Keller Fay Group Launches First Continuous Study of Offline and Online Word of Mouth in UK

LONDON, August 22, 2011 -

– Research shows over 90% of UK WOM is offline; under 10% is online –

The Keller Fay Group (www.kellerfay.com) today announced the launch of its TalkTrack® word of mouth measurement programme on an ongoing basis in the U.K.  Initial clients include Carat, Omnicom Media Group (OMD, PHD, Brand Science) and ESPN.

TalkTrack® is Britain’s first continuous study of consumer word of mouth across all channels (online and offline).  TalkTrack® will analyse more than 250,000 brand conversations annually across all major consumer categories.  Launched in the US in 2006, TalkTrack® is used by many leading brands, media agencies and media owners and is the basis for awards from ESOMAR, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA).

The UK launch follows a successful benchmark study in 2010, and a clear signal of interest in tracking word of mouth among UK agencies and brand owners.  Steve Thomson, UK MD of Keller Fay, said:
“The importance of word of mouth and its ability to drive sales and brand health have been proven many times. But to date, there has been no ongoing system for ‘listening’ to all brand-related conversations across all channels or one that is representative of the total population. TalkTrack® Britain fills that void, giving marketers a comprehensive snapshot of brand conversations and clear strategies for getting your brand talked about.”

Early results from the 2011 TalkTrack® Britain study show:

• The average British consumer discusses around 10 brands per day
• 81% of word of mouth takes place face-to-face, 10% is via phone, 9% is online (including e-mail, texting, and social networking sites)
• Around two-thirds of conversations about brands are “mostly positive,” with more than one-third of WOM with an active recommendation to buy or try a brand/product
• Food/dining and media/entertainment are the top two categories discussed by consumers

Mark Greenstreet, Joint MD of Aegis Media’s AEvolve Unit said:
“Carat is excited to be a launch supporter of the TalkTrack® initiative. It will provide us valuable Insight into how bought and owned communications drive the earned media of face to face conversations in addition to our existing online and mobile social media measurement tools.”

Philippa Brown,  CEO of Omnicom Media Group, UK said:
“Keller Fay’s TalkTrack® will provide a bridge between holistic brand level tracking data and more granular (but online only) social listening data. This will allow OMG agencies to develop ways to create, amplify and manage word of mouth as a communication channel for our clients.”

Matt Roberts, Senior Research Manager at ESPN said:
“It’s vital for media owners and advertisers to understand the dynamics of word of mouth in all its forms. ESPN values TalkTrack® as it gives us rich insight into what people say about our programmes and digital content, as well as demonstrating the WOM benefits ESPN brings to our advertisers.”

About Keller Fay

The Keller Fay Group is the first full-service market research company focused exclusively on word of mouth (WOM) marketing, using a full suite of best-in-class research techniques. The company measures WOM trends and campaign effectiveness; tests concepts, ads, and messages to maximize their WOM potential; and offers a complete array of custom research and advisory services related to WOM.  The firm’s CEO Ed Keller is author of The Influentials. Keller Fay is headquartered in the US, and was founded in 2005.

www.kellerfay.com

Steve Thomson, sthomson at kellerfay.com, +44-7769-289590