December 1, 2009 marked the day the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) implemented its new “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The guides address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, plus the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The FTC spent two years making these revisions, so it’s safe to say they’ll be more vigilant about cracking down on those who fail to comply.

Why the Revision…
Quite simply, the document was getting stale and the update was long overdue. The previous version had not been touched for 20+ years and the guides weren’t developed to include trends such as Internet advertising, viral marketing or consumer blogs.

As our media environment continues to morph and social media ramps up in intensity, advertisers no longer fully control the endorsements being made. It’s becoming easier for regular consumers and celebrities to make off-the-cuff comments about products or companies – intentionally or inadvertently. Because of this, the FTC implemented changes to the guides to continue protecting consumers from false and misleading advertisements.

Endorsement vs. Testimonial…
In the past, a celebrity made an endorsement and an average consumer made a testimonial. Now, the term endorsement is practically synonymous with testimonial. The FTC defines an endorsement as any advertising message that consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions, beliefs, findings or experiences of a party other than the sponsoring advertiser, even if the views expressed are identical to those of the sponsoring advertiser.

What Changed…
1. Results not typical disclaimers (Think Weight Watchers, Subway, etc.)

• “Results not typical” is no longer a safe harbor, especially for weight-loss messages
• Advertisements now have to be substantiated and disclose what the typical result is for the average consumer

2. Disclosure of material connections

• The connection (payment, free products) between the endorser and company must be identified.
• Disclosure is only necessary when the comment could influence a consumer’s opinion, positively or negatively.
• Example: Lance Armstrong partnered with FRS Healthy Energy to promote their energy drink. If he talks about this supplement on Oprah, he has to explain he’s a paid endorser. Two ways to accomplish this: the disclaimer can be in the end credits, or the endorser can weave into conversation that he is endorsing the product. The same thing applies to Twitter or Facebook messages; the connection must be disclosed either in the person’s profile or directly in their comment (Most celebrities aren’t doing this…yet).

3. Liability of advertisers

• Advertisers and endorsers are both liable for false/misleading/unsubstantiated claims.
• It is the endorser’s responsibility to make sure the message they are delivering is accurate, and to disclose their material connection to the product or company they’re endorsing.

Proceed with Caution…
If you, as a consumer, blog about the great cup of coffee and outstanding service you received at your neighborhood Starbucks on your way to work, you’re indirectly endorsing the product. If Starbucks sees your message and sends you a coupon to say thanks, you’re not liable. You become a sponsored endorser when Starbucks reaches out and asks you to talk about or review their product in exchange for free coffee – now you’re responsible for disclosing the relationship.

An easy way to protect yourself is to add a “Terms of Use” page to your blog outlining that you are not a professional or expert and aren’t affiliated with the companies mentioned in your blog. That’s also where you can include the products or companies you do endorse or support and whether or not you are paid for those messages. You can get a free disclosure policy from www.disclosurepolicy.org.

Quick Reminder…
While it’s in your best interest to comply with the guidelines, remember they are advisory in nature – not law – and they don’t always apply. You be the judge.

For a complete copy of the new guide, go to: http://www2.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf

While it’s easy to dismiss this concept — I mean seriously, who wants to write something to display in a banner ad? — don’t be so quick. There’s a human element that is drawn towards interacting with a brands we enjoy. We plaster our bodies with conspicuously branded products: Nike shoes, Polo shirts, Gap jeans, ad nauseam. Seeing your name and Twitter message (even for a short time period) associated with a brand you respect is attractive to many people.

In the offline world, Mini Cooper started using RFID technology in 2007 to recognize their car owners when they drive by billboards which digitally display a custom message based based on their owner’s name and car information. Even in 2005, Brits could send short text messages to a designated number and have them displayed on a digital construction sign (you know, the ones that warn us about traffic accidents) which was used to promote a Creative Technology Festival, go figure. So the idea of customized advertisement isn’t new, it’s just new to the Twitterverse.

