People may admire celebrities, but they listen to their friends. That's why word of mouth marketing (WOMM) is becoming a growing trend, said Julian Aldridge, president of Ammo Marketing.

Looking for the person who controls the purchase decisions in a family? Ask if the lady of the household is home. On average, women control or influence 80% of household purchase decisions, said Mary Brown, president of Imago Creative. That includes 92% of packaged goods buys, 57% of consumer electronics purchases, 75% of household finance…

If anyone still needs convincing that search has influence beyond the desktop, comScore Networks can supply the evidence: a report released yesterday showing that most customers who start by searching for products online wind up completing their purchases off the Internet.

Avis Rent A Car System is driving consumers to a new incentive program it launched this month that focuses on entertainment versus a traditional marketing strategy. Janis Jarosz, VP-market development Cendant Car Rental Group, spoke with PROMO P&I about the Avis Music Giveaway

Direct marketing practitioners have always prided themselves on being able to quantify the behavioral impact of their marketing efforts. What has changed is the speed at which all this occurs.

For brand marketers, the sound of music might be the chime of a cash register. In fact, 96% of consumers are more likely to remember a brand if it is paired with music that fits the brand identity.

In a world with a nearly infinite selection of me-too products, brands must work harder than ever to attract and retain consumers’ and selling partners’ loyalty. Making this situation more complex is that shoppers make seven out of 10 purchase decisions in a split second as they scan store shelves.

Generation X has long posed a conundrum to marketers. They’re savvy, oversaturated, and busy people with a cynicism regarding the media. And yet the sociological forces that shape their worldviews are powerful and specific and, with a little creative thinking, can be the basis for marketing and development decisions targeting them.

I write about customer loyalty for a living, so it would seem that producing a monthly column for CHIEF MARKETER would be an easy task--until you realize how broad a topic loyalty marketing really is. What are we talking about, exactly? Points programs? Grocery-store discount cards? Cobranded credit cards? Dialogue marketing campaigns? Punch cards?

Verizon Wireless is tuning up for a stint at South by Southwest this month to tout its young V Cast Music service, which launched in February. V Cast's