Geno Church 
Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer | Brains on Fire
Greenville, SC, UNITED STATES
No passion, no conversation. No conversation, no word of mouth. No word of mouth, no successful business.
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Biography
Geno Church is the Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer at Brains on Fire, but he considers himself more of a pathfinder for the agency’s clients. He’s walked down the path with Fiskars Brands, The National Center for Families Learning, Anytime Fitness, Love146 and The Environmental Defense Fund. He likes uncovering the DNA of sustainable word of mouth movements. Geno has spoken at events, presented webinars and facilitated workshops for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), Blackbaud BBCON (Australia), Influence Session Sydney, and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, among others.
Industry Expertise (4)
Social Media
Public Relations and Communications
Direct Marketing
Advertising/Marketing
Areas of Expertise (8)
Word of Mouth Marketing
Content Strategy
Social Media Strategies
Creative Direction
Marketing Strategy
Brand Identity & Development
Customer Engagement
Community Building
Accomplishments (4)
Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer – Brains on Fire (professional)
Brains on Fire helps organizations build movements. Born out of the bond between word of mouth marketing and identity development, we are devoted to helping organizations discover and sustain excitement about who they are and why they exist. Our process isn’t about creating a presentation. Or creative for the sake of being creative. It’s about building a movement. We create fans rather than customers.
Co-Author – Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements (professional)
2010-08-31
Brains on Fire offers original, practical and actionable steps for creating a word-of-mouth movement for corporations, products, services, and organizations. Featuring ten lessons you can start building on today, it takes you step by step through lessons the authors have learned on how to inspire excitement and engage the customers and other stakeholders who will advocate for you. Brains on Fire gives you the keys to building long-term momentum, both online and offline.
Recipient – Cause Marketing Award (Gold) (professional)
At the 2011 WOMMY Awards, the Brains on Fire team received the Gold Cause Marketing Award for Wonderopolis: Inspiring a New Literacy and Learning Experience. The WOMMY Awards celebrate the most effective campaigns in word of mouth marketing. The Cause Marketing Award celebrates the best use of integrated digital marketing focused on the use of digital media (e.g. social networking sites, viral video, blogs, mobile, etc.) as a tactic to advance a cause marketing initiative.
Judge – 2012 WOMMY Awards (Charitable Category) (professional)
The WOMMY Awards celebrate the most effective campaigns in word of mouth marketing. The Charitable Category celebrates the best use of integrated digital marketing focused on the use of digital media (e.g. social networking sites, viral video, blogs, mobile, etc.) as a tactic to advance a cause marketing initiative. Cause marketing is defined as a relationship between a company and a cause or nonprofit that the company wants to talk about in the marketplace.
Links (5)
Testimonials (1)
Howard Parry-Husbands, Director | The Influence Group
"Geno is a brilliant creative, a wonderfully engaging speaker and natural presenter, and most importantly, has dedicated his life to advancing the cause of PEOPLE and WOM and advocacy as the focus of marketing. Geno took the room on an emotional rollercoaster of great case studies from the hilarious power of Chick-fil-A's marketing genius and marketing disasters to the tear-jerking profundity of Love146."