Another example is from Volkswagen. You simply enter your Twitter name and it “analyzes” your Tweets to make a recommendation on which VW car is best for you. Below are screen captures of the basic animation sequence:

Corny? Yes. But it is entertaining and attempts to do “something” that helps create a link in potential buyers’ minds. I applaud them for pushing Twitter and animation technology this far as you must admit, it is innovative and fun. It’s not a homerun, but it’s a decent bunt single. And in today’s day-and-age, getting on base is half the battle.

So how will you use Twitter to better engage consumers with your advertising? Would love to hear….

PS: I’ve already registered “advertweeting.com” — sorry suckers!

Unlike most awards shows, the Webbys limit acceptance speeches to 5-words. From a marriage proposal to comedienne Sarah Silverman’s “Holocaust. Did it happen? Yes…” the quips were as crazy as you’d expect from a ballroom of uber-creative people. They’re all available for viewing on YouTube so check them out.

Normally, I don’t really care about celebrities. Really. But when they’re in the same room celebrating internet oriented achievements, it’s pretty damn cool. Martha Stewart, Seth Myers, Cameron Diaz, Charlie Rose, Trent Reznor, Molly Sims, Jimmy Fallon and Isabella Rossellini all mingled with the crowd (sort’ve) throughout the night. Quite validating for me considering all those incredibly late nights I spent working in obscurity in the in mid-90’s when the Web was still the domain of socially inept geeks. Not that I was ever one of those. I’m just saying…

The biggest attraction for me was meeting the inventor of the World Wide Web – Tim Berners Lee. I brought along the book he wrote “Weaving the Web” and got it autographed. He was impressed I read it; the dogeared pages with scribbled notes from a decade ago proved my case proved that indeed I was nerdy enough to read a novel about his invention.

Here’s a photo of us walking on the red carpet. Note the book — oh yah!

Here’s a shot of Nicole (right) and our friends from Black Magic Marker (Holland). Both are gorgeous, the picture really doesn’t do them justice. And before you tease me, YES I KNOW I’m a lucky dude.


After the awards gala, we briefly met Seth Meyers and thanked him for emceeing the event. He’s amazingly quick witted, endearing and sincere. And he was cool enough to let us snap a quick photo:

In the end, it was a fantastic weeked. And my 5-word speech? “Geeks Will Inherit the Earth.”

]]> http://www.moneysmith.com/2009/06/trip-to-the-2009-webby-awards-part-2/feed/ 1 http://www.moneysmith.com/2009/06/trip-to-the-2009-webby-awards-part-1/ http://www.moneysmith.com/2009/06/trip-to-the-2009-webby-awards-part-1/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:33:31 +0000 Gary Moneysmith http://www.moneysmith.com/?p=443 This definitely falls into the Social Media @ PLAY category. Back in March, a friend from RHI/The Creative Group encouraged me to enter their online essay contest asking about trends on the Internet. I wrote about the convergence of social media integrating with popular websites that were also streaming live television. Think back to the CurrentTV online broadcast of the Presidential debates that had live tweets streaming across the stream or TNT’s website that allowed users to select their camera angle during the NBA All-Star game and chat with their friends via Facebook Connect. I’m very intrigued on how these 3 areas are being homogenized into an entirely new, communal experience. Face it, American Idol is a lot more fun when simultaneously watching the show and chatting online about it with friends or family spread around the world.

Long story short, my entry was selected by the contest sponsor and the Webby executive director out of a couple hundred entries. So I got a free trip to NYC to watch the Webby’s in-person with my lovely wife Nicole. Mind you, we have 1-year old so this was our first Mommy-Daddy outing in 16-months. You could’ve given me a trip to see Muppets-on-Ice in Paducah, Kentucky and I would’ve been stoked. But to attend the Webby Awards in NYC was beyond awesome.

