Omnicom Group is opening a new agency in Chicago that will specialize in word-of-mouth marketing, reports AdWeek.
Zocalo Group is the first word-of-mouth specific shop to be opened or owned by Omnicom and will be headed by Paul Rand, a veteran of Omnicom's Ketchum. Rand serves on the board of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

He says his firm will be focused not on short-term "buzz" but on creating sustainable and engaging consumer conversations.

Word-of-mouth has gained momentum as an accepted form of marketing, particularly since the Word of Mouth Marketing Association began formally publicizing the medium, writes MediaBuyerPlanner.

As a result, agencies have formed WOM groups; most recently, GroupM in the U.K. announced that it had joined with BzzAgent to create the U.K.'s first WOM agency.