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.