Day 1 of WOMMA’s Creating Talkable Brands Conference (Nov. 18 – 20, Las Vegas) has been highlighted. We’re continuing to highlight Day 2 activities with this post and with more posts to come…

Turning Influencers into Evangelists
[Thurs. Nov. 19 | 11:00 – 11:45am]
Gamers are an influential bunch, they have sway in which games get talked about. GameStop understands the importance these influencers have in driving awareness and purchase of the newest games on the market. Partnering with Fanscape, GameStop has designed offline and online word of mouth marketing programs to not only reach the influential gaming community, but also to turn them into evangelists for the GameStop brand.

Chris Olivera, GameStop Corporate Communications VP, will break down the strategies and tactics GameStop uses to tap into the enthusiastic gaming influencer community. Tag teaming with Chris will be Fanscape’s President, Terry Dry, and Fanscape’s VP of Business Development, Kristin Rodack. Also on the panel is Freddie Wong, a cracker jack Guitar Hero axe man and gaming influential.

The Proven Momentum Effect of Word of Mouth
[Thurs. Nov. 19 | 12:00 – 12:45]
On the Research & Measurement track, Graeme Hutton, SVP of Consumer Insights at Universal McCann, shares new findings on the relationship between traditional advertising and word of mouth marketing. Should be a very interesting session for marketers needing to improve the effectiveness of their marketing mix allocation.

Power Lunch with Kristian Bush of Sugarland
[Thurs. Nov. 19 | 12:45 – 1:45]
Sugarland is one of the more popular country music acts, winning Grammy awards and winning fans. Much of Sugarland’s success stems from the band’s LOVE THE FANS philosophy. The band does creative things to keep their fans involved from scavenger hunts for hidden tickets to a continuous stream of interesting tweets on Twitter.

A band is indeed a brand. We marketers can learn lots from how Sugarland broke through the clutter of country music bands to become a success. Ted Wright from Fizz will set the stage for Kristian Bush, singer and guitarist from Sugarland, to share how Sugarland uses word of mouth marketing strategies to make his band a success.

More Day 2 happenings (and Day 3) will be posted about the upcoming Creating Talkable Brands Conference. (BTW, did you know you can save $200 on the registration fee? Learn more here.)

We began the preview of WOMMA’s Talkable Brands Conference (Nov. 18 – 20, Las Vegas) by highlighting a few sessions from the afternoon of Day 1. Highlighting the agenda from Day 2 will take a few posts to spotlight some of the sessions.

Answers from Academics to WOM’s Toughest Questions
[Thurs. | 9:35 – 10:30am]
There is an art and a science to word of mouth marketing. This session will focus more on the science of WOM. Brad Fay from the KellerFay Group will ask Professors (Walter Carl & Jonah Berger) and PhDs (Lezan Aksoy & Barak Libai) important questions about the motivations for why people talk. The differences between how online and offline WOM spreads will no doubt be covered. And, I’m expecting a heated debate about targeting “influentials” versus “influenceables.” Answers from these academics will be steeped in research and deep analysis. Every marketer is sure to learn something new from this session.

True Believers: Turning Skeptical Co-Workers into Progressive WOM Marketers
[Thurs. | 11:00 – 11:45am]
I read the proposal Sean McDonald (Ant’s Eye View) and Sam Decker (Bazzarvoice) sent in for this session and thought this will be the most creative session at the conference. Sean and Sam have outlined all the corporate characters who can derail the success of a WOM marketing plan. We’ll meet the finance guy (”Eddie Excel”) who always cries out for the ROI. “Fanny Facebook” is the marketer manager who thinks all she needs is a Facebook fan page, without any strategy, and WOM will happen. “Freddy Filabuster” shows up to grandstand against a marketer’s plan, but he’s only interested in advancing his career and not advancing the business.

Fun and creative stuff, for sure. But the session will also be helpful in giving us advice on overcoming the objections and misguided approaches from co-workers, thus, paving the way for our WOM marketing plans to succeed.

I’ll post more later about Day 2 happenings at the upcoming Creating Talkable Brands Conference. (BTW, did you know you can save $200 on the registration fee? Learn more here.)

We’re less than a month away from WOMMA’s Talkable Brands Conference (Nov. 18 – 20). Sign-ups have been strong. And for good reason — the agenda is strong.

There are over 40 sessions with 4 learning tracks and 4 keynotes addresses (.pdf agenda). For each of the breakout sessions, WOMMA is pairing up a Brand with an Agency. So you’ll be hearing both perspectives, the brand-side and the agency-side.

To help make sense out of the packed agenda, I’ll be sharing previews of sessions leading up to the conference on this blog.

The Conference kicks off with a keynote from Emanuel Rosen, an author and marketer who helped to spark interest in word of mouth marketing nearly ten years ago with the publication of THE ANATOMY OF BUZZ. Earlier this year Emanuel updated his influential book on WOM to include new learnings, new methods, and new case studies. His presentation will share the latest insight on all things WOM.

Of the 8 afternoon sessions on Wednesday, November 18, I’m looking forward to the following ones:

The Annual State of Word of Mouth Address
[Wed. | 2:00 - 2:45]
Dr. Walter Carl has been a fixture in past WOMMA Conferences. Of course he’ll share new information on measuring WOM, that’s what he’s known for. He’ll also give us marketers more ammunition to better sell-in our WOM programs up the corporate food chain.