The Webby Awards are the Oscars for Internet projects. And while most self-respecting Web geeks scoff at awards, this event is to die for. Seriously. You have to win an award to attend — you can’t just buy a ticket. So for most people (including yours truly), it’s a once in a lifetime event.

The cocktail party the night before was the official ice-breaker. And like all good open bars, the ice was broken, crushed and served into free drinks. We met our super-fun hosts from RHI/The Creative Group – Jen and Megan – who couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. We had fantastic conversations with designers from Weiden + Kennedy, Qik, the LA Times, the BBC Online and big Black Marker, a web development firm from Amsterdam. Amazing talent/people. We ended up befriending the Amsterdam group and sharing a wonderful dinner after the party. They won their Webby for their Tom Tom Secrets website which is super creative – you should check it out.

Here are a couple shots from the evening:

I’ll write about the big Webby Award gala in my next post — coming very soon!

]]> http://www.moneysmith.com/2009/06/trip-to-the-2009-webby-awards-part-1/feed/ 2 http://www.moneysmith.com/2009/06/social-media-success-story-31-days-of-the-dragon/ http://www.moneysmith.com/2009/06/social-media-success-story-31-days-of-the-dragon/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:25:53 +0000 Gary Moneysmith http://www.moneysmith.com/?p=408 This is an oldie, but goodie from 2008. Computer manufacturer HP teamed up with word-of-mouth marketing specialists Buzz Corps to launch the 31 Days of the Dragon campaign. Per HP, they wanted to “deepen their commitment to the blogosphere and support new media initiatives that build strong relationships in a unique community of writers, reviewers, fans and enthusiasts.”

HP provided 31 “HDX Dragon” computer systems to 31 carefully selected bloggers/influencers to give away to lucky readers on their own sites over 31 days (one per blogger). A key success factor, HP/Buzz Corps really took the time to to know the bloggers. Each blogger was allowed to set their own contest/giveaway rules that were customized to the respective audience and goals.

The bloggers created their own custom marketing materials (microsites, graphics, logos, videos, RSS feeds) and shared/cross promoted with each other. The net relationship was more of a partnership with each other and HP vs. a traditional product giveaway program.

Impressive Takeaways
During the promotion, the 31 bloggers heavily promoted the contest, HP, the HDX Dragon and each other, demonstrating the collective power of the community banding together. Each participating blog site not only saw a 150% – 5,000% increase in traffic, but also sustained traffic levels for several months after campaign was finished.

Impossible to achieve with with traditional media, here are the results based HPShopping.com, month over month data:

• 84% increase in sales on the HDX Dragon System
• 14% increase in overall traffic
• 10% increase in overall consumer PC sales
• 50 million impressions (Alexa data)
• Treasure trove of consumer feedback and traffic stats to be used in future planning and development
• 10,000 reader/entrant videos on YouTube.com and Blip.tv
• 380,000 links discussing the giveaways (per Google)
• 25,000 entries received by the 31 participating blogs

Costs
$250,000 for the 31 computer systems given away including shipping, software, etc. Zero dollars spent on media. While the costs for Buzz Corps aren’t available, they’re likely to be in the $75,000-100,000 range (my guess). Even if they were higher, they were worth every penny for the amount of exposure and good will created for HP. Mucho props to them for pulling off such a successful social media campaign.

First up is ClevelandIdeas.com — a social media project conceived, developed, self-financed, promoted and maintained by the good folks at DigiKnow, Inc.

Per the ClevelandIdeas.com website, DigiKnow is sick and tired of negativity. And they’re looking to use the “Wisdom of Crowds” to generate good ideas that might be used to make Cleveland and the region stronger in the future. I interviewed King Hill (President/Principal) and Scott Chapin (Director of Consulting Services) with the following questions:

1) How did you conceive of ClevelandIdeas.com and what inspired you to invest so much into the program?

