Jamie Simoni

The companies that start the most word-of-mouth conversations are the ones that offer something truly remarkable — the ones that stand out from their competitors. So when American Eagle Outfitters took a look at its prospective market and realized it was facing "a sea of sameness," it turned to its customers to help them launch a brand identity worth talking about. In her presentation at SocialMedia.org's BlogWell conference in Chicago, Jamie Simoni, American Eagle Outfitter's marketing manager for social media, describes the contest it used to inspire more word-of-mouth than any traditional advertisement.