Psssst! Wanna buy an energy drink?

Hype energy drinkHas anyone every tried to sell you an energy drink as you strolled across campus? Or perhaps a classmate pitched the benefits of a particular brand of energy drink and its positive effects as you were waiting for your 8am class to start. No? Well perhaps you just weren’t AWARE that someone was trying to get you to buy something! Crazy talk, right? Well, what if I told you that I know a University student who earns a commission from an energy drink company, and that he carries an energy drink with him to all of his classes with a goal of “promoting” energy drink consumption on campus. Surprised? Just the visual cue provided by the unopened energy drink can sitting on someone’s desk might be enough to trigger an urge to purchase a can next time you’re near a vending machine. That, my friends, is called viral, word of mouth, or buzz marketing…and it IS a reality on this campus, and across the nation.

This is clearly a growth industry. According to researchers, Americans engage in more than 3 billion brand-related conversations each day. In order to monetize this trend, marketers are looking for ways to buy and sell these conversations. They even have their own association…WOMMA, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

And if you didn’t already have reasons to be skeptical of the contents of blogs, you should know that PayPerPost.com pays bloggers to promote products and services on their personal blogs…effectively making anyone and everyone an agent dispensing commercial messages. PayPerPost calls it “sponsored content” and says that they require disclosure in order to comply with FTC regulations. But full disclosure and transparency may be the exception rather than the rule since there is little practical oversight.

Want to get in on the action but don’t have a blog? No problem. The PayPerPost application can also be added to your Facebook page. Oh, and when you recommend a friend who adds the PPP application you earn $15.

Wow, who knew that viral marketing could be so…

profitable?
easy?
ubiquitous?
invisible?

90 Replies to “Psssst! Wanna buy an energy drink?”

  1. I think not. Merely displaying something is not word of mouth. One must engage in physical discussion. Say I have a cool phone. IF I know you, and you know me, and you trust or respect my opinion, then I can influence you to like what I have. Much depends on where I would fit in the tech spectrum:

    the first 2.5% of the adopters are the “innovators”

    the next 13.5% of the adopters are the “early adopters”

    the next 34% of the adopters are the “early majority”

    the next 34% of the adopters are the “late majority”

    the last 16% of the adopters are the “laggards”

    So as an innovator, I might be seen as taking bigger risks. I think that’s where this word of mouth really can work. It can push people into the majority, or at least influence them to speak to the next person. Ultimately it depends on the savvy self efficacy of the person hearing or seeing. If someone really is a fairly hollow shell, then its pretty easy for anyone to intelligently influence them.

  2. Word of mouth advertising is definitely one of the most effective forms of advertising out there. I know that there are many people who would much rather turn to a peer for advice on whether or not to buy a product than traditional advertisements. Word of mouth advertisement is a very effective way for companies to be sure that they are reaching their target audience with their advertisements. A lot of times, word of mouth advertisement goes undetected because it can be slipped into a normal conversation without much thought. This is part of the reason that word of mouth advertisement is so effective; it catches the person off guard. People aren’t expecting to be advertised to during a conversation like they expect to be advertised to while watching TV. In this way, word of mouth advertisement catches people when they are more open minded to suggestions.

  3. Word of mouth advertising seems as if it could be an effective way for college students to make a little bit of extra money. However, I feel as if people overestimate the power that it can have, as people who pay attention to word of mouth advertising probably already have a slight need or want for the product in the first place. Nonetheless, this is an ingenious way for companies to advertise their product and allow people to see what the product has to offer.

  4. I feel that word to mouth advertising is very affective. Think about some of the things on campus such as vector, is basically a word of mouth. I would have never considered selling knives but as I see people having positive outcomes for this job made me consider it. This type of advertising is very affective because you have real people giving their own opinion and if it positive a person will give a try to see if they have the same experience.

  5. But an example of this type of advertising is when you see stickers and advertisements on buses and on poles, etc. basically anywhere they can be, they will be.

  6. Word of mouth advertising is probably one of the most profitable forms of advertising. Each time a friend recommends something to you, it fits the category. I’m a sales associate at Best Buy and talked to a lot of people about products that was advertised.

    A few weeks ago I was playing monopoly in the dorms and two women just walk up to me and my friends advertising Red Bull. What did they do to catch my interest? One free can of Red Bull per person. I had a Red Bull and didn’t like it. But now I know what it tastes like, I’m not completely sold on it though. But I’m sure those women found people who do enjoy Red Bull and reinforced their liking of the product.

  7. Honestly, this form of advertising can be good or bad depending on the product itself. Some good things could be that it’s almost foolproof in the sense that people WILL see your product and they WILL inquire about your product. But a downside could be that if your product is not “good” then, word will travel fast about.

  8. Wom is a very successful advertising technique but it can also have a negative impact on a product. Lets say a popular well liked person was seen with a certain brand/product the is more likely you will want that product but if you see someone that’s not very liked with that same product it might not sell as well. I fell like Word of mouth has a huge impact on product sells. iv seen this first hand with clothing brands. When I noticed that some one I looked up at was promoting a certain brand of clothes it made me want to go out and wear that brand just because that person claimed to love it. I support Wom advertising and I think is the best was to promote a certain product.

  9. I have observed many products being advertised in various ways such as people wearing product merchandise. I see countless numbers of people wearing merchandise whether they are selling the product or not. I have also observed many extreme sport athletes be the foundation of sports drinks advertising because they are seen ever day doing these insane stunts and it portrays that they use the product to help achieve those stunts. For the most part I am also always witnessing stickers kids have on their backpacks, binders, skateboards, rooms, and their electronic devices that are part of mindless advertising too. Some benefits of people selling the product through these means is that it gets the word out there and creates a word of mouth association. People recognize that other people are purchasing the product because they like it so they might give it a try themselves. Negative effects of this advertising technique could be a negative representation of the product because anyone can give their personal opinions therefore downgrading the product.

  10. What we’re observing is an infiltration of marketing controlled advertising into what’s largely been known as an independent non-market controlled channel of advertising e/g “word of mouth”. This growing trend shows us the ever growing challenges faced by marketers trying to sell products/services to an ever growing skeptical consumer. Although this tactic isn’t illegal some may wonder if it’s an ethical practice because it blurs the lines between 3rd party reviews and market controlled advertisements, we no longer have to watch a commercial or view a print ad to be experiencing marketing at work. Whenever we view a celebrity or pro athlete on camera during interviews and press conferences more often than not we will see some type of subtle or not so subtle product placement in their immediate vicinity. An example of this was a Monday Night Football postgame interview with Carolina Panther’s QB Cam Newton who was giving an interview from in front of his locker, behind him was a bottle of Gatorade with the label in perfect view of the cameras and a Gatorade braded towel was draped over his shoulders. Without even mentioning the drink Cam Newton was promoting it on behalf of Gatorade and reaching the hundreds of thousands to millions of people who were viewing the interview. Subtle advertising that doesn’t really feel like an advertisement because of the natural setting. We must realize the climate of modern day marketing and understand that at any given moment we’re consuming media or walking out in the public that we’re being subjected to advertising.

