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

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But unlike big brands such as Nike, Starbucks and Honda, most small businesses/organizations across the country are NOT the subject of intense Twitter conversations and mock YouTube videos. You (fortunately) don’t have Facebook groups protesting your business practices, right. So why not lay low until a crisis occurs or some other “conversation threshold” has been crossed?

My answer? Don’t think QUANTITY, think RELEVANCE. Remember, it only takes one fly to ruin your soup. Say a person wrote a disparaging blog post about your company.  Only you can decide what’s “relevant” what isn’t. Yes, should consider quantitative data such as the blog’s Technorati rating and inbound links, but consider qualitative factors such as:

• Familiarity – Is the blogger well-known and respected in your industry?
• Content Quality – Is the blog’s other content credible and thorough?
• Message – Is their commentary accurate or clearly off-base?
• Traffic – Is their blog a heavily trafficked site?
• Influence – Is this person well connected? How much damage can they cause?
• Comments – Are other people “piling on” to the discussion? Does anyone care?
• Viral Nature – Is this conversation being referred or linked to by other blogs/Twitter posts?

Quite often, one rogue blog post can be ignored as a fluke. But if you’re gut tells you that it could be relevant to your organization, you’re able to make a much more informed decision as to a response or remedy.  But it MUST be a decision based on more than numbers alone.

And remember, if there’s a fly in your soup, he’s having a pretty bad day, too….

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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.

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According to MuckRack.com, “What if you could get tomorrow’s newspaper today? Now you sorta can. Muck Rack makes it easy to follow one line, real time reporting.” Basically, it aggregates all the journalist feeds per a particular publication such as the New York Times or the Washington Post.

To me, it’s interesting to read rough, stream-of-consciousness tweets from journalists whose work we otherwise only read when it’s completely spit-polished by editors. They also offer photos — many very amateur looking, but real. For news and media junkies, it’s a must-bookmark.

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In the blogger’s lounge, I started chatting casually with one of Live Search reps who was completely honest, attentive, genuine and sincere. He acknowledged past Microsoft foibles and explained (using plain-talk) how they’ve improved their system over the years and their plans for the future. I’m simplifying and summarizing here, but you get the gist. Half an hour later I realize, “Shit, I’m starting to like Microsoft. What the hell is happening?!” It was then that I realized: PEOPLE ARE THE ULTIMATE BRAND AMBASSADORS.

Microsoft was able to accomplish more with one employee’s conversation (an employee wearing a t-shirt, ripped jeans and flip flops) than millions of dollars advertising. How’d that happen?!

I think this is the essence of social media for businesses. It allows ordinary people to connect with brand representatives in a meaningful, human, lasting way. If organizations empower their employees to connect with customer using social media (within the spirit of the brand), I’m a strong believer that they’ll increase their customer loyalty and begin to convert the skeptics — like me.

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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.

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• Did you know there were 14,000 daily and weekly newspaper in the early 1900’s thanks to low cost printing presses?
• America’s first newspaper included a blank page to allow readers to write comments/notes before passing along the paper to a friend.
• Early bloggers such as Ben Franklin were known as pamphleteers.

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When it comes to people, don’t think brand – think SPIRT.  Human beings simply can’t walk thru life constantly acting and speaking “on message” to reinforce some associated brand.  Even if they try, others will see through their being so one-dimensional.  It’s boring.  Don’t be that guy.

Instead, think about being ON SPIRIT — a much more organic and meaningful expression way to breathe continuous life into a brand.

So when you (or your employees) are interacting with other people online, don’t suffer from “paralysis of analysis” on whether or not you’re precisely ON BRAND.  Rather, think about what you’re saying/doing to gauge if it’s in spirit of your organization’s brand.

Google realized this early and adopted their mantra for employees: Don’t be evil.  To be even safer, I’d recommend the Golden Rule: Treats others as you’d want to be treated yourself.

So if stay ON SPIRIT while interacting in social media while your advertising delivers your message ON BRAND, you’ll stand out as an organization that can both talk the talk AND walk the walk.

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Over 250 people were in attendance — on a FRIDAY NIGHT — during FOOTBALL season.

Speakers included:

• Reid Hoffman – Founder of LinkedIn
• Judy Estrin – CEO of JLABS, former Cisco CTO, and author of Closing the Innovation Gap: Reigniting the Spark of Creativity in a Global Economy
• Michael R. Nelson – Adviser to the Obama campaign on technology issues, Professor, Internet Studies, Georgetown University

The event was reported live by several bloggers with full coverage located at:

• Tweetstream
• Blogger Coverage

The event concluded with a celebrity cameo by Craig Newmark (founder of CraigsList.com) who asked the panelists how Ohioans can “use social networking to improve Midwestern states like Ohio and Michigan.”

A private reception was held for about 30 people who were lucky enough to share drinks with the panelists and ask follow-up questions.  The featured speaker of the reception was Newmark with his discussion points listed follow:

• Graduate of CWRU (Cleveland, Ohio) — lived in Detroit 10 years

• Spoke of the importance of alternative energy technologies; recently on research trip to Israel where he “experienced his first rocket attack.”  Yikes!

