Morpace Inc. and Keller Fay Group, an Engagement Labs Company

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. - Dec. 1, 2015 - PRLog -- Morpace Inc., a full-service marketing research and consulting firm, today announced a strategic alliance with Keller Fay Group (http://www.kellerfay.com/), an Engagement Labs (http://www.engagementlabs.com/) (TSXV: EL) company, to offer word of mouth (WOM) advocacy and influencer marketing research and consulting services to the automotive sector.

Morpace provides innovative solutions and expertise to support and enhance its clients’ marketing efforts with market research insights, strategic planning, and consultation. Morpace is a Marketing News Global Top 50 market research firm. It has established strong industry expertise in several industry verticals, including automotive, where its professionals work with many of the world’s largest OEMs and suppliers.

Keller Fay enjoys a reputation as one of the foremost experts in word of mouth and influencer marketing. Its proprietary solutions include TalkTrack^®, the only ongoing word of mouth tracking system and database, covering automotive and other sectors; Advocacy Analyzer, which provides the data driven insights brands need to activate their highly valuable influencers; and Conversation Catalysts^®, Keller Fay’s proprietary segmentation for identifying word of mouth influencers.

The partnership will bring together the expertise of each firm to help clients in the automotive sector tap the power of consumer word of mouth, which research from WOMMA, the official trade association dedicated to word of mouth and social media marketing shows, is a key driver of purchase decisions. Within high consideration categories such as automotive, research from WOMMA has shown that as much as 25 percent of sales can be attributed to word mouth advice.

“Our role is to help clients solve their most pressing marketing challenges using our industry expertise, delivering valuable insights and superior service,” said Morpace CEO and President Duncan Lawrence. “We are best known for our knowledge within the automotive sector. Our strategic alliance with Keller Fay and Engagement Labs will further expand our global expertise and array of proprietary solutions available nowhere else.”

“Consumers increasingly rely on the word of mouth recommendations of those they trust within their personal networks when making any significant purchase decision,” said Morpace Senior Vice President, Brand Strategy Practice, David Myhrer.

“Healthy automotive brands thrive by delivering outstanding products and superior customer experience, which in turn fuels an emotional connection, driving word of mouth advocacy. There is no better marketing than the personal recommendation of a trusted friend, family member, or colleague,” Myhrer said.

“The automotive marketing landscape is increasingly cluttered, and to stand out and thrive automotive brands need to tap the power of customer advocacy. This type of earned media has proven to make marketing investment more efficient and effective. It’s too valuable to be left to chance, and with the right strategic insights success can be managed,” said Ed Keller, President at Engagement Labs and CEO at Keller Fay.

“Combining Keller Fay’s WOM expertise with Morpace’s understanding of both the challenges faced by the automotive industry and the way forward, we will provide clients with a roadmap to win in the marketplace,” Keller added.