Brand-Related Conversations With Consumers Are Three Times Higher in Latin American Than The United States

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - December 17, 2015) - The Keller Fay Group, an Engagement Labs (TSX VENTURE: EL) company, today released a report on the word of mouth (WOM) conversations in Latin America and the most talked about brands in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico.

Latin Americans have an average of 228 brand-related conversations per week, which for comparison purposes is three times the level in the U.S. (75 per week). Colombia led the way with nearly 300 conversations per week, and Argentina and Mexico weighed in at about 200 per week. 

"We have conducted WOM research in many different markets around the world, and nowhere do consumers talk more about brands than in Latin America," said Ed Keller, President at Engagement Lab and CEO at Keller Fay Group.

In terms of the most talked about categories, the below chart demonstrates that Latin Americans did not talk about any single category or group of categories significantly more than others. Food & Dining, Media & Entertainment, and Electronics led in the numbers but the study found that conversations are relatively spread evenly across the thirteen categories measured.

"Many times people assume that WOM is reserved for cool new tech products or hot media properties but this research demonstrated the significant role WOM plays across nearly every consumer sector. Latin American marketers have a tremendous opportunity to tap the power of WOM advocacy to gain consumer sales," noted Keller.

The research identified the most talked about brands within each category by country, providing an even deeper understanding of which brands were being talked about within the different regions.

According to Keller Fay, there is notable diversity in WOM leaders across the three countries. There were only two categories in which a single brand dominates the conversation across all three Latin American countries. In the Electronics category, Samsung generated the most conversation among all three countries measured and ranked ahead of its major competitor Apple. When looking at the Beverage category, Coca-Cola is number one brand among all three markets. Also, in seven of the 13 categories studied, there were different brands that are the WOM leaders in each of the three countries.

"Our research indicated that within Latin America, 69 percent of conversations are happening face-to-face which should serve as a reminder to marketers not to overlook this channel as it is proven to drive sales," noted Keller. "Also, a large portion of the conversations measured was driven by advertising. In Colombia for example, 54 percent of conversations referenced advertisements. Therefore, advertising is a significant driver of conversations and clearly demonstrates how important both online and offline content is in order to promote conversations around your brand and drive sales."

About Engagement Labs

Engagement Labs (TSX VENTURE: EL) offers intelligent Total Social™ data, analytics and insights for marketers and organizations enabling them to track, measure and benchmark the conversations happening around their brand or industry both online and offline. These conversations are proven to drive critical business outcomes, including sales, while Engagement Labs' tools provide data and actionable insight to help guide business decisions and power marketing effectiveness.

Engagement Labs' eValue™ Analytics tool is the global benchmark for social media scoring. eValue's proprietary data technology offers real-time analysis to measure a brand's social media and digital marketing efforts, distilling it down to a single meaningful number between 0 and 100 -- an eValue score. Composed of a series of metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), an eValue score measures social media Engagement, Impact and Responsiveness which is benchmarked against 100,000+ handpicked and verified brands. The Keller Fay Group, an Engagement Labs company, is the only firm to regularly measure offline conversation via TalkTrack ®; independent research finds offline conversation is a significant driver of sales with twice the impact of online conversation.

Engagement Labs maintains offices in Toronto ON, Montreal QC, London UK, New Brunswick NJ and Mexico City, MX. www.engagementlabs.com / www.kellerfay.com

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