• CraigsList.com was a “simple thing I started 13 years ago, after I saw so many people give back to others back in 1995.”

• Craig is committed to doing customer service himself — “as long as I’m alive.”  Imagine calling in and reaching THE MAN himself — very cool!

• Everything on CraigsList.com is based on community feedback.  His motto (reflected in part by the site’s design) has always been “to keep it simple.”

• He considers himself a community organizer, just doing it online.  Says Newmark, “Speaking as a nerd, this is very attractive as I don’t have to get out of my chair as much.”

• Craig is very involved with Irag/Afghanistan veterans and is aggressively standing up for their benefits.  Has stood up for these people “who need a break” and has met with both McCain and Obama camps.  He continues to “identify small grass roots groups that help veterans and their families.”

• He is “genuinely driven by community” and has “done well by doing good.  Do what feels right.  Build a culture of trust by following through with the basics.  Do the golden rule.  It’s a platitude, but we need to seriously follow through on it.”

• Involved in voter registration, especially focused on geting the word out (college students) on a non-partisan basis.

The Internet allows us to create networked grassroots movements for not thousands but 10’s of milions of people involved in grassroots democracy.  We’re implementing the dream of direct democracy.  I’m counting on the new “civic generation” to make this a reality (but stay off my lawn!) as I get increasingly cranking.  (crowd laugh)  This is an expression of genuine American democratic values.

Finally, I had casual, one-on-one conversations with each of the main speakers.  Here are a few takeaways:

Judy Estrin

Leadership is like parenting – you need to change your style depending on what phase/age your child/company is in.  You nurture and manage your 5-year old much differently than your 10/15-year old.  Same thing goes for a start up vs. growth phase vs. established business organization.

Reid Hoffman

I asked Reid about good examples of State government using social media.  He assured me that he knows some, but couldn’t recall off hand.  He gave me his personal email address to remind him to send me his recommendations.  I also asked him how he schedules his work life (dude’s involved in about 30 companies directly or as an angel investor).  Not surprisingly, he said he works 8am – 11pm Monday through Friday and most of the day on the weekend.

Mike Nelson

When Mike speaks, people listen.  Mike is an unassuming college professor who stole the show (in my mind) with razor sharp insights based on decades of hands-on expertise and experience in Washington D.C.  To me, his best line of the night was “First rate people surround themselves with first rate people.  Second rate people surround themselves with second and third rate people.”

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The ensuing entries were a blast to write. 95% of it was pure fiction of course with the other 5% being the usual “I have toes and I grew a spinal cord this week” type of stuff. The baby had a snarky attitude and often wondered about his parent’s readiness and sanity. Totally fun stuff that our family/friends lapped up and enjoyed.

As a marketing geek, I can’t help but think about all the brand icons out there just begging to come to life in social media.  Just imagine the Twitter conversations you could have with them:

Tony the Tiger
Do you ever want to just say “They’re just pretty good — not great?” What fun stories could you share about being a cub that my kids might relate to?

Jolly Green Giant
When did you realize you were taller than the other green kids? Do you eat vegetables yourself? Do you like sweets, too? Do you always get along with your sidekick Sprout?

Mr. Peanut
Have you ever been tested for peanut allergies? What tips can you give me if my kid has peanut allergy — we know you’re not for everybody. BTW, how OLD are you now? What are your favorite foods made with peanuts — got any recipes?

Juan Valdez
What are your thoughts on shade grown coffee? Is coffee harvesting helping the local economies in Central/South America? I hear it’s better to pick beans off trees vs. cutting down the rain forest — tell me more, oh wise, mysterious Juan.

Pillsbury Doughboy
Dude, why are you so happy all the time? You’re round, but are you healthy? What advice can you share with kids to enjoy good food. What school did you attend? Clearly cooking was your fav class, right?

Michelin Man
What do you think of the high gas prices? What can I do to my tires to keep them in best shape for the highest gas mileage possible? Got any new technologies you can tell me about?  And how’s that fat little dog of yours doing?

Ben & Jerry
What are you guys doing now? Tell me some stories about the people you’ve helped. Tell me about some crazy flavors that never got picked — we KNOW you’ve tried some wacky ones that didn’t work out.

Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker
Tell me some old stories about when you first started out. What were some struggles you overcame back then — how do they compare to nowadays? What music do you like? What are some favorite events you’ve been invited to?

Mr. Clean
Oh, we just KNOW you’ve got some juicy stories to share. What — with the shaved head and earring for all these years. You’re a soap opera waiting to come to life, ya big stud.

Clearly the possibilities are endless.  What a boom time for creative writers — or it SHOULD be.  Every one of these brands was cultivated to convey a certain brand identity that has lived on for years.  Now we have the opportunity to actually interact with these formerly 2-dimensional personas.  Yea, some of you had furry suits, BUT YOU NEVER TALKED TO US.  Now’s the time!

This is fun stuff.  While every brand will have different creative freedom, they could ALL benefit from opening up and allowing us to interact with them.  You need to have a voice before earning word-of-mouth, right?

Just imagine the stories the Playboy Bunny could tell…

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