By Patricia Odell From ADTech

Word-of-mouth marketing has become a cultural phenomenon, with chatter about great products and services no longer confined to family dinner conversations, but spreading rapidly across the globe via chat rooms, locker rooms, girlfriends' rooms, shopping malls and blogs. In fact, some 26% of the online population has posted a review about some kind of product or service.

"Word-of-mouth marketing is giving people a reason to talk about you," Andy Sernovitz, CEO of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, said yesterday during a session. "It is real consumers talking to real consumers about your products and services. We're listening to our friends and family. Not the experts."