AdAge has raised legal issues of Word Of Mouth Marketing and WOMMA has responded with Ethics Code.


AdAge has raised a number of questions about the legality of Word Of Mouth Marketing that involves, “ordinary, everyday folks — to speak to other ordinary, everyday folks about how great their products are”.

According to AdAge estimates the spending on Word Of Mouth Marketing has grown 100% in the last year and amounts to about 60 million. The question raised is whether those who participate in this kind of marketing should reveal that they are getting paid to promote a brand.

Douglas Wood, chairman of advertising and marketing law at Reed Smith, said, “If the motivation for [an endorser] is to profit from his or her endorsement, that connection probably needs to be disclosed. But since disclosure undermines the value of buzz marketing, advertisers are in a Catch-22”.

An FTC official said while word-of-mouth isn’t something that the agency is looking at, disclosing commercial relationships is crucial to avoid violating the law. Rich Cleland, an assistant director of advertising practices for the FTC, said, “The real question is whether consumers are being misled someway”.

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association has responded to this by bringing out its own Ethics Code.

“Word of Mouth = Honesty and Openness

We maintain that word of mouth is all about honesty and openness, not deception or stealth. One of the first things WOMMA did was create an Ethics Code that calls on anyone doing word of mouth to be honest. It outlines The Honesty ROI:

* Honesty of Relationship: You say who you’re working for

* Honesty of Opinion: You say what you really believe

* Honesty of Identity: You don’t lie about who you are

The Code also addresses the stealth marketing issue raised in the AdAge story: “We encourage word of mouth advocates to disclose their relationship with marketers in their communications with other consumers.”

To read the complete WOMMA Ethics Code click here.

 

 

 

 

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