DM loves... word of mouth

We receive more than 3,000 messages a day that can influence how we spend our money or time and one way of directing the flow is via direct mail, explains Steve Barton, chief executive of marketing company Advokator and president of the Word of Mouth Association UK.

Word of mouth (WOM) has always existed but now advertisers like Procter & Gamble, Masterfoods and GlaxoSmithKline are using marketing investment to generate more word of mouth, faster and better. Many brands now deliver campaigns specifically designed to generate advocacy – for everything from snack food to home refurbishment.

A key role for direct mail in WOM marketing is its capacity to deliver detailed information that gets read, and is perceived as exclusive. That's where the conversation begins.

Dr Walter Carl of Northeastern University in Boston found that one unit of advocacy results in, on average, 62 conversations. So if you target 1,000 influencers with a campaign, you'll generate 62,000 conversations about your product or service. Few media can claim such an amplification rate.