Word-Of-Mouth creating buzz with Venture Capitalists

The buzz for 2006 is Word-of-Mouth.  Visit www.womma.org for the definitive association supporting that strategy. On that site you'll find information about companies like BzzAgent, and other specialists in that arena.

Today's WSJ writes about how as WOM builds buzz on Madison Ave, it's also building buzz with VC's.  If you have a WSJ online subscription, read here.   Here are some excerpts -

BzzAgent, a Boston word-of-mouth specialist, is expected to announce today that it has raised about $14 million from venture-capital firms General Catalyst Partners and IDG Ventures Boston. The investment reflects intensifying interest among venture-capital firms in word-of-mouth marketing, which spreads word of a product the old-fashioned way -- by getting people to talk to others about the product.

Venture capitalists are attracted by the potential of word-of-mouth to grow in the evolving ad landscape. "Because of audience fragmentation, behavior changes and the decline of TV, we have been focused on new areas that are interesting to brands and advertisers," says John Simon, the managing general partner at General Catalyst Partners.

In July, Informative, a Brisbane, Calif., firm, raised $3 million from a group of venture capitalists including Levensohn Venture Partners.

Other firms are scouting for similar deals in the sector, executives say.