Event Appearances (23)
KEYNOTE SPEECH – Word of Mouth Movements: Integrating Social Media with Offline Engagement
Socialize West 2011: Monetizing Social Media San Francisco, California
2011-10-21
Word of Mouth Marketing
Social Fresh Nashville Nashville, Tennessee
2010-01-11
People are the Killer App
Social Media Business Forum Raleigh, North Carolina
2009-10-23
KEYNOTE SPEECH – Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements
Executive Forum: The Leadership Series Denver, Colorado
2012-05-17
How to Grow Word-of-Mouth Movements: People Are the Killer App
PRSA Webinar Series Webinar
KEYNOTE SPEECH – People-Powered Brands: Empowering a Tribe of Internal Advocates
PRSA Connect 12 New York City
2012-09-11
Building Word of Mouth
GSA Technology Council Speaker Series Greenville, South Carolina
2008-08-13
Lessons Learned in Igniting Word-of-Mouth Movements
San Diego Advertising Club Workshop San Diego, California
2011-10-20
How to Create Offline Word-of-Mouth
Word of Mouth Crash Course Conference Austin, Texas
2012-05-10
KEYNOTE SPEECH: Lessons Learned Igniting Word of Mouth Movements
Wisconsin PRSA Professional Development Conference Green Bay, Wisconsin
2011-10-25
KEYNOTE SPEECH: The People-powered Brand
University Communicators Network Annual Conference 2012 Michigan State University
2012-03-16
Lessons learned in igniting word-of-mouth movements
IABC 2012 World Conference Chicago, Illinois
2012-06-25
Word-of-Mouth Marketing
NewComm Forum 2010 San Mateo, California
The Word-of-Mouth Confessional: Lessons Learned in Creating Brand Movements
PRSA International Conference 2010 Washington, D.C.
Lessons Learned Igniting Word of Mouth Movements
PRSA Georgia Chapter Speaker Series Atlanta, Georgia
2012-04-12
KEYNOTE SPEECH: Lessons Learned Igniting Word of Mouth Movements
American Marketing Association Lincoln Speaker Series Lincoln, Nebraska
2011-11-10
What a For-Profit Can Learn from a Non-Profit about Content Marketing
WOMMA Summit 2011 Las Vegas, Nevada
Word of Mouth Movements: Integrating Social Media with Offline Engagement
PRSA International Conference Orlando, Florida
2011-10-16
How to Leverage Word-of-Mouth Movements
Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits 2011 Washington, D.C.
2011-10-05
KEYNOTE SPEECH: How to Build a Sustainable Word-of-Mouth Movement
IABC NC Triangle Chapter Speaker Series Morrisville, North Carolina
2009-02-11
Bringing SEXY Back to Offline Marketing Using Customer Touchpoints as Talking Points
WOMMA School of WOM Conference Chicago, Illinois
2011-05-10
Your Next Big Idea: Getting Down to Basics
PRSA 2012 International Conference San Francisco, California
2012-10-14
Universal PR Professional of Tomorrow: New Requirements and Competencie
PRSA 2012 International Conference San Francisco, California
2012-10-14
Sample Talks (4)
Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements
Geno Church has a plethora of ideas about how to get your internal and external client-base to talk up projects and initiatives that are important to them. Based on the book Brains on Fire, Geno will give you the keys to building long-term momentum both online and offline for your product, service, or organization. With lessons you can start building on today, Geno will take you step by step through ways to inspire excitement and engage customers and other stakeholders who will advocate for you.
People-Powered Brands: Empowering a Tribe of Internal Advocates
Your brand isn’t a product or a line item on a spreadsheet. It’s the stories people tell about it. Believe it or not, your best storytellers are your employees. It’s time to unlearn everything you thought you knew about your organization’s internal structure, as Geno helps you dig deep to uncover the real “why” that drives your brand. The result? A “people-powered brand” that spreads passion for your company, brand or service far beyond your walls.
How to Grow Word-of-Mouth Movements: People Are the Killer App
What does it take to build a movement of loud and proud brand ambassadors? Geno Church teaches you the lessons on how your brand can build and grow a movement, starting with how to treat people like fans, not customers, and how to allow your fans to share brand ownership. Learn the difference between a movement and a campaign, as well as how to measure ROI. Takeaways include tips on how to turn product conversations into passionate conversations and building & growing a word-of-mouth movement.
The Passion Conversation: Understanding, Sparking and Sustaining Word of Mouth Marketing
The new world of marketing is personal. Understanding passion provides actionable insights that empower marketers to authentically connect with the people who love their brands. These relationships and conversations lead to sharing, because they put people, not the brand, first. In this session Geno will share lessons from Brains on Fire's new book, The Passion Conversation, exploring how passion compels brands to go above and beyond and inspires customers to talk, share and connect.
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Host/MC
- Author Appearance
- Corporate Training
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