  11. I think word of mouth is one of the most effective marketing schemes, especially among the younger generation. With the help of social media it is easy for companies to create an image for a product and make it seem desirable to society. When we here our friends or peers like a product we may be more inclined to use the product, considering we trust our friend’s opinions for the most part. One of my coworkers did something similar to this case. He was paid to place a decal on his car for a certain product.

  12. While I don’t recall the name of the company, or the nature of the product, I was approached on campus to work via WOM advertising. It was from a student that was in two of my other classes. He approached me trying to get me to sign on to a company he worked for that would have me promoting their products to my peers here on campus. Then he went on to tell me about what the product was and what they did. I didn’t pay much attention to it because I wanted nothing to do with it, and the way he was describing it made it sound a bit like a pyramid scheme. There are some risks and benefits to advertising in this manner. Some benefits for advertisers is marketing the product to a younger audience through influence leaders, who will influence their peers into buying the product by making it appear cool. This may also be beneficial since advertisers are certain people are being reached as opposed to other means of advertising. It is also likely to be far less expensive for advertisers. Some risks include the WOM advertiser not holding their end of the bargain and not doing as much as they claim, and representing the product in way that may not appeal to everyone, or may turn people away.

  13. This is probably the oldest form of advertising in the book. As a blogger, once I was of legal age I was bombarded with emails/mail from PR representatives requesting that I advertise their product or brand on my blog in exchange for compensation or the product itself (sometimes both). I like to call this cheap advertising. Some companies if not most go looking out for normal people like you and I who may have an audience whether it’s through blogging or social media. Typically that’s used to an advantage for brands to promote their product without the hefty price tag as if they were to turn to a popular magazine or claim a spot on television. Being a “Word of Mouth” advertiser myself, it doesn’t make me feel like a monster. I believe it depends on who you are and if you would let compensation or brands change that about you. For example, my first “word of mouth” advertisement was for the brand U by Kotex (most ladies would know this company) and my “campaign or sponsored post” was called “#SavetheUndies. Having an audience of thousands of people I felt a bit special being paid to promote a popular company to share with others but I wasn’t going to let that change my feelings towards the product. If I didn’t like it, then albeit. I usually find a positive in anything however, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to completely change my opinion because I believe in honesty. It all comes down to the fact that it’s my blog and these are my readers. I stay in character and I don’t change who I am for a company or compensation. Now I can’t say that about everyone, so there are risks that someone may be letting compensation get to their head. I take blogging seriously and I find “Word of Mouth” advertising to be effective when you’re portrayed as just being you rather than being a sponsor.

  14. Now that I have read this it shows that there could be so many things that are just advertising. It kind of reminds me of the matrix movie, at the beginning you are unaware that the world we live in is fake. This deals with this type of advertising because we can look at someone and not know if they are just drinking something to enjoy it or to advertise it. When it comes down to it they are also advertising the product without even thinking about it. When you pick a drink to the store you are not only picking something you enjoy but something to show everyone else how good it is.

    A way of this advertising i see all of the time would have to be when people put stickers of products on their cars. this can also deal with company cars. When I am on the road I always see cars that have stickers to sports teams. This is advertising to people that sports team in a very fast and effective way. You are supporting your team, i know, but it is also advertising to maybe watch them play or buy their products. This type of advertising is sort of scary to think we can never know whats fake and whats reality, however it is a very good way to advertise.

  15. I have personally experienced WOM advertising at work. I am a sales associate at T-mobile and we always have a demo for products on display to show our customers the product. One of our latest products that we show are Tone Headphones. The are bluetooth headphones that you wear around your neck and the ear buds are magnetic so you can store them when you aren’t using them. Anytime a customer notices that I’m wearing them they ask about the headphones. After they try them on they love them and end up buying pair for either themselves or someone else. Many people have also come into the store looking for the headphones because they’ve seen others wearing them. I believe that because we are showcasing the product by wearing them people can see how portable and convenient the headphones are and they’ll want the product too. Some people may not like wearing this device around their neck or a sales rep may have negative feelings toward the product when talking about the headphones which could be a risk to the sales of the product.

  16. Advertising has really advanced and revolutionized the way we as consumers discover, decide, learn, and buy products due to there being so much of it in almost everything we do. Seeing or hearing advertisements had become a daily task that, like Professor E said, you are sometimes unaware that a product is being promoted to you. In this blog it talks about the most effective in my opinion which is, “Word of Mouth.” This type of advertising is popular with all generations and genders due to society wanting to have the next big thing or fitting in on the conversation by having the same product or seeing that great movie. Word of mouth advertisements are sneaky because a group of friends could be having a regular conversation and then “BAM” you start talking about how that new Chik-fil-a opened up in town. This my friends is effective and has benefits because who better do you trust than the information about Chik-fil-a or another store/product? Another example of word of mouth advertising that can be effective is a person’s opinion on a movie. Obviously if a person walks up to and you are talking about a movie that they have seen but you have not you wonder what they thought about it. When they tell you if it was good or bad it makes you think “well so and so said that it wasn’t that great of a movie” or “they told me it was an awesome movie that I have to go see.” This is what creates the consumer get an outlook on if they should buy or consume the product. This however has its risks because when advertising you want everything to be positive about the product but with word of mouth some negative information can be spilt. Which by this being an issue will make them instead of buying, they may refuse to buy it. Either way “Word of Mouth” advertising is just like any other advertising where it can be good or bad but keep in mind it is still the most effective, especially in todays society.

  17. I have a couple of buddies who are involved in an organic energy drink called emma that is strictly word to mouth advertising. Because this company doesn’t put their product in stores or on billboards or in commercials, the owner of this company is able to give the money that business owners would normally spend on advertising, to the people who advertise the product for him, via word to mouth. Instead of blowing millions of dollars on fancy commercials or product placement, this company is able to generate a large population of friends and families to do its bidding for them, which in turn makes the company more approachable, and more intriguing. And also, when you have a good product, how can someone refuse? I think that word to mouth advertising is very beneficial because it is a lot easier for a human being to trust another human being than a world wide advertising scheme. Us as humans are drawn to relationships and the people that we love and i’d like to be sold on a product by a good friend then a commercial any day.

  18. I heard a lot about advertising this way where students just go about there normal day but carry around a product and get paid for advertising it. Of course it is a product that makes the school money they will do anything to get paid. I just dont believe its always as healthy as they try to make it seem. I have be at athletic events where all they want you to do is be seen with a product in your hand because everyone from your region that is following and supporting you will see and its almost like free advertising.

