Deceptive Marketing On The Rise!

The recent press highlighted Sony’s fake Youtube Viral Campaign that featured a supposed video created by a loyal fan. The microsite associated with this campaign was alliwantforxmasisapsp.com, tied back to Zipatoni marketing agency on behalf of none other than Sony Computer Entertainment America. The website may be down because I couldn’t even access it. I guess bad news spreads like wildfire because Sony owned up to its little stretch of the truth with this comment on Youtube,

“Busted. Nailed. Snagged. As many of you have figured out (maybe our speech was a little too funky fresh???), Peter isn’t a real hip-hop maven and this site was actually developed by Sony. Guess we were trying to be just a little too clever. From this point forward, we will just stick to making cool products, and use this site to give you nothing but the facts on the PSP.”

So if you missed out on all the drama, don’t worry, the Consumerist blog went to the trouble to provide some great coverage. So when you think about creating false influence marketing campaigns, remember that the people you trying to influence are a little smarter these days. Creating corporate graffiti campaigns in urban settings with true graffiti communities isn’t so great either.

What’s Next?
The FTC has recognized the rise in deceptive marketing practices and has sided with WOMMA’s code of ethics and stated that companies disclose their relationship to their viral agents. Peter Blackshaw, chief marketing officer for Nielsen BuzzMetrics, which tracks the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing campaigns, said brands have more than a moral incentive to be upfront with consumers.

How Can You Avoid Deceptive Marketing?
Based your marketing around the benefits of your product and give your audience the tools to be ambassadors for your brand, don’t force it on them, don’t infiltrate their circles with claims to being “viral” and engage them in a one to one conversation where there is a push and pull mechanism through that process. Don’t force-feed your audience, they might just throw back up on you. Happy Holidays! Look for our Best of 2006 coming out next week!

About the Author: Chuck Longanecker

As Founder and CEO of digital-telepathy, Chuck applies his passion for technology and entrepreneurial arsenal to design unique online business strategy and revenue models for client projects. