Dear WOMMA Members:
The Living Ethics Blog is now available to discuss/debate the following issue:
“We stand against marketing practices whereby the consumer is paid cash by the manufacturer, supplier or one of their representatives to make recommendations, reviews or endorsements.”
This item in our Ethics Code was brought forward by three members in good standing to open dialogue as part of the WOMMA Ethics Code Interim Review Process. The Blog will be live from June 1 to June 30th. WOMMA strongly encourages members, interested parties, and consumers to submit comments on this issue. This issue will be held in abeyance for a period of sixty days. All of this information will be publicly stated on our web site so the entire process will be clear and transparent. In addition, after the comment period has ended, the Board will take all communication/discussion on the topic and render a final and binding decision.
CEU Online 5:41 pm on June 17, 2009 Permalink
Great thoughts Jodi and great blog. I look forward to future postings.
jodi flicker 10:33 pm on June 9, 2009 Permalink
We stand against marketing practices whereby the consumer is paid cash by the manufacturer, supplier or one of their representatives to make recommendations, reviews or endorsements.”
Personally I see little difference between giving cash compensation and a reward or ‘first look’ or gift of an item that allow an ‘ambassador’ to sample a product and ’spread the word’ about it. All are a form of compensation to get the influencer to talk about your product. The teams we are hiring for our word of mouth marketing department are paid as if they are employees working on a freelance project to help raise awareness about our product to spurn chatter and buzz – however we only hire those people that are supportive of the content and that the content or product is relevant to them and their social circles – we never force fit a project to someone. It would be worthwhile for us to clearly define the conditions of the cash payment, as there are several scenarios where this practice can be both acceptable and unacceptable.
When Marketers Collude, Bloggers Lose 4:17 pm on June 3, 2009 Permalink
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