We decided that in 2009 we needed to increase our awareness locally, so in March, we created an open contest to the staff to generate a campaign/marcom idea for DigiKnow in 2009. The results of this were several strong ideas that were integrated into our “We Know” tagline. Since our theme was centered around knowledge, we came up with the idea of using the wisdom of crowds to help Cleveland brainstorm ideas.

2) What’s the primary platform that powers ClevelandIdeas.com? What unique features does it allow?

The website is built on the open-source Pligg platform that functions much like Digg or the SalesForce application that Dell’s IdeaStorm and myStarbucksIdea.com are built on. The system allows users to register and submit ideas/comments and allows any visitors to vote, pushing them up/down the list accordingly.

3) What other social media channels are you using to support or supplement the program?

Twitter was our primary social media channel to drive awareness of our efforts. We built a script that identified all of the local twitterers in the Cleveland market and followed the top 1000 users. We tweeted any interesting activities on the site as well as general activities relevant to our Cleveland audience. Facebook and LinkedIn pages/groups were also setup but were not heavily promoted. Several lively discussions developed in LinkedIn surrounding our overall concept and the need to generate ideas for Cleveland.

4) What cross channel marketing support have you used to drive awareness and participation?

The website was promoted through traditional media including radio and outdoor, through PR in local newspapers, radio and TV in addition to the social media promotion via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

5) What’s been the most surprising result or lesson learned thus far?

There have been several interesting results from this campaign. The most profound is the balance of traffic that was generated by social media, advertising and PR. Attributing website traffic as best as possible, there was a relatively even mix between these three marketing channels. The engagement of visitors was another surprise. The average time on site was 5 minutes, but more surprisingly, the average for visitors that submitted an idea was 25 minutes.

Results after 5-weeks:

• 293 ideas
• 1,885 votes
• 501 comments

6) What actionable results or intelligence have been discovered?

By controlling all of the pieces of this marketing puzzle and having full data on the site activities, we were able to see which activities we did triggered what level of response. Within this Petri dish, we were able to tweak relatively small activities and see the results. A good example of this was inviting people to follow us on Twitter. In each round of following, we got about a 50-60% follow back rate and an obvious spike in visitors to the website.

7) How will you measure the success of ClevelandIdeas.com – for the City of Cleveland and/or DigiKnow?

Our goal is not only to get the best ideas into the hands of local leaders, but to help push them to happen. Success in that sense will be to have an idea from the site become a reality and benefit the city. From DigiKnow’s standpoint, in addition to helping the city, the awareness created and the positive feedback we have already received makes this campaign a success for us.

You can’t do it all with social media. There, I said it. I know marketing budgets have been slashed and management is clamoring to use those free, newfangled Web 2.0 tools. But you can’t turn to social media to save the day. It sucks, I know.

Social media is a slow build. Blog and Twitter page don’t just “go viral” before your eyes. It’s more like planting a seed, fertilizing it and tending to it carefully over time. The more you support it with complementary traditional advertising, the better the odds on it taking root and blossoming. Cross channel marketing of social media initiatives is extremely helpful, but easily overlooked, especially during tough economic times. Remember the Subservient Chicken campaign by Burger King? Yah, it was supported by a national television advertising campaign whose cost were certainly NOT chicken feed. They spent a few hundred grand on a cool Web site/social media initiative, but then invested several million dollars in advertising to support it. Very important point not to forget.

Or how about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign that set a new standard of excellence for grassroots, Internet marketing — seemingly deploying every social media channel available. According to BusinessInsider.com Obama’s spend on the internet was a surprisingly low $8 million. That’s just 3% compared to the $245 million he spent on television advertising. Clearly he wouldn’t have spent such a colossal some on television if it wasn’t necessary.

Change doesn’t have to be light-switch proposition. Start a social media initiative today, but be sure to make sure it’s “on brand” and supported by complementary advertising/public relations. Over time (months or years), transition money from the traditional media budget into the social media campaign itself, but only after it has sprouted and is displaying positive signs of growth. Abandoning a social media campaign to survive on its own does nothing more than waste your time/money and seal its fate as a failure.

