This post was inspired by some events that transpired over the past week. In a nutshell, the teenage daughter of a well-respected and all around nice guy in the WOM industry recently went missing. When word got out, it spread like wildfire and spurred a flurry of good samaritanism among others in the industry who […]
Cleaning Up a Social Media “Mess”
October 17th, 2008 ·
Tags: Marketing · PR · Social Media
2008 Forrester Groundswell Awards - Please Vote (for us)!
September 10th, 2008 ·
Inspired by the best-selling book Groundswell (which should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in word of mouth or social media marketing), Forrester has created the Groundswell Awards, which recognizes excellence in accomplishing business goals with social applications (categories include “Listening”, “Talking”, “Energizing”, “Supporting”, “Embracing”, “Managing”, and “Social Impact”).
Affinitive is happy to announce that […]
Tags: Case Studies · Marketing · PR · Research · Self-Promotion · Social Media · Technology
Oprah Power! Measuring the Political Influence of Celebrity Endorsement
August 6th, 2008 ·
A paper recently released by two University of Maryland economists, Craig Garthwaite and Tim Moore, tries to quantify Oprah Winfrey’s influence over her fans with regards to the Democratic primaries and generating votes. From the paper’s abstract:
Candidates in major political contests are commonly endorsed by other politicians, interest groups and celebrities. Prior to the […]
Tags: Research
Your Mom Has A Blog!
July 22nd, 2008 ·
All those “your mom” jokes just got serious. AdAge recently reported Procter & Gamble Co.’s plans to pamper top “mommy bloggers” in an effort to tap into the online influencers and inform them of Pampers diaper products. The company may bring in as many as 15 top bloggers in this category to their Cincinnati headquarters for all-expense-paid trips not to buy their loyalty, but instead let these bloggers get to know what the company is about which will hopefully bring a positive light to their product.
Tags: Industry News · Marketing · PR · Research
WOM in the Workplace
July 15th, 2008 ·
The water cooler just got a lot sexier for marketers. A recent survey conducted by WorkPlace Media and reported by MarketingCharts indicates that 96% of workplace consumers give coworkers advice about products and services. Additionally, 93% also seek advice before making purchases.
“The American workplace is replacing the American neighborhood as the most lucrative marketing […]
Tags: Industry News · Research
Product Placement versus Consumer Engagement
July 7th, 2008 ·
The idea of “product placement” is one that many entertainment industry veterans are so familiar with, it is likely a part of their daily vocab. There are many memorable examples of product placement throughout the years, including the origin of the “Soap Opera” which comes from the show’s original sponsors, […]
Tags: Marketing · Social Media · Technology


