Dave Evans

VP, Social Media Digital Voodoo

User Generated Content and Word of Mouth
57 minutes, 26.5mb, recorded 2007-02-02
Dave Evans

With the growing popularity of You Tube and other sites that contain user-generated content, companies are looking for new ways to reach consumers with their products. Recently, Dave Evans, founder of HearThis.com, wrote an article about how marketers are turning to user-generated content as a way to reach more customers. Dave joins Tom to discuss the power of word-of-mouth marketing.

Dave reviews how contributed content is catching on, even with larger companies. He points out that many content creators were influenced by television commercials, leading to the short form videos at various sites. He states that storytelling is more important than overall quality. He also lists the features of effective ads, including ways to measure their success.

Dave also talks about whether senior citizens can be reached with these methods and gives his suggestions to young people interested in broadcast journalism. He believes that this form of social media will continue to grow in importance and shows his enthusiasm for its growth.


Dave Evans is an integration and communications consultant focusing on a wide range of media including word of mouth and consumer-generated media. Dave listens to what a client's business communications are and then selects applicable channels to deliver an effective solution. His expertise lies in his ability to match client needs with consumer preferences as to how and when they would like to be talked to.

In 2005 Dave launched HearThis.com, a podcasting service for marketers and recently launched Snapse, a streaming video and content exchange platform. He co-founded Digital Voodoo, a marketing technology consultancy, in 1994. Digital Voodoo provides strategic marketing services for clients wanting to tap the power of connected social networks through word of mouth and consumer-generated media. Dave has worked with GSD&M as a Strategy Director for integrated communications, with Progressive Insurance Company as a Product Manager, and a Systems Analyst for the Voyager deep space exploration program with Jet Propulsion Laboratories/NASA.

Dave holds a BS in physics and mathematics from the State University of New York/College at Brockport and serves on the Ad-Tech Advisory Board. Dave is a regular columnist on emarketing for ClickZ.

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