BizReport

RSS feed Get our RSS feed

News by Topic

BizReport : Viral Marketing : April 28, 2008

WOM: Transparency is vital

British companies that abuse word of mouth techniques by falsely representing themselves as consumers to promote their products and services could soon find themselves embroiled in legal action.

by Helen Leggatt

As of May 26, consumers in the U.K. will soon be protected from deceptive marketing techniques by the European Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). In particular, Item 14 of the UCPD, which deals with the practice of deceptive stealth marketing.

Techniques such as supposedly independent blogs and blog posts that are actually being sponsored/paid for by a company are being targeted, such as Sony’s “All I Want for Xmas is a PSP” fake blog (flog) in 2006.

Other examples of deceptive marketing include posting positive reviews without disclosing an association with the brand or product in question, initiating and driving viral campaigns and using paid brand ambassadors.

"While many advertisers will continue with such campaigns and get away with them, this is in my view a risky and undesirable way forward,” said Marina Palomba, Legal Director at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising in a recent announcement from BzzAgent. “If advertisers and their agencies ignore the ethics of responsible advertising, the damage to the advertising and marketing industry generally will be considerable, undermining all commercial messages, their effectiveness and the self regulatory systems."

In the U.S., WOMMA has been urging word of mouth marketers to maintain high standards and to uphold the principle of transparency in word of mouth. “When in doubt, disclose,” said Ed Keller, CEO of The Keller Fay Group and WOMMA Board President.

Tags: stealth marketing, viral marketing, word of mouth

Comments (0)

Subscribe to BizReport




  • del.icio.us
  • digg
  • NewsVine
  • De.lirio.us
  • blinkbits
  • BlinkList
  • blogmarks
  • co.mments
  • Fark
  • Furl
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Netvouz
  • Reddit
  • scuttle
  • Shadows
  • Simpy
  • TailRank
  • YahooMyWeb

Post a comment



Security Code:




Featured White Papers:

Extraordinary Customer Service
Is Your Customer a Satisfied Customer? Learn the Best Practices For Improving the Customer Experience. >>

Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click: A Holistic Approach
Learn how pay-per-click (PPC) and natural search engine optimization (SEO) can work hand in hand to help your business better connect with new customers. >>

12 SEO Campaign Killers
Learn what not to do when launching a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign to attract more visitors, leads and sales. >>

Social Media Marketing: 12 Essential Tips for Success
Learn how to effectively engage customer communities with a new, social marketing mix. >>

Featured Magazines:

Successful Promotions
Shows you how effective imprinted promotional items can be for any kind of campaign. >>

Direct
Covers every aspect of Direct marketing, including postal and regulatory issues, creative, lists, customer relationship management and database marketing. >>

Featured Research

  • Search Marketing Benchmark Guide 2008
    All new practical, fact-based search marketing data on what works and what doesn’t - essential for search marketing (PPC & SEO) budget planning.

http://www.bizreport.com/2008/04/wom_transparency_is_vital.html

 

 

Copyright © 1999-2008 BizReport Network. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of BizReport content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
BizReport shall not be liable for any errors in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.