  19. I have never personally experienced someone trying to advertise me an energy drink because I don’t drink them. If someone tried to sell me a product that I used on an everyday basis I would be tempted to buy the product. I have seen this kind of advertising happen on a friend before with Red Bull. When that product brings their Red Bull truck out to give people free samples untimely hoping they will like it so much that they decide to buy it based on the sample they had. I don’t think there is a risk in this type of advertising. i honestly think its a smart way to get the college students since there is a large population of them. they stay up late hours and have early classes so this drink would appeal to most of them. Making the energy drink company a lot of money.

  20. The idea of this concept of this advertisement is incredibly smart and I actually heard about a student doing the same thing, or maybe is this particular student mention here. However, one thing we need to take under consideration is understanding what others might think of an idea like this. Maybe other people would think it affect some way in shape or form. We are surrounded by ideas of advertisement and our attention is dragged towards that advertisement/theme/idea/item. In my perspective, I think what really catches someone’s attention is seeing something that is extraordinary or it basically is beneficial finally, sometimes for making life a bit easier. We all use WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) in our regular daily basis without even knowing. Such posting status, comments, or videos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media related websites. I do think we should continue using WOMMA because it’s an idea where it is not focused on money, however it is focused on the idea of spreading that theme someone is trying to spread out, whether that individual uses any concept of media. In this case, such as radio, television, magazines, newspapers, ect. At the same let’s keep in mind when it comes to advertisement competition can also to place. This is also known as client conflicts.

  21. I think it is crazy that some people can make so much money off of selling energy drinks, although I have been asked to buy energy drinks and other products. People want to be apart of the buzz and want to feel apart of something. If people see something that is trending which in this case is energy drinks then they are going to want to try it out. If the person who is selling the product and he’d getting a lot of good feed back from it then people will continue to buy the drinks. Also, he is selling his drinks by word of mouth. He is telling someone that the drink is good and giving the customer all this positive feedback of the drink. The seller has done his job if he has convinced the customer to buy it without even trying the product. I think that “word of mouth” marketing is a good way of marketing and it could be difficult. If someone could can do it then they are good marketers.

  22. This is very interesting. I have heard of this type of advertising before. Now that there is social media it is much easier for companies to pay people simply by having them post the company on their Facebook or twitter page. I had a friend who once did this.

  23. I have been offered an every drink substance before, the only thing is that is wasn’t anything like this. It was called Veema and Verve. Basically how you get sucked into it is that it is a “healthy” energy drink with all your daily vitamins and stuff. But I think that doing this can be a great way to earn money. A buddy of mine that did Veema and Verve gets paid an extra $200 a monthly because he has signed up so many people, and if he keeps going he has the potential to win a lot of prizes such as, as BMW, TV, and a bunch of other cool things.

  24. By the way, this “Junkbox6” username that commented a few minutes ago is me, Isaac Cobbs. I just have a wordpress account signed in here.

  25. I have had encounters with people trying to sell me energy drinks and other products. the latest incident was a vendor selling a drink called zippvizz. It was a powder that you pour into water. the vendor was permitted to sell at my job and before long I noticed a number of customers drinking zippvizz along with a few of my co-workers. whenever I judge a form of advertising I try to consider how effective it is at selling the product. I had my own bias when it came to the vendor at my job but to my surprise he did pretty well using the word of mouth method.

  26. I can think of several brands of different products that I have seen viral that convinced me to follow. I remember a few years back, when my peers started wearing plugs in their ears. I eventually wanted to be cool and tried it, but it didn’t work because my ears had already closed up after taking off my studs. As far as brands go, I saw so many people wear Osiris high top shoes, which inspired me to get my Nike high tops. These trends make it so that one could be convinced of how to be cool for the time being. In ways, following these trends make it so that someone can have their 15 seconds of fame, which can be cool. However, the more people follow these trends, the more “trendy” they’ll be characterized as, which is how they try to fit into different cultures other than their own.

  27. I was invited to a football magazine shoot for high school football athletes and at the camp the main advertiser was Red Bull and literally they were handing the cans out by the caseload. This form of advertising is risky not for the companies sake, but for the young people who think energy drinks are positive for one’s health benefits. Looking back it’s clear to me that the objective of this advertising was for all of us athletes to go back to our respective schools and show off the product we were given for free to then pay the company back by advertising for free.

  28. When i go to football games here on campus i have seen people trying to sell/promote energy drinks as you approach the gate. When they stopped you they offered a free sample and explained that it will not make you jittery. After that they through out a line that made me consider in the future buying an energy drink. the said “this will come in hand during finals week”. This was directly targeted to everyone who knew the were going to lose sleep during this time , which was a great sales promotion.

    With the person always having an energy drink would not make me want to buy one simply because we are exposed to that kind of advertising all the time and it never registers to me that i need to get that item because i see someone else has one.

  29. I’ve seen WOM advertising before, but not on a massive scale. It was for an energy shot, I forget the name (think a 5 Hour Energy knockoff), but it was being advertised at a local paintball field. I hadn’t really seen people do something like that before, but I’ll admit it, I tried one since they were giving them out for free. I’m not sure how it really panned out since I don’t really remember the name or seeing it anywhere other than the field. However, giving the product out for free is a beneficial strategy to create new markets, with this example being a paintball field. It’s a good idea, yes. It spreads the name quickly But I consider it to be something that larger companies should do like Dakari said above, not small up-and-coming companies who could fail miserably with one wrong misstep. The whole idea of WOM advertising is just very risky to me at least, and should probably not be taken lightly.

  30. This is a form of advertising that will forever remind me of the movie “Meet the Joneses.” It is also a form of advertising that I have personally experienced a lot, seeing as my sister-in-law makes a living based off of it. Without Word of Mouth advertising, she would never be able to sell as many doTERRA oils as she does. In fact, just last night when she found out that I didn’t feel well, she had me try one of her throat drops in order for me to better bear witness to its effectiveness. I think that this form of advertising has been around longer than we realize because we have always looked to friends and people we trust in order to learn what products we should buy and what brands we should trust. However, it is just recently that marketers are beginning to realize that they can use this natural form of advertising to their benefit. This creates benefits and risks for the company that begins to use this form of advertising. “Meet the Joneses,” like I said, is the best example of this form of advertising in practice. In the movie, a group of people are hired to be a “family,” and to live in a rich suburban neighborhood. They receive free items from companies to show off to their surrounding neighbors, all of whom want to be like this “perfect family.” Throughout the movie, this form of advertising boosts the sales for all of the companies that are paying the Joneses to show off their products because all of the neighbors want what this family has, and are trying to compete. But, in the movie, the risks are also displayed because there are many ethical implications involved with this type of advertising. People are unaware that this is advertising that is being promoted by the companies themselves. They, therefore, don’t realize that this family can not even afford everything that they are receiving, and many go into extreme debt because they are trying to compete with their neighbors. I think that this shows that this form of advertising is more effective than more obvious forms of advertising. Companies should consider ethical implications, and the possible effects that this form of advertising can have on people before using it.

