Marketing agencies-word of mouth
Discussion
Anybody worked with a marketing/advertising agency who have a particular skill at generating a word of mouth 'buzz' for new products within the public sector (i.e. to public sector employees, not to the public)? I know that is a tough call list!
I have been asked to tender on a contract with a marketing element (which is not my area) but previous exsperience is that traditional trade and newspaper ads in this sector have not been perceived as successful and the successes have come from word of mouth rather than the ads that have been run. I am not sure how you raise awareness amongst managers in this sector as they tend to be the ones who nudge people in the right direction.
I know TMP worldwide have had some success with the Met Police and GCHQ but wondered what other names might be on the list?
Andrew[MG] said:
Surely if the product/service was intersting then it would have no trouble gathering momentum through word of mouth?
Yes, but the experience is that that takes 2 or 3 years because they have numerous (thousands) of sites and no means of comm unication other than the trade and national media and not many employees read the trade media. Of course it may also not be a very interesting product they are trying to sell!Most agencies seem to leap at the national press ads with this group but we did some work which suggested that this wasn't cost effective and that encouraing the 'word of mouth' through their managers was the most successful way. It is really about internal communication with a dispersed audience. The managers are probably the target and I presume that agencies would know which demographic certain publications were likely to hit? Often it is about geting stories and case studies inro the media rather than ads.
Brown and Boris said:
I have been asked to tender on a contract with a marketing element (which is not my area) but previous exsperience is that traditional trade and newspaper ads in this sector have not been perceived as successful and the successes have come from word of mouth rather than the ads that have been run. I am not sure how you raise awareness amongst managers in this sector as they tend to be the ones who nudge people in the right direction.
It depends how niche it is. If it is at all niche then I would suggest there is no substitute to getting through the door and pitching your product to any one who will listen. If you do a good job, word will spread.
The second tactic I would employ is to virtually give one away, get written up a testimonial and use them as a reference. Again, if you do a good job, word will spread.
Dont forget consultants are as important as LA's as they are often commissioned to make decisions.
I have been in a niche LA market for 2 years and there are still people who haven't heard of us! On the other hand it is nice when people ring you up to make sure you have spotted their tender
! Kinky said:
Speak to Felix or Jason at UnderWired - you won't get anyone better, worldwide, by a long long way.
They're closed until the 5th Jan IIRC.
K
Are they entirely online? The target group are pretty disprate; spread across England and nobody has a set of emails .They're closed until the 5th Jan IIRC.
K
Edited by Brown and Boris on Tuesday 30th December 08:42
You could try Craig or Gavin at WDMP they have done some great viral campaigns etc. for us in the past. I'd thoroughly recommend them 
www.wdmp.co.uk
www.wdmp.co.uk
TimCrighton said:
You could try Craig or Gavin at WDMP they have done some great viral campaigns etc. for us in the past. I'd thoroughly recommend them
www.wdmp.co.uk
They look to have some big clinets and plenty of success. How do these ciompanies cope when you don't have a full set of emails?www.wdmp.co.uk
Brown and Boris said:
Andrew[MG] said:
Surely if the product/service was intersting then it would have no trouble gathering momentum through word of mouth?
Yes, but the experience is that that takes 2 or 3 years because they have numerous (thousands) of sites and no means of comm unication other than the trade and national media and not many employees read the trade media. Of course it may also not be a very interesting product they are trying to sell!Most agencies seem to leap at the national press ads with this group but we did some work which suggested that this wasn't cost effective and that encouraing the 'word of mouth' through their managers was the most successful way. It is really about internal communication with a dispersed audience. The managers are probably the target and I presume that agencies would know which demographic certain publications were likely to hit? Often it is about geting stories and case studies inro the media rather than ads.
cheers
Night
Just got the fuller spec and PQQ. Looks like it will only be open to the big boys since they suggest the infrastructure must already be in place. Can't be many able to drop everything to run a programme like this, and they will pay through the nose as a result.
Many thanks for the enmails guys, As and when the contract is awarded I wil pass the details on , as I am sure to have contacts with the successful bidder (if only to plead for some crumbs from their table).
Brown and Boris said:
Anybody worked with a marketing/advertising agency who have a particular skill at generating a word of mouth 'buzz' for new products within the public sector (i.e. to public sector employees, not to the public)? I know that is a tough call list!
I have been asked to tender on a contract with a marketing element (which is not my area) but previous exsperience is that traditional trade and newspaper ads in this sector have not been perceived as successful and the successes have come from word of mouth rather than the ads that have been run. I am not sure how you raise awareness amongst managers in this sector as they tend to be the ones who nudge people in the right direction.
I know TMP worldwide have had some success with the Met Police and GCHQ but wondered what other names might be on the list?
We've run some very successful campaigns for clients in the past using both direct-approach and word-of-mouth techniques to both raise awareness and generate specific respondent outcomes.I have been asked to tender on a contract with a marketing element (which is not my area) but previous exsperience is that traditional trade and newspaper ads in this sector have not been perceived as successful and the successes have come from word of mouth rather than the ads that have been run. I am not sure how you raise awareness amongst managers in this sector as they tend to be the ones who nudge people in the right direction.
I know TMP worldwide have had some success with the Met Police and GCHQ but wondered what other names might be on the list?
We also have a market research operation which (at the expense of giving away a secret) often provides the answer to the question "how do I reach you?" simply by, first, ringing a sample up and asking them "how do I reach you?"
We work with a number of other companies who can complement what we do, or simply take the project on further. In particular, depending upon the specifics of the offering and market, I might have one very specific recommendation as to method to offer, but it would be better to understand your needs first.
Much as I hate to appear to trawl PH for business (which I don't!), if you'd care to email me then I'd be happy to take a quick look for you.
Regards, Silas
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