Press Release

Sarah Hofstetter, SVP of Emerging Media & Client Strategy at 360i, Elected to WOMMA Board of Directors

NEW YORK, NY - November 9, 2009 - The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) today announced the appointment of Sarah Hofstetter, Senior Vice President of Emerging Media & Client Strategy at digital marketing agency 360i, to WOMMA's Board of Directors.

Ms. Hofstetter's background includes more than 13 years of experience at the nexus of marketing, brand development, social strategy and PR, including several years at the helm of her own communications agency. At 360i, she leads the Social and Emerging Media division, a team of specialists who devise social strategies and online listening programs for major brand marketers.

The election of Ms. Hofstetter to the WOMMA Board affirms 360i's leadership position at the forefront of social and word of mouth marketing. Under her guidance, 360i has pioneered new ways to integrate these new and emerging marketing channels to help brands listen to and connect with their customers online.

Ms. Hofstetter has led the creation of 360i's proprietary Digital Word of Mouth (DWOM®) service, which identifies and nurtures relationships with online influencers -- bloggers, editors, forum moderators and fan site creators -- to amplify online buzz, encourage virality and inform digital strategy. To date, several Fortune 500 brands have utilized the service, including Reckitt Benckiser, JCPenney, Bravo and NBC Universal. Earlier this year, 360i authored the Social Marketing Playbook, the first comprehensive report about social marketing written by marketers for marketers.

"Social media has fundamentally changed the role of word of mouth marketing, giving brands the opportunity to amplify their marketing messages, as well as develop a deeper understanding of their customers and the impact of their WOM programs," said Ms. Hofstetter. "The high standards and leadership exhibited by the WOMMA board have helped propel the industry at large and I look forward to being part of such a forward-thinking association."

The new term for the WOMMA Board begins January 1, 2010, and also includes other luminary inductees such as:

- David Binkowski of New York City; senior vice president of WOM, Manning, Salvage and Lee
- Christine Cea of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.; brand public relations director, Unilever
- Stuart Sheldon of Atlanta; president, Atlanta Division of Escalate - Member At Large
- Gary Spangler of Wilmington, Del.; Corporate, E-Marketing, DuPont
- David Witt of Minneapolis; senior manager, Brand Public Relations, General Mills

In addition, WOMMA also announced that the following members will comprise the 2010 Executive Committee:

- Paul Rand of Chicago; president and CEO, Zocalo Group - WOMMA President
- Rod Brooks of Seattle; chief marketing officer, PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company - WOMMA President-Elect
- John Bell of Washington D.C.; managing director/executive creative director, 360° Digital Influence Ogilivy Public Relations Worldwide - WOMMA Past President
- Stuart Sheldon of Atlanta; president, Atlanta Division of Escalate - Member At Large
- David Rabjohns of Evanston, Ill.; president, MotiveQuest - Member At Large
- Matt Moog of Chicago; founder and CEO, Viewpoints Network - Member At Large

About 360i
360i is an employee-owned digital marketing agency that drives results for Fortune 500 marketers through insights, ideas and technologies. 360i helps its clients think differently about their online presence and evolve their strategies to take advantage of the new world of marketing communications - one where brands and consumers engage in interactive and multi-directional conversations. Current clients include Colgate, H&R Block, JCPenney, NBC Universal, Nestle and Office Depot, among others.

360i is a division of Innovation Interactive, a digital marketing services company. For more information, please visit http://blog.360i.com.

About WOMMA
WOMMA, http://WOMMA.org, is the leading trade association in the marketing and advertising industries that focuses on word of mouth, consumer-generated and social media platforms -- or marketing techniques that include buzz, viral, community, and influencer marketing, as well as brand blogging. The organization is committed to developing and maintaining appropriate ethical standards for marketers and advertisers engaging in such marketing practices, identifying meaningful measurement standards for such marketing practices, and defining "best practices" for the industry.

Founded in 2005, WOMMA currently has approximately 300 members. They include marketers and brands that use word-of-mouth marketing to reinforce their core customers and to reach out to new consumers, agencies that deliver word-of-mouth services and technologies, researchers that track the word-of-mouth experience and offline and online practitioners.

Press Contact:

Amanda Bird
Brand Manager
abird@360i.com
212.991.4376