  31. I often see magazines write about specific products that they claim have “stood the test of time” or “beat out all other products in our tests” or other remarks. However, it’s difficult to know if they genuinely support those products or if they are being paid to sponsor them. I think the key here is transparency: since their intentions aren’t so clear, it could be considered a form of WOM advertising.

    WOM advertising can be beneficial to advertisers in that they can see quick, unskeptical results from those who trust the promoter; for example, if I heard a friend or family member recommend a product to me, I would trust them immediately. However, I think it has the definite drawback of easily being seen as dishonest or deceptive. It might not be considered “true” word of mouth since the promoter is being paid to endorse the product, and it could even be considered lying if the promoter doesn’t make their intentions clear.

  32. A similar product that I have encountered is a famous person on Facebook promoting a weight loss product to give her a amazing results after having a baby. The product was a drink/ shake that you drink as a meal replacement with barely any calories. You could get different things on this site that included pills to make your appetite decrease, burn calories, and ect. The good part about this is people see a celebrity use it so they automatically want to use it too, celebrities also bring the spot light to the product, and people will purchase the product just so they use what someone famous uses. The cons of a celebrity being the “face” of a product is people may not like that celebrity so they don’t want anything to do with the product. Another con is people may want a “real” person for the product instead of someone pretending to be in their shoes.

    I haven’t ever seen a person bring in a energy drink to promote it, the first time I’ve ever even heard of that is when you brought it up in class a long time ago so I cannot relate to this kind of promotion.

  33. I have seen a lot of products advertised like this. For a while a good friend of mine would get free drinks from this local company. I didn’t learn until later that he was being paid to give away these free drinks and constantly have on visible on his person.
    I think this type of word of mouth advertising can be very helpful to a product. I think you are much more likely to trust your peers instead of commercial adds. I also think this can be dangerous has well. With this type of advertising a lot can be done in secret out of the public eye.

  34. I knew someone who was sponsored by a clothing company and wore the clothes and brand logo around campus all the time. I think this kind of advertising is a creative way to market to a particular audience, especially a younger one and does so in a more subtle way that relies on peer influence. But this kind of advertising is tricky because it blurs the line between consumers and advertisers. It is at times hard to trust word of mouth opinions because a consumer might not know if the word of mouth is a true opinion or one that has been paid to be spread. Consumers have to be more aware of the prevalence of paid word of mouth advertising and how it can potentially influence them.

  35. There was this guy in my biology class last year who would always bring rock stars, and I would always bring red bulls. One day he told me that I should try the rock star its better so i finally did and i got pretty addicted. He was probably advertising to me the whole time and I didnt even realize but it worked. I think with this form of advertising there are many benefits because people are more willing to buy something they see someone else have because they assume it must be good. People are also more persuaded by another person opposed to TV advertisement. I think that this form of advertisement can be a risk only if its advertised in the wrong environments were energy drinks arent needed. Or it could be a risk if it simply doesnt attract people seeing someone else with something, some people stick to the things they know and like and arent willing to try something new just because they see someone else with it.

  36. I have seen many products advertised in various places and this includes social media, when playing a game on your phone, and watching t.v. I say the most effective way is when you engage with someone and discuss where they got that product from. I know for me it’s shoes and when I notice something new on someones feet i need to ask where they got it from, how does it feel, do you think you could have gotten an better pair, etc. I just think people would rather talk about a product oppose to listening about it on t.v or the radio because its more of a reliable source and when you look at it, it’s a “Walking pop up or add”.

  37. I’ve never really experienced word of mouth advertising in this sense, or at least, not that I’m aware of. I’ve heard a lot of buzz advertising around a product, but never by somebody that was actually being paid or commissioned to promote said product in person. However, I have seen several “unboxings” and reviews on popular blogs as well as YouTube that have been commissioned as word of mouth advertisements. The benefits of this advertising is that it is able to hit home more. A close friend or trusted person could persuade their peers to purchase a product much easier through their word, rather than a blatant advertisement’s. In this way a product or service could more easily penetrate a closed group, and maybe even eventually become a household name. However, there are risks with this in that people might actually not be representing the product in a good light at all. They could just make the whole process backfire by not ‘selling’ the product. This creates a problem too, because if somebody held in high regard explains their dislike of your product, everybody close to them, or that looks up to them, may never try your product at all.

  38. I personally have never seen this sort of advertising around in real life, but it’s easy to see its presence on the internet. As mentioned in the blog,there are a multitude of bloggers out there that subtly boost certain products out of seemingly nowhere. I don’t necessarily follow any blogger specifically but it’s not uncommon to come across some posting the amazing new abilities of this brand new energy drink or the greatness of this new site. Suspiciously every time I go and read the post they don’t seem so popular among their regular followers.

    This new way of advertising has very apparent benefits seeing as it is built around the idea of a casual promotion, almost like feigning natural occurrence. Even if someone knows that it’s scheme there is still an air of interest that is inherently present just by the product’s appearance in a relatively natural setting. The biggest downfall I foresee is over-saturation if this trend continues to grow as it has. There already are some signs of over-saturation as I pointed out the unpopularity of the blog post seeming quite immediate. If we start seeing people around campus take up a new drink or product suddenly and just carry it around how effective will it really be? If people know there is no genuine purpose behind carrying around the product why would they give a second glance when people do something like this for money? Ironically word of mouth about the scheme could end up killing WoM advertising.

  39. I remember in high school there was a guy that worked for Rockstar Energy Drinks and he drove a van to school every day that was covered in the Rockstar logo and he pretty much always had a Rockstar on him. I’ve also encountered some WOM advertising with MaryKay and Avon representatives. I definitely admire their persistence because I’m the type of person to always avoid them. I don’t think anyone really enjoys feeling like someone is trying to “sell” us something. But I suppose if someone was really good with WOM you wouldn’t even realize that they are subliminally persuading you to buy their product. I think that’s what defines the difference between a salesman and an advertiser. One benefit to this type of advertising is that if a person is truly good at it then people won’t notice they are being advertised to and they will probably take the bait and buy what they are advertising for. One disadvantage is that some people might not take that person seriously in any situation and just think they are always trying to sell something to them and they can be deemed untrustworthy.

  40. Word of mouth advertising works very well. I’m not surprised that it occurs on campus where there is a very high volume of people that do speak to each other throughout the day. Personally I was supposed to work for a knife company that went house to house and gain customers through word of mouth. The current customer would refer other people for us to show product to. It works in the sense that every one does talk to each other about things they like and use. The con is also people are able to speak negative about your product with out others knowing about it. If the product is word of mouth there is no other advertising to promote it to be bought. With no other advertising a product that has a negative word of mouth has a larger negative impact on sales. Overall word of mouth marketing works and has been used for years.

