The non-profit consumer advocacy group Commercial Alert has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate “stealth” or buzz marketing campaigns, where corporate marketing departments and ad agencies enlist ordinary people to talk up products and services to their peers, often without disclosing that they represent a client.
Disclose Affiliation and Compensation
The letter demands that “The Federal Trade Commission should require any and all persons who are paid to engage in such practices to disclose their relationship to the corporation whose products they are pitching, including their compensation.”
In a rebuttal of an inflammatory recent Ad Age story, “Is Buzz Marketing Illegal?” Andy Sernovitz, CEO of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, “Word-of-mouth marketing is about honest discussions — even to the point where a consumer can tell a company about a problem enabling the company to respond quickly and honestly at the same time it addresses the problem. … Word of mouth forces companies to be honest because it gives tools to consumers to call out companies for their mistakes. All marketing should be held to the same high standards.”
Does Other Marketing Spin?
Commercial Alert is also targeting Proctor & Gamble, according to Media Buyer Planner.
All other forms of marketing, PR, and advertising never exaggerate, put a spin on an issue or try to change opinions, right? Buzz Marketing is the root of all evil. Got that!?
Commercial Alert Demands FTC Investigation of Buzz Marketing
BL Ochman | October 19, 2005 | Permanent Link | Comments (2) | TrackBack (
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B.L.,
How about a serious commentary on this story? I happen to agree that consumers have a right to know any hidden motives behind seemingly spontaneous and disinterested praise that really isn’t. That was a guiding principle of many of the early online communities that I participated in – for instance, it was not acceptable to praise your spouse or other relative in a discussion without disclosing the relationship. It’s also a guiding principle of journalism.
For what reason should we toss out this guideline?
Marcia Yudkin
Author, 6 Steps to Free Publicity and 10 other books
I’ve resisted commenting on this whole story from CommercialAlert.org, but at this point I really must speak.
I’m the author of the book Buzzmarketing, I’m the owner of the website, buzzmarketing.com.
I’m also the trademark owner of buzzmarketing.
Gary Ruskin doesn’t know what the heck he is talking about…he’s misconstruing the word and the meaning of what buzz marketing is.
Has Gary looked on my site, or read my book?
No, because if he had, he would know that the definition of buzz marketing is:
Capturing the attention of consumers and the media to the point where talkig about your brand becomes entertaining, fascinating, or newsworthy.
Where does is say “mislead?”
In fact, If Gary had read my book, he would know that the foundation of buzzmarketing is honesty!!
When I spoke at Harvard, my mom was so proud that that is one of the main things I stress!!
Gary is not only biased against any form of advertising, he’s just uniformed.
Sure, I hate to see the waste of nearly $235 billion in marketing and advertising each year in America, because quite frankly most ads fail and they really do suck.
In that respect, we’re on the same page.
But has he read buzzmarketing, has he visited buzzmarketing.com, has he talked to the guy who literally wrote the book on buzzmarketing?
If he doesn’t change his term and vocabulary to “deceptive advertising,” very soon (or at least try to get informed) I’m likely to file suit against CommercialAlert.org very soon.