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Keller Fay Group just released new results from a survey of American consumers indicating brand mentions are a common occurance in everyday conversation. The results were culled from 1,507 individuals ages 13 to 69 as part of TalkTrack — KellerFay’s measurement system for WOM. Data was gathered using a diary-based method to record brand-related dialogs. (Disclosure: Ed and I exchanged press released prior to the Fleishman event where he mentioned our firm’s study. I intented to blog the importance of his findings regardless.)

TalkTrack results are important for two reasons:

1. TalkTrack findings validate the importance of word-of-mouth and how often ordinary American’s discuss brands in their conversations with family members, co-workers, and friends. (Note: very interested to see if and when other research houses around the world might jump in on this research). I believe Keller Fay’s research is likely to become integrated with other post-advertising research studies, in addition to general audience research formulation, that will be used to assess the effectiveness of traditional media buys by including a WOM episodes index or ranking that will be generated as result of a media buy. Based on Keller Fay’s press release about TalkTrack, 41% of conversations about brands involve a reference to advertising or something seen or heard in the media with the average American mentioning brands 56 times per week. This sounds like a Kodak moment to me.

2. TalkTrack challenges conventional wisdom about the percentage of marketing-relevant conversations that take place “offline.” Previous offline WOM estimates were hovering around 80%, however, Keller Fay placed the number at 92%.

The results are surprising as Chris Heuer noted in his blog post about TalkTrack on Beyond Blogging 2006. But what does it mean and how can organizations that want to leverage WOM use this information?

I believe TalkTrack findings reinforce the likelihood that a final disposition of WOM referrals is more likely to occur offline, however, it does not mean that online WOM exchanges are not important or initiated these types of marketing conversations. In fact, based on ongoing Pew Internet & American Life Project reports covering Online Activities & Pursuits, and specifically reports from February 2004 – Online Activities & Pursuits – and April 2006 – Reports: Friends, Family and Community – American’s are turning online to gain insight, feedback, and recommendations for a number of major lifetime purchases and events in addition to selling things online. Pew reports clearly show that the Internet plays a significant role in purchase decisions:

Our surveys show that 45% of internet users, or about 60 million Americans, say that the internet helped them make big decisions or negotiate their way through major episodes in their lives in the previous two years.

To explore this phenomenon, we fielded the Major Moments Survey in March 2005, that repeated elements of an earlier January 2002 survey. Comparison of the two surveys revealed striking increases in the number of Americans who report that the internet played a crucial or important role in various aspects of their lives. Specifically, we found that over the three-year period, internet use grew by:
• 54% in the number of adults who said the internet played a major role as they helped another person cope with a major illness. And the number of those who said the internet played a major role as they coped themselves with a major illness increased 40%.
• 50% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they pursued more training for their careers.
• 45% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they made major investment or financial decisions.
• 43% in the number who said the internet played a major role when they looked for a new place to live.
• 42% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they decided about a school or a college for themselves or their children.
• 23% in the number who said the internet played a major role when they bought a car.
• 14% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they switched jobs.

TalkTrack findings certainly move the WOMM industy forward and provide valuable insight to traditional advertisers and organizations that are considering WOM.

From my persecptive, I still find it hard to believe that the Internet plays such a minor role in how WOM referrals are initiated, considered and acted upon. If anything, I believe the finding simply reinforce campaign integration across all channels. Organizations that can reach out to the millions of voices coming online and expressing their views — 44% of U.S. Internet users have contributed their thoughts and their files to the online world according to Pew — are likely to gain unique insights. This user generated content will be hard to ignore especially since it’s being indexed by search engines — a tool that is an essential and popular way for people to find information online.

TAGS: Ed Keller, Keller Fay Group, TalkTrack, Pew Internet, Pew, Word of Mouth Marketing, Chris Heuer, Beyond Blogging 2006