Word-of-a-Whole-Lot-of-Mouths-Advertising - These days, the world is just one big-ass focus group

6.10.2004 Word-of-a-Whole-Lot-of-Mouths-Advertising These days, the world is just one big-ass focus group Ever been to a traditional focus group? With the one-way mirror, the bottomless bowl of M&M’s and the roundtable of “average” consumers? It’s a completely artificial environment, which in many cases leads to artificial results. There’s a group dynamic that leads people to keep their true feelings to themselves. Yet our industry still throws billions away at focus groups trying to pry the truth out of consumers. Now, the truth is everywhere. The Internet has given people the freedom to mouth off. Whenever they want, about anything they want. I once wrote ads for a client who made household appliances. One of the glorious perks of the job was that I got a free sample to take home and test. I was quite pleased with it, as it worked fine for me. So I became a believer. And our client, of course, was convinced it was the best product in its category. Then I went on Amazon.com, where they sell my client’s products. Amazon has a feedback section for every product where people can rate and comment on stuff. Here’s a sample of the comments I saw for my client: “I contacted ***** about my problems and they said ‘we don't deal with problems, your only recourse is where you bought it.’” “Needless to say, I'll never buy another ****** again!!!” “Now I'm looking for another brand, I don't recommend this product.” “I would recommend this ****** only at a ...