Ads Dead, WOM Lives...and other reports from the field

Time to catch up on a series of WOM-related stories in the news:

NYT: "Advertising is Obsolete: Everyone Says So" A somewhat tongue-in-cheek review of the latest WOMMA event, courtesy of the Times. The writer does a good job of bringing out the quasi-religous flavor of the WOM community. After hearing his opening remarks, I thought maybe WOMMA Guru Andy Sernovitz was taking a correspondence course in "How to be a Baptist Minister".

I think there's a little something to the analogy, actually. WOM is in its very early stages, and it clearly goes against a lot of the established thinking. Those involved clearly feel a certain mission and need to communicate it to the masses. There's even a bit of the savior-effect here, with a real consideration of consumers mixed into the strategy.

BusinessWeek: "Would you Recommend Us?" One of the business publishing pillars picks up on the NetPromoter meme. If you're not familiar with the concept, the idea is to consistently ask your consumers the likelihood (1-10) that they would recommend your product or service. I think its a great concept, and a very clear way to check on the pulse. When the book comes out, I think we'll see this continue to grow as an idea.

Forbes: "Tapping into the Blogosphere" Not to be outdone, Forbes also catches onto the buzz world this week. The article is pretty much a primer on how to use blogs in business, notable mostly for its presence in Forbes, presented without a thread of fear or uncertainty running through it.

Blogging Sundance. Looks like the iconic indie film fest is turning into a major blogging event. This is great--part of the juice of Sundance is that producers are lurking in the crowds, looking to find the next indie film gem. Clearly, they are listening to buzz at the festival. The opportunity for them to check in on blogs to see what everyone is talking about is a great opportunity to get even deeper.