Amidst all the hype around social media, many communicators have been quick to equate word of mouth communications solely with blogging and online social communication. But that's only one piece of the complex WOM puzzle.

According to word of mouth consulting firm Keller Fay Group, US consumers are engaging in more than 100 marketing-relevant conversations every week. And less than 10 percent of those discussions are happening online. Further proving that the water cooler is alive and well, Keller Fay suggests that more than 70 percent of WOM conversations are still face-to-face, verbal discussions.

If you're trying to spread the good word about your organization, it's critical to surround your audience with positive messages consistently across a number of channels -- mainstream media, direct to consumer, experiential, and consumer generated media.

Strong public relations programs begin with a clear understanding of the channels that matter to your key constituents, and should include creative strategies for delivering messages appropriately across these channels to drive word of mouth in many forms.

A holistic approach to message delivery helps make your company's news inescapable, and can help drive positive word of mouth (both on and offline) about your brand or organization.

While we can't fully predict the channels, devices and technologies individuals will rely on for information 50 years from now, PR practitioners need to continuously evaluate the media landscape and optimize their communications mix to reach audiences effectively.

This week's Chicago City Council vote requiring big box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot to increase their minimum wage salaries to $10 per hour by 2010 is the latest example of how activists are having a lot more success in local communities than they have had at the federal government level.

Activists have tried to get the federal minimum wage level of $5.15 (set in 1997) raised for years, they've always failed to get the hundreds of Congressional votes needed. But in Chicago's City Council, all they needed was 26 votes to get the same measure passed.

Activists used the same technique to get the wages of hotel and restaurant workers raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico last year. And then those same hotel and restaurant owners who opposed the increase were forced into supporting a statewide minimum wage increase so that they wouldn't be economically disadvantaged versus competitors in others towns like Albuquerque and Taos.

Just as all politics are local, so too is activism.

A brief story ran on July 12, 2006, which went almost unnoticed by everyone except Stephen Colbert. The item pointed out that according to Nielsen Media Research, the first week of July was the “least watched week in history for the four biggest networks,” beating the record of the last week in July 2005.

Sure, there were a lot of explanations. It was the Fourth of July and people were outside, and the networks were airing reruns. But the reality is the four networks combined reached only 20.8 million viewers during the average primetime minute.

Given that there are almost 300 million people currently living in the U.S., that means that at any given moment 280 million people were doing something else besides watching the networks. Of course, they might have been tuned into The Sopranos, ESPN or Cartoon Network. But still, it is hard to imagine that on any given evening, less than 7% of Americans watch CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox combined.

So, what does this mean for the future? How many will be watching next year? How many in 50 years?

Given the trends, I think it is fair to say that the number is heading downhill and is unlikely to change course. The number of entertainment options for the average American grows everyday from MySpace to Mario World.

From a news perspective, the trend is even more profound. In the PR business, getting a placement on the nightly network news is normally considered the Holy Grail. However, during that record-breaking week in July, an average of only seven million viewers watched each of the three newscasts, which means 93% of the population got their information from another place or they didn’t get it at all. We all know that there are a lot of other information sources available. In fact, more than 50 million use the internet to keep up with current events. But the biggest difference is that people are increasingly accessing information in bits that they have often pre-selected based on their own preferences. The idea of families across America gathered around a television set all sharing the same stories together, night after night, would be an appropriate scene for a Norman Rockwell painting.

The reality is fewer people are consuming information as an evening meal. Rather, they are snacking all day long on bite-size morsels they pick up from a variety of sources, while they work, drive, jog and play. Is this a loss for the collective consciousness of our citizenry?

It is hard to imagine a future without household names like Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw and now even Katie Couric, but it will happen. Fifty years from now, the nightly news may become the weekly news compiled for people who didn’t have time to catch up on a daily basis…or more likely the every-minute news, delivered like commercials in 60-second segments all day long on TV, PCs, PDAs and cell phones. That way everyone will have an extra half hour in the evening to update their MySpace profiles.

Product placement has become a staple in most companies’ marketing mix over the past decade. It is rare to see a film these days that doesn’t showcase a soft drink, an alcoholic beverage or a new car. The practice of inserting branded products into a script has expanded from film into television, to music videos, Broadway plays and most recently video games.

Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” escalated product placement to its most obvious level by selling the team competition segments, which are the focus of each show, to the highest bidder. Contestants vied to create a new sandwich for Burger King or a new jingle for Arby’s. If the on-air plugs by Mr. Trump weren’t enough, often the commercial breaks contained 60-second ads for the real product.

Reality TV is now turning the idea of product placement into company placement. As the July 24th edition of New York Times reported, the Women’s Entertainment Network (WE) will launch “Unwrapping Macy’s” on September 30, the first reality show to revolve around an American retailer. According to the article, the eight-part series will follow a handful of hardworking employees who manage the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, design elaborate window displays and scour the world for undiscovered clothing designers. This isn’t the first reality show to expose the behind-the-scenes drama at a business. “The Restaurant,” which first aired on NBC in July 2003, showcased the day-to-day issues of running a New York City eating establishment and A&E featured Southwest Airlines in a documentary series called “Airline.”

It will be interesting to see how many potential shoppers tune in to see the employees responsible for Macy’s Santa displays complaining about the “lazy, poorly performing elves.” But regardless of the ratings, we can expect to see many more corporate docudramas in the future. Despite management concerns over airing their dirty laundry on television, the public’s thirst for authentic stories will drive demand for legitimate looks inside the business world. And savvy corporations will respond by providing a peek under the tent at the most positive aspects of their business. Imagine a pharmaceutical company participating in a program that showcases their laboratory research to find the cure for breast cancer. Or the drama of hundreds of insurance agents helping people after a major hurricane. The possibilities are unlimited and so are the opportunities for corporations to tell the “real story” about how they think, act and work.

In the not too distant future, it is possible that large consumer brands will actually sponsor entire channels. Why not the “Wal-Mart Channel,” featuring programs about shopping, cooking ideas, home decorating tips and even profiles of rural America? Or the “McDonald’s Channel,” filled with shows that appeal to families on topics like nutrition, exercise and travel. Both could incorporate their most compelling employees into a reality scenarios, or document the impact of their community involvement, such as the Ronald McDonald House. Regulators might complain that America’s biggest brands are controlling the airwaves, but many of them already spend enough on advertising to support a cable network or two. However, the public won’t mind and they will definitely tune in for a taste of Corporate America. Plus, the people who do watch will likely be loyal, devoted customers – exactly the people most brands want to reach.

So stay tuned for more corporate reality. Because in a world of fragmented messages, the ability to tell an authentic story to a highly-motivated audience is a show many companies won’t want to miss.

Auto manufacturer Toyota recently announced its new series of six mobile videos to help promote the new Camry. The campaign will target 20 and 30-year olds and is believed to be one of the first branded entertainment series specifically created for mobile devices.

The mobisodes aren't just a television spot converted for the small screen -- they include self-contained, miniature stories designed for entertainment value. Of course, the product is prominently featured in the episodes, but Toyota also understands the power in bringing its products to life through engaging stories that resonate. (Disclosure: Toyota is a GH client)

Mobile marketing is truly "brand-in-hand" communications and holds amazing potential for public relations. The US is still playing catch-up in the wireless marketing space compared to Europe and Asia, though the gap is closing fast. While SMS (text messaging) campaigns are now common in many marketing programs, rich media campaigns delivering full motion video to wireless devices are beginning to take hold in the US, too.

As traditional media consumption continues to decline, savvy marketers will increasingly look to wireless and on demand channels to share their stories directly with audiences. To succeed in this arena, branded messages must be compelling enough so that the intended target makes the decision to watch or listen to it.

What's different about mobile and wireless marketing from e-mail and other electronic communications channels is that (for now) it's entirely permission-based. That's right: the audience you intend to reach must permit you to communicate with them.

The implication for PR practitioners using wireless communications is clear: your message must be appealing and creatively presented, or your audience won't agree to watch or listen to it.

Our job as professional communicators has always been rooted in storytelling.

And storytelling is an art that will grow in importance over the next 50 years as the consumer maintains more control of the messages he or she receives.