Choosing the Right Agency for your Social Media Marketing Projects
[Wed. | 5:15 - 6:00]
David Witt (public relations manager, General Mills), Christine Morrison (social media manager, Intuit), and Steve Knox (ceo, Procter & Gamble Tremor) will advise brand marketers on what to look for in a social media agency partner. The beauty of this session is you’ll get both sides of the story (brand and agency) to help you better prepare your RFP and to whittle down the seemingly endless agency options. A must-attend session for brand marketers.

In Preview #2, I’ll begin highlighting sessions from Day 2 of WOMMA’s Talkable Brands Conference.

WOMMA just launched the LEARN IT. DO IT! Education Series. We’re now offering Brands, Agencies, and Non-Profits on-site education about Word of Mouth and Social Media Marketing.

For a flat-rate travel fee, I’ll visit your business and share what WOMMA has learned on how to make Word of Mouth happen and how to effectively use Social Media to make your brand more talkable.

Each 60-minute presentation will be customized to your needs ranging from Basic Training to Sharing Case Studies to Measuring What Matters. Click here to learn more about this opportunity and to watch a special message from me to you.

For bootleg video of a recent LEARN IT. DO IT! presentation… watch below.

Some of the fallout from the updated FTC regulations concern how the FTC will monitor and track violators. Violators being people using social media to endorse a product or service without disclosing any material connection they have to the product/service they are touting.

Will the FTC come after individual bloggers for not disclosing they have been influenced with free product to post something about a product/service? That’s a question many bloggers have.

According to Anthony DiResta, WOMMA’s general counsel, the FTC will not be monitoring online activity all day every day to ensure compliance. That’s not how the FTC works.

In the WOMMA webinar from Oct. 8 discussing the new FTC guidelines, Anthony explained how the FTC will track and monitor compliance.

According to Anthony, the FTC will listen to complaints filed by consumer groups, trade associations, attorney general offices, the Better Business Bureau, and individual consumers about potential abuse of endorsements in social media channels. If a submitted complaint interests the FTC, an investigation may begin and some form of punishment may be handed out if violations are found.

So no … the FTC will not play the role of big brother and track every blogger’s every move. The FTC will, however, pay attention to suspicious activity if they receive credible complaints about potential abuse.

Much has been written and much will continue to be written about the implications of the revised FTC guidelines on endorsements and testimonials in advertising. For WOMMA, we’ve been tracking these matters since the inception of WOMMA. Ethics in marketing has always mattered to WOMMA.

Our Ethics Code is 100% compliant with the new FTC regulations. In fact, the FTC cited WOMMA standards throughout their guidelines document (.pdf) so you can trust the information we’ve been sharing how to design word of mouth and social media marketing programs to be ethically sound.

On Thursday, October 8 WOMMA hosted a webinar discussing the updated regulations from the FTC on endorsements and testimonials used in advertising as it relates to social media marketing programs. Paul Rand, WOMMA’s president elect and CEO of the Zocalo Group discussed how these new regulations will impact marketers with WOMMA’s legal counsel Anthony DiResta from the Manatt Phelps & Phillips law firm.

You can view an archived unedited 60-minute version of the webinar on SlideShare. An edited version (10:30 minutes) can also be viewed.

During the second part of the webinar, Paul Rand asked Anthony DiResta to give a legal perspective to important questions concerning how businesses and bloggers should practically address these new FTC guidelines.

I’ve edited this Q&A discussion from the webinar into a short presentation. Click on the play button below to listen and learn. Questions asked and answered in this presentation include:

Given the revised FTC Guidelines requiring disclosure, Ian Paul from PCWorld shares practical advice for how we can credibly participate in online social media.

“If you receive gifts, money or any other type of compensation from a product manufacturer or service provider you have to disclose it.”

“If you are going to tweet about how awesome your employer is, make sure everybody knows you work there.”

READ MORE from Ian Paul.

WOMMA will continue to be all over the just-announced new guidelines from the FTC on endorsements and testimonials. We’ll be giving members and non-members practical guidance on what the revised guidelines mean and how to ensure marketers can develop/implement word of mouth marketing programs to completely abide by the FTC guidelines.

The press release from the FTC toplines the revisions made to the guidelines. Important snippets marketers must be aware of include:

“… the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.”

“… the revised Guides … clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement – or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers.”

“The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.”

If you have been following the discussions WOMMA has had and the advice WOMMA has given, the issue of clear disclosure isn’t new. WOMMA addressed the disclosure issue in a recent webinar. (Archived versions here: short version (11-min) ; full-version (60-min).)

The bottom line is when there is a material connection between a blogger and a brand that might affect the credibility of the endorsement, such a connection must be fully disclosed. This protects both consumers and advertisers because it assures consumers that product testimonials are truthful and trustworthy, and it offers marketers and advertisers a viable way to reach consumers with credible information.

Expect more guidance from WOMMA this week and throughout the coming weeks and months about how the revised FTC guidelines will impact your word of mouth and social media marketing programs.