  41. Monster has been greatly advertised, that I have noticed. Word of mouth advertising is very beneficial to any kind of product. I have noticed that with Monster, though with the people I know, has a greater impact. When I hear a person talking about Monster energy drinks there is always another person in the conversation that ends up saying, “I really want one now, I’m going to go buy one!” This kind of advertising can have risks though. When the conversation is bad about a product then it makes people not want to buy it.

  42. Though I might not be aware any of this type of advertisement has happened to me, I have seen a lot of students, especially athletes, carrying some sort of branding merchandise with them as they walk around the campus. Energy drink might be a small fraction of a larger scheme, I’ve seen a lot of protein drinks for athletes. Most of the time I refuse to accept free trial product simply because I can’t accept myself being seen as a rat being tested on, and as a product being sold. A lot of people have the tendency to accept free gifts without a second thought of being a live advertisement, or just don’t care – anything free is good, right?

  43. When advertising by word of mouth it can go both ways. It all depends on who is advertising it. You want to have someone who is not only a social light but also gets along with everyone, knows a lot of people, and is someone who people look up to and trust. This system does have its ups and downs. In college my freshman year these junior girls were selling pure vida bracelets they helped save animals all over the worlds. They weren’t the cutest bracelets but these two girls who were selling them were older, pretty, could talk to anyone boy and girl, and was easy to talk to so of course I purchased one of the bracelets then I told my two girl friends and they bought one. This all happened through word of mouth. If your good at persuading people then this is a good advertising business to get into.

  44. Something noticeably advertised everyday on campus, is drink refreshments. Everyday as I walk to class and pass the OUC/cafe I notice significantly large posters of drink refreshments posted on the walls of the cafe. This method of advertising is used effectively because not only does it grab my attention , but clearly makes me want whatever drink is being advertised. Some of the benefits of advertising like this means less work in sale negotiations and time free work(Not actually doing anything). A risk associated with this form of advertising would be possibly losing customers because we actually don’t know how effective whatever poster being hung up really is, In some cases it depends on the product and the name(pepsi,cola..etc) and some cases timing as well( winter,summer,spring,fall). Wouldnt want to see a nice cold pepsi hanging up when its 10 degrees outside.

  45. I have noticed a few people around campus walking around with the energy drink XS, and if you ask them about it, more often then not they are selling the product, or they work for the company. As strange as it is I kind of think this is a good thing, there are many benefits that come from word of mouth advertising. Word of mouth advertising can really help smaller companies to get their start. That often seems to be the way it works with even stores around the country, one person tells their friend to go, and before you know it everyone is going. No one forces you to try the energy drink, they are just advertising one brand. I really think that this could be a good way for these people to get business.

  46. An experience that I had that relates to word of mouth advertising was in high school. A student was starting a new clothing line of shirts and jackets and a way he advertised it was by wearing his products around school showing people that his products looked cool and creative. Through this advertising he got other students to model his clothing so that the word would spread even further. Eventually he grew a successful clothing line and he even got an award for being a student and starting a business. That all started because of word of mouth advertising, which proved to be a very effective form of advertising. But there was a risk that if the product was of not good quality then word would have spread and his business would not have been very successful.

  47. I think this concept is genius!WOM advertising has been around for years, this is what I listen to. I trust the personal opinion of my “friends” it can be the same ask asking someone’s opinion of a class what they say may influence your action. The benefits of this approach can make a person feel comfortable and not like they are being sold something, words spoken can stick better than written on a page. The down falls to this strategy could be that a person might not pay attention to the signals or WOM and then it would have no effect on them. Also what if someone didnt like the product. If a person likes something they would go on to tell a couple of people, but if something displeases them then a larger audience will be covered. I do think this method is effective!

  48. Products that I have often observed being marketed through WoM Advertising are smartphones and digital cameras.The benefits of WoM Advertising are obvious, if someone you are familiar with such as a co-worker, neighbor, or friend, then you will likely be more willing to listen to what they have to say about a product or service rather than listening to a TV ad, or a representative of the company whom you are not familiar with; you are also more likely to trust someone you are familiar with and thus more apt to purchase the product or service. At the same time, if the WoM Advertiser has a bad or untrustworthy background or reputation that the company who hired them does not know about, then it reverses the effect, repelling those close to them who have witnessed first-hand their untrustworthy behavior or actions and therefore repelling business from the company.

  49. This for of advertising is incredibly clever, but nothing new. Word of mouth is probably the oldest form of advertising that exists. People are always asking friends and family member’s opinion’s on a product or service before they purchase it. Anything from cars to movies to hairstylists to restaurants. The most obvious risk I can think of coming from entire companies employing this method would simply be the planting of a ‘reliable advertiser’ in social situations where the consumer is unaware of their purpose, creating literal walking pop up ads.

  50. People use word of mouth advertising all the time, even if they’re not directly making money from it. I use my personal Facebook page to promote the restaurant I work at all the time. A FB friend of mine uses his page to talk about deals he can offer at the car dealership he works for. One one hand, it does make it hard to ever take a recommendation seriously, because people promoting the business are still trying to make money. People will always question any good review if they think that person has been monetarily compensated at all – that’s why so many people use Yelp. It’s unfortunate for businesses, though, because people tend to not question negative reviews as much. Relying on word of mouth is very risky, because bad reviews are more believable and more likely to be spread.

  51. I have witnessed some WOM advertising. It was someone advertising Red Bull in an automobile that looked like a Red Bull can (pretty sweet). They were driving around and handing out free drinks. That was the first time I had seen something like that and I thought it fairly clever. One could benefit from that from of advertising by allowing the name of the product to be put out there for many to see. A flaw of this system is that if advertisers are handing out free supply/product, people will accept the “gift,” but they may not go actually purchase the product. It is like they are just giving money away. However, some companies are capable of doing things like that, considering how successful they may be.

  52. In high school, two of my friends were promoting this energy drink by bringing it to school every day. They did not just leave it on there desk but they drank it every morning and every afternoon. When i had asked them about it, they actually said it tasted pretty good and they felt like it helped them get through the day. I did not feel obligated to try it, however, most of my classmates ended up trying it and becoming involved in advertising it as well. Some benefits to this form of advertising are that many college students feel the need to drink energy drinks, making this a good environment to advertise in. Also, when seeing a product everywhere, some people may feel as if they have to try it because it is getting so popular. However, some risks would be that, considering the price of energy drinks, most college students do not want to spend that much money on a drink to help them stay awake when coffee is more accessible and cheaper to them on campus.

  53. I have been pursued in buying energy drinks and was also asked to help promote an certain energy drink that i dont remember the name of. I think it s ok to promote it it an entrepreneurial idea which this great country is lacking.

