Buzz Marketing Comes Under Fire
Are buzz marketers breaking the law? Consumer advocacy group Commercial Alert thinks so, and it is asking the Federal Trade Commission to find out if marketers involved in the tactic, also known as stealth or guerilla marketing, are violating federal laws prohibiting deceptive advertising. Perhaps surprisingly, several marketers contacted by CHIEF MARKETER agree that such an investigation may be a good idea.
In a six-page letter to FTC secretary Donald Clark dated Oct. 18, Commercial Alert executive director Gary Ruskin argued that by failing to say that they’ve been enlisted to promote products, some buzz marketers are deceiving consumers. Ruskin said he wants the FTC to require brand ambassadors to disclose their relationship with the brand being pitched.
In the letter, Ruskin called out only Proctor & Gamble-owned marketing service Tremor, which claims to have more than 250,000 teens enlisted for its word-of-mouth programs. Ruskin wrote that the FTC should examine the marketing of minors because “children and teenagers tend to be more impressionable and easy to deceive. The Commission should do this, at a minimum, by issuing subpoenas to executives at Proctor & Gamble’s Tremor and other buzz marketers that target children and teenagers, to determine whether their endorsers are disclosing that they are paid marketers.”
Tremor CEO Steve Knox told “USA Today” that the marketing service does not pay teens to get involved but does trade samples for participation.
CHIEF MARKETER contacted several marketers via e-mail for their response to Consumer Alert’s claim. This is how they answered the following question: How do you feel about Commercial Alert’s call for an investigation against buzz marketing, and what does your agency do to ensure your buzz campaigns are ethically run?
- Erik Hauser, creative director/founder, Swivel Media, San Francisco:
Absolutely… they should look into this. What has happened here is simple. You have an association [WOMMA – Word of Mouth Marketing Association] that has done a great job of promoting themselves and drawing in several brands and agencies. The association has attempted to take all emerging mediums and pull them together using one term: word-of-mouth marketing. Unfortunately, word-of-mouth marketing does not exist. Word of mouth is an outcome. It is a part of the equation that comes after the equal sign. Any attempt to place the word of mouth before the equal sign causes the equation, via deceptive tactics, to be thrown off. Real word of mouth is authentic, genuine communication between two or more individuals for the benefit of the receiving party. This cannot be bought. The only way to guide this conversation is by putting together a solid program that comes before the equal sign. - Bill Engler, senior vice president-strategy, BrandLogic Corp., Wilton, CT:
The idea of buzz is not new–we used to call it word of mouth, and good marketers know it’s the best form of advertising in the world. However, although these campaigns can be effective, this sort of activity really has the potential to backlash on a company. Young people today are more marketing-savvy than ever before; once the word gets out that “Emma,” the cool girl at school, is really part of a well-orchestrated campaign, she and the brands she is pushing will become instantly uncool. Credibility is a core equity of every valuable brand, and companies should tread very lightly whenever a tactic puts that credibility at high risk. - Matthew Glass, chairman/CEO, Grand Central Marketing, New York:
We advise our clients against stealth marketing. Any short-term gains aren’t worth the negative backlash of being exposed as a company that is out to dupe the public. We provide event-marketing strategies to brands looking to build relationships with its customers. Our promotional staff acts as brand ambassadors and are trained to deliver key message points and overtly act as spokespeople for our clients. We support attempts to curtail the use of deceptive stealth marketing, as it perpetuates a negative perception of marketers as less than trustworthy. If stealth marketing seeks to create the impression of viral buzz, a promotional program that speaks directly and effectively to its target audience generates word of mouth naturally. Delivering promotional messages organically and unobtrusively doesn’t need to be underhanded. - Ben Sturner, president/cofounder, Leverage Sports Agency, New York:
There is an ethics question here for sure, and Commercial Alert raises some good points. We encourage the buzz marketers we hire at sporting events to truthfully disclose who they are working for and the product they are giving away as a disclaimer when asked. Particularly if dealing with minors, there should be no deception. Buzz marketing can still be very creative, wild, and fun without deceiving minors, and that is what we strive for at Leverage Sports Agency in our promotions. - Drew Neisser, president/CEO, Renegade Marketing Group, New York:
Commercial Alert’s missive was a wakeup call to stealth marketers who feel the need to deceive to sell. Renegade believes that clever marketers can find a way to influence consumers without fooling them with faux word of mouth. Guerrilla marketing should not be confused with stealth marketing in that guerrilla is more about being unconventional than about being covert. The HSBC BankCab is a well-branded example of guerrilla marketing, providing a completely unexpected, unconventional, and compelling brand experience. It is no less effective because the brand is clearly identified–in fact, the program depends on the branded ID. Hiring “posers” risks breaking the fundamental trust between the brand and the consumer–break the trust and the brand has no value.
