Nice Going, Ad Age

Someone tell me how Ad Age gets away with this...

And recent data from word-of-mouth research group Keller Fay indicate 92% of brand conversations were taking place offline

...when their source is a company that's a member of the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) with its CEO serving on the WOMMA Board of Directors.

OF COURSE they're going to say a high percentage of brand conversations are taking place offline. They have a vested interest. It's as self-serving as when Skip Pile claimed the average agency/client relationship lasted 2.5 years. (This, too, was a load of crap.)

My experience with the entrenched marketing publications is that when they run "reality check" stories, they're really pieces of target journalism designed to take popular ideas down a notch or two.