WOMM-U Case Study Speaker: Jen Gulvik of Houlihan's Restaurants

WOMMA is happy to welcome WOMM-U case study presenter, Jen Gulvik, VP-Marketing and Creative Director for Houlihan's Restaurants, Inc., who oversees the marketing and in-house creative for Houlihan's and the company's two upscale-casual restaurant concepts. Jen joined Houlihan's in 2002 to lead a total brand repositioning for the company, re-imagining everything from food and beverage to in-store music for its 100+ restaurants.

Learn how Houlihan's transformed the way it communicates with customers by inviting them to HQ -- a branded community, WOM hub, and social network, all under one roof. Members of HQ's Advisor Group have a voice in everything from the company's menus to interior design. Forums and surveys provide a wealth of research from these loyal, well-networked foodies whose Brand Lover index is off the charts!

And, according to Houlihan's, it's about to get bigger: In April 2008, thousands more email club members will be invited to become HouliFans. These customers will be deputized to spread WOM on such things as Sex and the City martini promotions to new seasonal menus, with HQ acting as the hub.

Hear how letting customers into the halls at Houlihan's headquarters has been a path to loyalty, consumer insights, word of mouth, and ultimately, restaurant visits.

To meet Jen and other WOMM-U case study speakers, peruse the agenda, check out the keynote presentations, or to register, visit:
http://www.womma.org/wommu

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Coach-Funded Anti-Counterfeit Campaign Blog Lacks Transparency

A blog-based anti-counterfeit campaign created by a PR class at Hunter College in New York used a fake blog and a fictional student to spread its message. The blog was seeded via "missing" posters, which led students to a blog supposedly created by a fellow student who had lost her Coach bag. According to the fictitious story line, the bag had been a gift from her boyfriend -- now stationed in Iraq. The campaign, which is sponsored by a grant from Coach, is catching a lot of heat for its lack of disclosure and transparency -- offenses which fly in the face of ethical marketing.

To brush up on your word of mouth marketing ethics, visit:
http://www.womma.org/ethics/

More from Ad Week

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Surge in Teen Use of Online Social Networking Sites

According to this article from eMarketer, more than twice as many 10- to 12-year-olds reported using social networking sites in 2007 as in 2006, and according to Harris Interactive's April 2008 "Youth Trends," more than half of girls aged 13 to 15 used social networking sites in 2007. Social network usage among girls was significantly higher than for boys (57% of 13- to 15-year-old girls compared to 38% of boys), and blog use among teen girls was also reportedly higher than among teen boys.

More from eMarketer

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Predictions: What a Recession Economy Holds in Store for Social Media

On the ReadWriteWeb blog, Bernard Lunn offers some predictions about the impact a recession would have on the web -- and specifically Web 2.0. Some of his predictions venture into the world of social media, including perspectives on how online social networking will fare in a recession considering the fact that most of these networks have yet to be sufficiently monetized. The article also looks at the role digital content creators -- from bloggers to online video makers, etc. -- will play in the changing web landscape.

More from ReadWriteWeb

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New in the WOMMA Member Center

We are constantly adding valuable word of mouth marketing whitepapers, research studies, essays, opinion papers, and other content to WOMMA's member center. These are just a few of the NEW items you'll find there:

>> Cluepedia: The Ultimate Wisdom of Crowds Platform
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This whitepaper discusses the value of crowd wisdom -- the collective opinion of people about something -- arguing that sometimes crowd wisdom is even more valuable than expert opinion. The paper's author contends that, if properly harnessed, the wisdom of crowds has the potential to become one of the most ubiquitous applications -- because of its wide reach.

>> Bazaarvoice: Driving Sales with User-Generated Content: How Word of Mouth Impacts Manufacturers Online
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User-generated content -- defined as information generated not by a business or media outlet, but by a user of such online assets -- drives Web 2.0. When businesses enable customers -- or users -- to write reviews, ask or answer questions from the community, or share experiences, they create conversations that become the most powerful form of marketing-- word of mouth marketing. This paper specifically addresses how manufacturers can work to build their own word of mouth working with retailers.

WOMMA members, log in to the WOMMA Member Center to download your own copy:
http://womma.leveragesoftware.com/blog_view.aspx?CustomerID=memberlibrary