FTC Moves to Unmask Word-of-Mouth Marketing

From the Washington Post:

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships.

In a staff opinion issued yesterday, the consumer protection agency weighed in for the first time on the practice. Though no accurate figures exist on how much money advertisers spend on such marketing, it is quickly becoming a preferred method for reaching consumers who are skeptical of other forms of advertising…

Andy Sernovitz, chief executive of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, said the FTC’s decision was an endorsement of the industry’s efforts to police itself. The Chicago-based association, which has more than 300 members, last year issued a code of ethics stating that marketers should disclose ties to sponsors.

The group has also tried to hold members accountable. Sernovitz said the group is reviewing the membership status of the Edelman public relations firm after Wal-Mart, one of the firm’s clients, reportedly gave positive comments to bloggers who then posted the comments without mentioning the source. Edelman later admitted that some of its employees had written the blogs.

  • Click here (PDF) to learn more about the Wal-Mart/Edelman fake blog controversy.

Posted by Russ Fagaly on Tuesday, December 12, 2006

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COMMENTS

wonderful!  Thank goodness!  Without government interaction there is no telling how horrible this evil scheme would have went.

bruce davis in conway, ar
Tuesday, December 12 at 02:22 PM

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C

Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

Alex in Ontario, Canada
Tuesday, December 12 at 05:32 PM

ALEX EVERYONE that works for or ever worked for
walmart has been abused or robbed or financialy raped by
the this co . you are not the only one.  THEY GIVE $125,000
bonus to these lowlife mgn while they cut your hours and pay

and drive people away ,because no one is there to wait on them
..

knight in ohio in
Tuesday, December 12 at 05:54 PM

knight, what I am hearing from you is that you feel Walmart is a poor employer in every location. I believe you are right.
In Jonquiere, Walmart crossed the line by lying to the Canadian people suggesting that they closed the store [firing the workers] because of poor sales. We know that truth is that Walmart does not respect this countries labour laws and in fact see’s itself above the law, while thinking that they deserve Canadians support still.
I don’t think they deserve support. I had the opportunity to talk to another person today. Often the other person is more pissed off at Walmart than I am. Today was that case again.
You are right though, Walmart is not a responsible employer.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C

Home of Walmart Worker Abuse.

Alex in Ontario, Canada
Tuesday, December 12 at 06:56 PM

Actually, Alex it would be the former home of alleged Wal-Mart worker abuse.

Peace

Tony Smith in Indianapolis,IN
Tuesday, December 12 at 09:51 PM

knight, that town alex is concerned about also shut down two union factories a year before that wal-mart store closed down.  Wal-mart had like 190 employees the union jobs that the factories lost was something like 1900 employees.

Bruce Davis in Conway, AR
Wednesday, December 13 at 06:57 AM

Bruce,

Don’t you know, that it is alright for a union to cause a company to shut it’s doors, but it is wrong for the company to do it on it’s own?  Remember, employees have a RIGHT to have a job, that pays them what they NEED to live on (undefined ‘living wage’), and the company only has the RIGHT to ‘shut up’ and give it to them!!

Bob in
Wednesday, December 13 at 09:57 AM

So tell us about those factories Bruce.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C

Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

Alex in Ontario, Canada
Wednesday, December 13 at 04:43 PM

Bruce Davis in Conway, AR

I would love to see the links to these company closings Bruce.

DAVE SMITH
PROUD UNION IRONWORKER

IRONHEAD in idabel oklahoma
Wednesday, December 13 at 09:15 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51521-2005Apr13.html

http://www.ainfos.ca/04/feb/ainfos00074.html

There you go dave, i am not contesting that wal-mart didn’t close down the store because it wanted to prove a point that they don’t welcome unions.  I would have to say that i think that is why they closed it down.  But the economy in that area wasn’t doing too well.  The things is Alex jumps and shouts about how evil wal-mart was for closing and yet he has said nothing of all of the other jobs lost in jonquiere that were union jobs.

bruce davis in conway, ar
Thursday, December 14 at 12:28 AM

dave, let me know when you read that last post and check out that information… you too alex.

bruce davis in conway, ar
Thursday, December 14 at 10:28 AM

So the person above suggests admits that Walmart close the store because of their own reasons.
Wouldn’t one think that if times are bad, Walmart would become even more important than ever?

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C

Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

Alex in Ontario, Canada
Thursday, December 14 at 10:50 AM

the person above? You couldn’t even address me by name?  Thanks person in ontario.... wal-mart would have become more important as stated by many of the concerned workers that were put out on their butts....

Bruce Davis in Conway, AR
Friday, December 15 at 11:43 PM

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