International word-of-mouth media network BzzAgent, Inc., today announced top-line results from the 119 word-of-mouth programs it implemented in 2007. Registrations for the company’s campaigns topped 630.000 volunteers, whose unscripted conversations reached 34 million fellow consumers. This figure is up dramatically from last year’s 10.5 million conversations.
Three factors played large roles in this surge. An award-winning study conducted by Northeastern University determined that consumers who discover a product through word of mouth are likely to relay their opinions to an additional of 4.14 others. BzzAgent’s conversation total employs this new metric. Also contributing to the lift was BzzAgent’s successful expansion into the United Kingdom and throughout Canada. In fact, about 10 percent of the company’s campaigns were implemented outside of the United States and accounted for several million conversations. Lastly, the number of advertising and media buying agencies engaging BzzAgent community members is up sharply year-over-year. Twenty-three outside agencies developed word-of-mouth programs for the BzzAgent network in 2007. These media programs lead to 8.5 million conversations.
“Surpassing the 30-million-conversation milestone is exciting for BzzAgent,” said CEO Dave Balter. “But more exciting still is the knowledge that the number of Agents who have joined our programs is up 40 percent this year. This spike shows that programs are getting larger – and more frequent – as marketers discover that word of mouth scales like traditional forms of media.”
In late July, BzzAgent introduced the Frogpond®, a section of its Website where consumers can experience online properties and “Bzz” their friends electronically using a variety of social features. In approximately five months, more than 100 sites were featured in the Frogpond, which spawned more than 95,000 reviews and nearly 80,000 electronic referrals. “BzzAgent was once thought of as a destination for off-line word of mouth,” continued Balter. “But the Frogpond proves that if a product or service rises to the level of our Agents’ attention, they will talk about it … over every medium.”
BzzAgent hit another internal milestone in December. The company received its millionth Agent-submitted WOM narrative, called a BzzReport®. Close scrutiny of these reports, coupled with related internal research, has enabled BzzAgent to determine that each participant spends nearly six hours immersed with the brand in a given campaign and that the average length of an Agent’s conversation exceeds eight minutes. The company is currently exploring the relative value of each of these conversations.
About BzzAgent
BzzAgent, Inc. is an international word-of-mouth media network that helps companies to organize and manage honest, real-world conversations among everyday consumers. BzzAgent’s innovative process, platform and programs enable the acceleration and measurement of word of mouth as a marketing medium. BzzAgent’s clients generate awareness and shape perception about their products and services via the company’s growing community of 360,000 trained consumer volunteers. In 2007 alone, BzzAgent participants spread honest word of mouth to nearly 34 million consumers. For more information, on the company visit www.bzzagent.com or www.bzzagent.co.uk.