  54. I am not easily persuaded by word of mouth advertisement whether or not the person giving the sales pitch is getting paid for it doesn’t really matter to me, because living in poverty does not afford me the opportunity to just go out and buy something because someone reccomends it. To me survival is the name of the game, I can’t afford to buy something just because somebody reccomends that I try it, if I were to do that I wouldn’t have enough money left over to feed myself for the last ten days or so each month. This way of advertising might work on some people usually those who have sufficient funds to sustain themselves without going broke each month, but for me I can’t afford to throw away my money on something i don’t really need.

  55. Society is to the point were the truth becomes a lie, and a lie becomes the truth. Its a sad fact that now you cant even buy a product without somone getting payed for it, making there opion of that product completly biased. And because of this, the compays themselves are made out to be selfish, and out for one thing your money.

  56. This article shows only one thing that word of mouth can no longer be trusted. As anyone might have gotten paid to try to hype up a product for the purpose of advertisement so each person should consider if there is really a difference in products or do personal research to find out about products. Or the fastest option would be to omit they don’t care and go with whatever they grab first and not complain later. Advertisement is everywhere so each person should consider things for themselves and take all reports with a grain of salt. Though word of mouth is still considered the best way to learn about a product and its effects.

  57. I think that using the word of mouth technique is probably one of the most effective marketing strategies that company like the energy drink companies can use. I feel this way because for the most part appetite appeals, which means if a person sees another person eating or drinking something that smells good or may taste, they are likely to go out and purchase the same thing. You could honestly say that America is very gullible and naive, because most of us are doing what the next person is doing instead of exploring for ourselves. I guess only time will tell as to whether or not advertising by word of mouth has an influence on the society, but one thing is for sure, and that is that word of mouth advertising or not people will most likely continue to drink energy drinks.

  58. It’s amazing and disgusting, what things are coming to. We are a country of consumers. We consume everything and have little sense of responsibility for our actions. It’s going to be like Wall-e in the future, for sure. A bunch of globs floating around in little carts buying things with the touch of a button as soon as they are released, because it’s what’s cool. I honestly don’t think it will be that bad, but when I read things like this blog I get a little annoyed. It bothers me that people are so susceptible to this kind of advertising. But, advertising is now part of our culture. And advertisers put a lot of money into finding out how people think and what people do. It’s all a part of their schemes… like product placement in movies.

  59. What a buzz killer! To think I just bought the drinks because they “energized” me for the next five (5) hours. Actually WOMMA does work in an advertising campaign. Recently I promoted an upcoming event for Pueblo. I took advertising, both in the paper and radio, and got positive feed back on my website. After the intial push, I decided to use the “viral” technique and I doubled my result. Actually, I’m still getting questions about my event and it’s been over for three (3) months! Hey, maybe I could someone to tatoo it on their forehead next time like the guy in Seattle for that coffee company!

  60. How do I get in on this deal. To Think I have been drinking energy drinks for years and could have been paid for it. I truly love that advertisers are finding new ways to get their product out there. The more creative they become the better. How long before the “hot girl” in your chemistry class starts selling ad space on her body. We all look at her so why not patch her up like a NASCAR jacket with small ads geared towards college students. For that matter why not give her a shirt that says “imagine the possibilities” sponsored by Viagra.
    Some people will argue that advertisers are finding new ways to manipulate the public and that is wrong. I say if you are not smart enough to avoid the message then at least be mindful enough to not fall for it, unless you need Viagra.

  61. It doesn’t surprise me that a company would hire a student to secretly promote their product. It makes you wonder though how far companies will go. Will they soon be paying kindergardeners candy to promote their shoes or jackets. It is evident that Word of Mouth promotion is very effective. I know that I learn about most products from my friends talking about them, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. It might not be the most expensive or largest type of advertising, but it definately is one that works. I just fear that one day companies will take it too far. I’m not sure if advertising in schools is such a great thing. It might become more important to students and will start to take away from their eduation.

  62. I think that you bring up some interesting points in this article. It really makes me think about the future of marketing in the US and around the world. I believe that Word Of Mouth is a great form of advertising, and having the drink present in classes is a huge benefit to the company. But where does it stop? I am not sure that advertising should be allowed in the school setting. What if the companies incorporate this into high schools? If this type of advertising starts getting used more often in school it will start to affect our quality of education. The US is already behind many countries in education; this could potentially lead to an even worse education rating. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a very effective method to raise awareness of a product, I just don’t think that school is an appropriate setting.

  63. I believe that is an outstanding way for someone to market their material. What better way to get a product out there but by word of mouth. Everyone is always looking to try something new and when they see this new product it wouldn’t be suprising if they went to the gas station and picked up a can for themselves. Especially if this energy drink tastes great and gives the energy necessary for a college student to withstand a late night studying.

  64. At the university level i feel that it is a good marketing tool to have peers sell the product by word of mouth. who better than your friend , or some one who is going through the same problem, to tell you that the product is good. it a easy way for college students to raise money and you get to drink you fav enegry drink

  65. I loved reading this because one of my friends, in MCCNM, would have a Monster drink every single class. Now of course I would constantly tell him that not only was he wasting his money but he was going to die from drinking so many of them (probably not true, I was just trying to scare him). Although I was telling him this literally every time he had one, inside I was thinking that maybe it would be pretty nice to have one of those, as I am often very tired in class from staying up and doing homework. It’s crazy how even something that simple can be advertising, and Monster didn’t even have to pay! I think he should go talk to Monster and make some money!

  66. Word of mouth is a good way to show people some product. People just walk around all day with brand name clothing on. If they are drinking some kind of drink they are selling you that drink to you. If i got paid to walk around and promote items i would do it in no time.

    Nate Lawrence

  67. Word of mouth is an incredibly powerful tool. From promotion of energy drinks, to bands, website, and everything else out there. A huge way to spread the word, is from friend to friend and person to person. I know for a fact that word of mouth is a great way to promote. From a website that spread through my senior class last year after one kid got an awesome deal on a hoodie, to knowing that if i were to see an unopened can of Red Bull on somebodys desk, cool and frosty with a little condensation on it…. i would almost certainly go get one. Just talking about it now makes one sound delicious.

    Seeing somebody else with something you want is a great way for companies to sell their merchandise, and it is definitely a new marketing strategy, that is being utilized now more than ever, even though word of mouth ahs been around for a long time. Viral marketing is definitely an extremely useful tool.

  68. I found this post to be quite surprising. I was amazed to find that advertising can be done in such a simple but powerful way. For college students I think it is a pretty ingenious way to make money. It is a very powerful approach to selling a product yet does not feel intrusive. This does make you look twice the next time you see someone who has an energy drink

    Molly Cotner

  69. I believe that word of the mouth promoting is one of the most affective ways. For an example, if there is a movie i want to see but the ratings online are low i would ask my friends if they saw it or what they heard about the movie. I would trust their opinions on the movie more likely.

