• by May 27, 2004

San Francisco--The Ad:Tech show here may have wound down yesterday, but it's not over by a long stretch.

The forum offered plenty of food for thought that's bound to percolate for some time. And really, that's the whole idea of a successful conference--to spur thinking, facilitate new contacts, cement existing relationships and overall, to gather intelligence and create new business opportunities.

There were plenty of networking opportunities here and plenty of time for exchanging business cards and ideas, entertaining sales pitches and sampling product demos between the show floor, the receptions and parties, the breakfasts and the GasPedal dinners orchestrated by Andy Sernowitz.

One of the threads from the show that was resoundingly clear to me was that there now seems to be a sense of urgency over the quandary marketers find themselves in: They must figure out smart, un-sneaky ways to come face-to-face with increasingly empowered consumers who are going to carefully pick and choose the content they wish to engage with. The rules of the game have changed. The Web can, and most likely will, be a major driver of changing the rules of the marketing equation. It already has changed the rules. But the Web has its own hang-ups--spam and privacy issues, spyware applications with inadequate disclosures and instructions and intrusive ad formats (pop-ups, for example), that continue to annoy consumers. In general, though, ad formats have improved.

Standards and pricing models for streaming video on the Web will emerge in the next year or two, and business models for Web-powered interactive TV or broadband-powered digital video recorders will need to be created. My bet is on the pay-TV, or cable model for the Web. And in many ways, it's already here, albeit in a nascent form. Consumers pay subscriptions for premium content such as streaming video of sports and concert events. Consumers have already shown, via cable TV, their willingness to pay for programming that doesn't include commercials. Web publishers and portals will, and a few have, already taken that approach to content.

At Ad:Tech, there was a presentation on "Influentials" by United Business Media's NOP World. I'm familiar with NOP's research findings and those of online publishers that also have conducted research on this group, but there was a nugget I hadn't focused on before. And that is, the importance of word-of-mouth. Influentials--the 10 percent of the population who NOP says are trend-setters, shape public opinion and generate "buzz"--are so-called "market multipliers" and word-of-mouth catalysts. Influentials can have a huge impact on brands and marketing via their word-of-mouth recommendations and comments and can be more valuable than paid media.

Word-of-mouth is a significant enough factor, that the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has formed, spearheaded by Pete Blackshaw, chief marketing officer-Intelliseek. WOMMA launched at Ad:Tech and its mission, no surprise, is to gather industry stakeholders who recognize the value of the medium and how it might be further leveraged in the marketing equation.

At any rate, NOP reports that 92 percent of consumers in 2003 said that word- of-mouth is the best source for products and information versus 67 percent in 1977; 50 percent said advertising was the best source in 2003 compared to 53 percent in 1977. To be sure, there will always be a role for traditional advertising, but one can't ignore the impact of influentials.

Locate your favorite influential today. Determine how much that person influences your thoughts and actions. Or, do a focus group among friends. It won't cost a penny.