West is pleased to announce its investment in the WOM blockchain protocol, which will facilitate the monetization of word-of-mouth recommendations.
Established in 2018, WOM Token Ltd. gives brands, content creators, publishers and social networks a revenue stream without any one central party exclusively profiting from the collective value created.
WOM or word of mouth is the oldest and most effective form of marketing — it happens 2.1 billion times online every day. Until now, however, brands have lacked a scalable way of turning these recommendations into a sustainable marketing strategy.
The WOM Protocol is the first blockchain-based investment for West and signals the start of an exciting new portfolio for the VC firm.
Joanna Rees, Managing Partner at West said: “At West Studios we observe the marketing landscape changing dramatically around us. We’ve evolved ahead of the curve, providing companies with strategies and creative that capture today’s audience and speak to tomorrow’s. It requires that we are versed in leading technologies and have a strong point of view on how buyer behavior is changing. WOM represents the future in both these regards, coupling bleeding-edge blockchain technology with a strong understanding of how user dynamics are transforming the marketing of products and services. We are confident in Melanie’s proven ability to lead great teams.”
The WOM Token Private Sale is currently open and a Dutch Auction Token Generation Event (TGE) will be held in Q1 2019 to sell 350 million of the one billion total tokens.
The pioneer behind WOM, Melanie Mohr, is also the CEO and founder of recommendations app, YEAY, which will be the first partner platform to integrate the WOM Protocol immediately following the Dutch Auction.
YEAY
The YEAY app has been live in-market since January 2017 and has a global network of creative, active, and predominantly Generation Z and Millennial users.
Its community share honest recommendation videos with one another about lifestyle products, services and experiences they love and get rewarded for their engagement.
To-date YEAY has received $7 million in seed funding from investors including the former COO of Airbnb, the former CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Grazia Equity, Mountain Partners, and more.
Melanie Mohr, CEO and founder of YEAY, and pioneer behind the concept for WOM said: “YEAY and WOM’s partnership with West will enable us to draw on their deep strategy, product, marketing and design expertise. It also takes us closer to achieving our vision of a mutually-beneficial and more autonomous marketing model for consumers, brands and platforms. The WOM Protocol will become a powerful way to help consumers take more control of what is marketed, to who and how. We call this self-sovereign marketing, we think this is a great thing and we are proud to have the backing of such a well established partner.”
West’s investment, combined with their creative and intellectual support, will help WOM and the YEAY platform pioneer a next-generation marketing strategy and monetization model.
For more information please contact vivienne.rudcenko@womprotocol.io
About West
West is a venture studio that specializes in the end-to-end process of designing, building, and launching purpose-driven brands. West invests in bold ideas and transform visionary companies into category leaders.
About WOM
WOM (word-of-mouth) is building a blockchain-based protocol that gives brands, content creators, publishers, and social networks a way to monetize word-of-mouth recommendations on any app or platform. The YEAY app will be the first platform to adopt the WOM Protocol.