    Promoting an item the same way the student did with the energy drink is also a very affective way. If you were sitting in class and the student next to you had a bottle of coca-cola sitting on his desk, that would get you to think about wanting to buy one after class. There are many examples of these kinds of promotions. In the movie Sex and the City Carrie’s assistant gets her a new cell phone and in the movie they show the Sprint bag. This is a way of Sprint saying, “Come buy a Sprint phone because the actors on Sex and the City use it.”

    In my opinion this is one of the best ways to promote because we see other people with a product and think that they enjoy it so maybe i will.

  70. adidas. all day i dream of stoner(4 da ladies)
    I recently went to a friends blog and came across a video that I believe is a perfect example of viral advertising. I found myself captivated at first by a graffiti artist who is explaining to his audience how he creates his different art pieces. The video is informative as well as feeding into the “cool” factor. As the video progresses we start to see that the art the artist is creating is actually an ad for Adidas.
    Why did this work for this particular video to go viral? Everyday people are trying to make their products and videos go viral…whether through youtube or myspace. What makes one stand out from the other I believe is quality and subject matter. In the case of this video they obviously had the funds behind them to make an excellent quality ad. The subject matter is instantly grabbing. People want to learn how the art is created and want to see the outcome. It also gives the viewer a quick look into a micro-culture it may have previously been interested in.

  71. This just shows that advertising is everywhere. In class when we were talking about advertising you gave all the examples of snob appeal or celebrities and I think this is along those lines. People just like you and me can influence us withouot even knowing.

  72. This is just one more example of how today we cannot escape marketing. It is all around us, all the time. Like we talked about in class, we see brands around 5000 times a day. And now we may not even realize it is happening. When someone you know starts talking to you about a product, you probably aren’t expecting them to be paid for doing so. It just shows how marketers and advertisers are trying to bombard us with ads all the time. They are thinking of any and every way they can to get their brand exposure. This type of marketing is probably effective, since people may trust someone and not realize they are being paid to try and sell a product. Word of mouth advertising is very effective, so it is smart for companies to try and use this method of advertising.

  73. I think word of mouth advertising is effective on only certain people. It goes hand in hand with the bandwagon effect i think. If some “Word of mouth advertiser” gets one person to user their product, that person then might get someone else, and so on. Soon it seems like everyone is using a particular product. People start to feel left behind because they don’t have the “best.” Now in the case of energy drinks, this might be a bit over the top. But, I have to say that I also might have seen this energy drink advertising around campus and in the classrooms. Every time I go to one of my classes, I see this one person carrying the same energy drink into class. This person never opens it or drinks it. It is just placed on the desk in front of them so all could see. On a couple of occasions this person gave their energy drink to the students in the class. I always found this odd, but it is starting to make sense. I said that this form of advertising works could work on some, but I would have to imagine it doesn’t get the majority. I myself am not going to be persuaded to try something simply because “some person” is telling my too. I need some kind of trust or prior relationship/knowledge of quality.

  74. actually that does indeed surprise me. He actually get paid to do that, I wish someone would pay me to advertise there product. a simple task like that probably makes his job well worth it. me personally I probably couldn’t advertise something that I didn’t support, so maybe that wouldn’t be the best job for me. energy drinks use to be my thing. I drank like two or three throughout my lifetime. I don’t like how they make you feel after your done drinking it. I guess you would call that the “down” stage, “what goes up must come down” right. it gives you energy but makes you crash at the same time. the quality of the product is really good. lately it’s been on TV because it’s know to make people crash and feel tired. which really isn’t the purpose on to why people drink the drink in the first place. I don’t see the product staying around for long at all.

  75. Why do we promote a product? To build a reputation that leads to behavior of consumers buying a product. It is crazy to see how far companies will go to promote, but this viral advertising works. Skepticism plays a role into any product. What is a powerful influence to consumers buying a product? Word of mouth by a trusted source is the most powerful influence. Trusted source is the key word when it comes to word of mouth advertising. It could be a problem if the person promoting the product has a bad reputation. But, if one of my friends said something good to me about the product, I would be willing to try it. Aside from purchasing the product, the article caught my attention for a job opportunity. It would be a good way to earn money, but the only way it would make the work worth while would be to have an interest in the product itself. That or just be really desperate for money.

  76. Word of mouth is the most popular form of advertising. who is someone more willing to blindly believe, someone in a suit with a poster telling you all the wonders of the product, or just some regular person you see everyday who is seemingly just sharing his/her opinion? most people trust the latter because of the context it’s presented in. Advertising companies are smart and that means the consumer just needs to be aware and hopefully make their own decisions. whether those decisions are affected or not, well they most likely are, but thats a capitalist nation for you i guess.

  77. About 3 semesters ago I had a professor that always brought a Monster energy drink to class. He would show up about 3 minutes late, after all the students were already in their seats, with a Monster. He was constantly talking about his Monster and why his doctor told him to start drinking it and stop drinking Mountain Due. He was an economics professor and every example he did in lecture was always dealing with Monster.

    I never put 2 and 2 together, but I am now wondering if he was a paid promoter because he promoted Monster every single class. Even if he wasn’t, word of mouth is the most effective advertising. I had never even heard of Monster before I had that class. Now everytime I go to the store it sticks out to me right away and I am always reminded of what the prof use to say about it.

    There is no better advertising than that.

  78. In all honesty I feel being a word of mouth adviser is not someone I would say I could trust. At the end of the day I think they are just concerned about getting paid. In addition to that I think that there ethics is not up to par just in my book. I am just a person who doesn’t trust people. I feel like I would rather pay more for a product that I can trust and I have more research on. Most word of mouth advertising is by people with nothing to gain. Products and stores travel from person to person no matter what the pay or what the product. Companies have finally figured out that to keep people loyal, both consumer wise and opinion wise, all they have to do is spread a little money around. When it comes to advertising I am more of a billboard person or a person who see’s other doing it or wearing it. In all I think I question most things that deal with advertising. I don’t really trust what random people have to say to me. I would have to agree with the first person who left a comment on this page, loyalty is huge for me and having a random try to sell me a product just does float my boat.

  79. Well im going to start off by saying i dont drink energy drinks because they are very bad for you. but i think that want they are doing by having someone sell their product at schools. i figure they have to make their money some how and a lot of young adults drink energy drinks, so that was a very smart idea, but i would never do it. i know someone that drinks up to five energy drinks a day thats horrible, but they would profit alot off him. we discussed word of mouth advertising in class and how it affected people a lot. but the whole situation can be adown fall if the person the company hired doesnt know how display the product right.

