industry at the end of the week, it's important to keep in mind that successful word of mouth marketing isn't about being popular. Not about the numbers or how many sign-ups or views of your video. But still, everyone wants to be popular. We can't help it. Maybe it's a hold over from our days in high school. Or that campaign mentality that is drilled into us from the traditional advertising model.
If you're going to embark on a long-term, sustainable WOM movement, then you have to throw the concept of popularity out the window. Popular is associated as what the cool kids do and peer pressure. It's not a goal. It's a rabbit trail.
Evangelism leave popularity in the dust. Loud and proud trumps it. And to compare popularity to sustainable word of mouth is apples to oranges.
So if you're coming to Vegas for the event, following the live feed or the Twitter stream, keep that at the back of your mind. And enjoy the show!
<--www.brainsonfire.com/blog-->Brains on Fire is the Identity Company dedicated to helping organizations discover and sustain excitement about who they are and why they exist. We believe that great brand identities are rooted in purpose, not just profit. That they focus on relationships, not transactions. And they live through movements, not campaigns.