CrimsonCup, maker of the world’s best coffee, provides an excellent example of Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing. You might recall that we ran a very informative webinar on WOM in December.

In working with CrimsonCup, we applied the principles we mentioned in the webinar. The “Barista for a Day” campaign has two key ingredients. First, the concept is genuine and interesting. We’ve all heard about master brewers for beer companies, but who knew the coffee guys had an equivalent position called a Barista? Turns out that the art of making good coffee is a lot more complicated than we thought.

Second, the “prize” is relevant and desirable. Unfortunately, it’s commonplace to see companies give away ipods or the latest electronic gizmos for WOM campaigns. CrimsonCup is, instead, giving away something you can’t find at your local Best Buy. They’re giving away an experience - an opportunity to learn about coffee making from one of the best in the business.

A well-crafted WOM campaign also contains an unexpected surprise: it’s fun to work on. Sure we got to drink a few gallons of great coffee. But we also got to see and feel the passion of a company that’s doing more than just going through the motions of selling a product. CrimsonCup loves coffee, and they love educating coffee drinkers.

Take it from us. Once you learn how to tell the difference between quality beans and cheap beans, you’ll never go back to Starbucks again.

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