  80. After reading this blog, I am actually really considering getting payed for blogging online. I mean to get payed for something this easy.. I did’nt believe it at first, but after going to the website and reading more about it, I’m seriously thinking about doing this. The internet is an intresting place and the way advertising is being intergraded with it is outstanding. What will they come up with next?

  81. I believe that as long as a person tries a product out before they promote, and is satisfied, it’s great that they help out the company that makes a quality product. But it’s the people who promote as many products that they can even if they hate it that rubs me the wrong way. Sales is survival of the fittest and if your product is less pricey than another or is better quality those are the ones that survive. But when there is false promotion it just messes up the sales “ecosystem”. Crummy products are bought over others because of some he said she said promotion. Products should be weighed on quality and price, not by what someone said.

  82. Maybe I take my reputation a little more seriously than some people. If I were to write a blog about a company and I was getting paid for it, would I still write if I was dis-satisfied?
    Probably not….I don’t think.
    OK, no I wouldn’t, but that is how television and radio stations have to think regularly. One great example of this is The Dave Ramsey Show. He has made it a point that he will only promote a company that he has actually looked into, or had positive interactions with. Granted, he gets paid for advertising, but so do those who do viral advertising through blogs, emails and even on campus.
    As for energy drinks, I actually started drinking my energy drink of choice because of negative publicity it got (Spike) and I have sent it to Missouri touting it’s effectiveness.
    I talk about my experiences with Home Depot and Lowes, both good and bad; and even how when one end screws up, how well does the corporation its self clean up the mess?
    You mean I could be getting paid to do this? Where do I sign up?

  83. Typically, when someone is in the market to buy a particular product, s/he will ask around amongst trusted friends, family members, etc. for their opinion on their experience with that product. Depending on the validity of the report given and the reporter (associate), it becomes very easy to make a decision as to whether that product is for you or not. Seldom do people take advice from complete strangers as to what to spend their money on, as word of mouth advertising relies almost solely on dependability.

    Questioning the ethical aspects of being hired by WOMMA or other word of mouth associations seems a bit drastic. From what I can tell, products being deliberately sold through word of mouth are products of little importance–energy drinks, arbitrary internet applications, etc. These products hardly have an adverse effect on our daily lives…so what if someone gets paid to push them? Call me heartless and immoral, but I wish I had their job. There would be a definite question of ethics if faulty doctors or lawyers were using this form of advertising, but until then, questioning the ulterior motives behind every minor discussion about products seems just a little bit paranoid to me.

  84. This article made me realize how companies would do anything to earn a buck. Although, i can say that if a company hired me to carry around their product and was paying me, i would do it in a heart beat. We discussed word of mouth advertising in class and how much of and impact it has on people. I think its a great way to get the product out their for the public to see in an everyday enviroment. Word of mouth could also not be so effective if the person displaying the product is not lliked by people, the the product could have a very negative effect.

  85. Word of mouth advertising is probably one of the most profitable forms of advertising. Each time a friend recommends something to you, it fits the category. I’ve talked to a few of those door-to-door vacumm cleaner salespeople and sometimes they have great personalities.

    A few weeks ago I was playing monopoly in the dorms and two women just walk up to me and my friends advertising Red Bull. What did they do to catch my interest? One free can of Red Bull per person. I had never tried Red Bull and probably wouldn’t pay to try one either. But now I know what it tastes like, I’m not completely sold on it though. But I’m sure those women found people who do enjoy Red Bull and reinforced their liking of the product.

  86. It is now clear that advertising is collectivley in every aspect of our day to day lives. With products being promoted on such a range of scales, it is hard to decipher between what is actually beneficial, and what is well marketed. The negative side to a companies sponsorship of an individual to sell their product is…. What if no one likes the person holiding the product. This could cause a negative response. I would hope they wouldn’t allow just anyone to promote their consumables. This would probably apply mostly to an overweight slob bringing a Big Mac to class, etc. However, even though viral advertising may have only a small impact on time of purchase decision, it shows how easily people will sell out in order to make a buck. In saying this, I would like to know where I could sign up as a viral advertiser. It sure seems painless and beats donating blood and other body fluids.

  87. “Word of Mouth” that is the oldest form of advertising. I do believe that it also works very well. Personally, I have owned my skateboard for about three years now and we have done nothing but word of mouth advertising and there is a definate growth due to the fact, but I disagree that it is affective unless certain attributes are taken into consideration. I have these beliefs from the experience I have had with it over the last three years.
    1. The advertiser/billboard for the product or company must be in an authorative position. For instance: If I had a average skateboarder riding my skateboards, compared to the better riders, I don’t think the word of mouth advertising would be as effective. In other words, I wouldn’t ever have a person without energy promote my drink, or have a person that is too wired, almost scary wired, promote it either which leads to number two.
    2. The advertiser/billboard for the product or company must have a good reputation. By this I mean, that they must have an influence, people must see good things out of the person. Most people will attach there wants and values to those with big, or good reputations. Also you wouldn’t want your company to have a bad reputation just because of one person.

    In closing I don’t believe that it is the best way for advertising, but it is definately an added bonus to a product to have this plus other forms of advertisement. I feel my company would be bigger today, if i had went with other forms of advertisement, but at least I am learning.

  88. Being a “Word of Mouth Advertiser” myself, I really do question any person who offers product advice or refers me to a company or business. Before I officially signed up to advertise and sell products, I was always referring people to businesses that “paid” me for the referral. Verizon Wireless gives $25 to any VZW customer who is named under the “How did you hear about us” section. Tupperware and Magic Chef have been invited into homes for years, maybe decades, in the hopes of marketing their products directly to consumers. How do they do it? They give a little back to the host or hostess of the party, depending on how much was sold. Avon and Kirby have been going door to door since the beginning of time. Advertising started on billboards and in magazines. Spokespeople were the next evolution in advertising and it has finally progressed to the smallest denomination of advertising, the consumer. Most word of mouth advertising is by people with nothing to gain. Products and stores travel from person to person no matter what the pay or what the product. Companies have finally figured out that to keep people loyal, both consumer wise and opinion wise, all they have to do is spread a little money around.

    Ethics can easily be compromised when money is involved, but I can safely say that I use every product and service that I promote. I don’t expect this from every salesperson. Imagine a used car salesman that used every product he or she promoted. It just wouldn’t pay. Now, think about a Wal-Mart employee who marks down a big rack of televisions or barbecue grills. Soon enough, most of the people that clerk talks to will hear about the steal deals and no matter what, those products will be sold. Who made the money? Not the clerk, Wal-Mart does not pay their employees to advertise.

    The way I see it, the only advertising the average consumer can trust is word of mouth from someone who actually uses the product. The only alternative to advertising is trial and error. Try every product until you either find the perfect product or discover that every brand is virtually the same. Companies want loyal customers. Their whole agenda is to create loyal blocks of consumers and the best way to make loyal consumers is to share the profits.

    I love capitalism.

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