Brand Autopsy

*** Clearly my WOM Enthusiast hat is on with this post.

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BACKSTORY
This fall, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will release updated guidelines on endorsements used in advertising and marketing. Current guidelines were last updated long before the Internet became an irreplaceable communication/networking channel and before marketers understood the irrefutable power of word-of-mouth marketing.

The FTC works to protect consumers from being influenced by unethical, untruthful, and unscrupulous business practices. Updated guidelines will address the need for endorsers, reviewers, and businesses to be 100% transparent and disclose when material compensation (in-kind gifts, special access privileges) and outright compensation (cash) changes hands.

On September 14, 2009, WOMMA hosted a webinar on ETHICS & ENDORSEMENTS: What is Adequate Disclosure. The diverse panel included marketers, entrepreneurs, a professor, a marketing analyst, and a lawyer.

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TAKEAWAYS
The resounding sentiment was marketers and bloggers need to design word-of-mouth marketing programs to state early (and often) when material compensation changes hands.

It is a non-negotiable … businesses must solve for being obvious and upfront when a brand offers in-kind gifts, special access privileges, and cash as part of a marketing program designed to spark word-of-mouth.

Solutions discussed by the panelists centered around being clear and conspicuous when disclosing material relationships between a brand and a consumer. Practical implications talked about on the webinar included: “disclosure badges” on websites, prominently placed “terms of engagement” practices, specially designated “product review” blogs, and uniquely tagging of tweets (such as [#ad]).

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WATCH. LISTEN. LEARN.
You can watch, listen, and learn more by watching this highly edited version of the webinar. This 11-minute version shares key takeaways spoken by the panelists.

SHORT VERSION | Ethics and Endorsements: What is Adequate Disclosure?

View more presentations from Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

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LEARN MORE. DO MORE.

• The complete 60-minute webinar can be accessed here.
• You are invited to dig deeper into this important matter by reading and contributing to WOMMA’s Living Ethics Blog.

Continuing my “Would you Miss” series ...

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Does Denny’s provide such a unique product and customer experience that we would be saddened if it didn’t exist? Does Denny’s treat its employees so astonishingly well that those workers would not be able to find another employer to treat them as well? Does Denny’s forge such unfailing emotional connections with its customers that they would fail to find another similar restaurant that could forge just as strong an emotional bond?

What say you?

Post inspiration | Mavericks at Work

Tom Fishburne writes...

"Many businesses treat social media tools the same as dropping an FSI or placing a grocery cart ad. It becomes just more superficial window dressing. I think it would be far better to apply that investment toward actually making the brand and products more interesting and remarkable."

Now see Tom Fishburne's spot-on illustration.

Good stuff Tom, good stuff.

Jason Stoddard did something interesting — he started his own consultancy company, Stagira. That’s interesting. But not as interesting as what he did to let people know he started Stagira.

Essentially, his marketing dollars went into running a conference, the Ubiquity Marketing unSummit in Austin, TX. Jason cajoled Chris Brogan to be his keynote speaker. He invited notable local social media marketing types to participate on panels. The conference information/schedule page lived on the Stagira website. Every marketing piece promoting the conference (from emails to blog posts to tweets) directed people to visit the Stagira website. Smart.

Everything turned out smarter because his conference attracted like-minded well-connected social media types. As Simon Salt tweeted, “Good Grief you cant throw a stick in here without hitting a Social Media celeb.” (It can only help a new business to have like-minded well-connected social media types making an unknown business known within their social circles.)

But the smartest marketing move Jason did was recoup his marketing spend by running a conference where people paid to attend. Maybe you should have someone like Jason thinking just as smart about your business.

Over the weekend I bought and read Erik Qualman's SOCIALNOMICS book. It's a deep dive into how social media transforms the way we live and do business.

In chapter seven, Erik writes about "Winners and Losers in a 140-Character World." One line jumped out at me as a brilliant way to explain the best approach for businesses participating in the online conversation.