Sincerely,

Gary

I’m very happy to share this guest interview with David Griner, a social media strategist for Luckie & Company and the mastermind behind The Social Path blog. Also a contributor to Adweek’s AdFreak.com,  he has done social media work and training for Little Debbie, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, to name but a few of his clients.

I was particularly interested in the role AGENCIES play in working with (or on behalf of) their clients engaging in social media projects.

Q: When doing outreach to possible online community leaders and other individual people within a client’s target audience, how/when does the agency disclose they’re a hired gun vs. the actual client? Does it matter?

David: I think it only matters to the extent that you want the recipient to know that you’re legitimate. I generally just say I’m a social media coordinator for a certain business, then my agency info is at the bottom. I’m rarely the first marketer to ever contact a blogger, so they usually understand the role that agencies and consultants play.

Q: When is it acceptable to write/post material such as blog posts or Twitter updates for a client? Traditional media has ghost-writing, but is this acceptable in social media?

David: Personally, I think there’s nothing wrong with starting a blog or Twitter feed with client approval and helping launch it with content. It helps establish a tone, frequency standards, response policies, etc. But you definitely always want the goal to be that you’re phasing in the client as the content producer. A big part of that relationship is helping clients figure out how they’ll staff these things. They look to us for a realistic expectation of time and workload. I think this training and structuring is a far greater challenge than the fun work of simply maintaining a feed.

Q: How does an agency respond when a client replies, “Social media tools are free. Why do I need an agency anymore?”

David: My agency has been pretty clear that, when it comes to social media, we’re not in the content management business. It’s simply not an efficient use of our clients’ time and money. We see our role is two-part: First, help strategize and develop social media tools that are right for each specific client. Second, work closely with the client to incorporate these tools into their corporate structure and strategic goals.

Is it possible to do all this without an agency, consultant, etc.? Absolutely. But the company will have to draw the resources from somewhere, and turning to someone experienced with social media (and trustworthy) generally saves a business from a lot of headache and false starts.

If a client is shutting the door on your agency because they don’t feel it’s worth bringing you in to help with social media, it’s probably a sign of a bigger problem with the relationship. In my experience, clients have generally seen it as an affordable investment with an agency they trust to look out for their interests long-term.

Q: What advice would you give to an ad agency or PR firm about using social media to build and nourish a brand vs. trying to maintain control?

David: I feel strongly that social media channels should be in the clients’ hands. It makes them more effective, more honest and more influential. That said, I think these channels will prove to be vital marketing and PR tools for agencies down the line. I think you can nourish a brand and maintain control of its social media presence in the short term, but without corporate buy-in for the long haul, we’re just playing with toys.

Q: Finally, if you were a business executive interested in social media, what would you be looking for from your agency?

David: I’d want someone who was light on ego, heavy on smarts and experienced with social media from both ends of the marketing equation. Most of all I’d be looking for someone with accountability, someone in it to help my business succeed and not just fishing for a case study.

Just imagine if you had control of a radio station microphone, what would you say? Most DJ’s fill the airwaves with a mix of relevant news, jokes, personal stories, event happenings, sports scores, listener calls, contests, trivia and commentary on current events. They don’t simply drone on about one thing all the time. They mix it up with some unique balance that their listeners enjoy and value.

Same goes for your Twitter channel — mix it up with some “inside scoop” comments on your business. Post a link to some interesting article that affects your industry/city. Add comments to the posts of other people just like you’d chat with them on the street. Joke around a bit and share some harmless, personal tidbits. Above all, be authentic and human. Seriously, no one wants to hang around with a robot who is obviously just trying to sell widgets.

It’s amazing how much you can convey and learn with 140-characters. So get started and HAVE FUN!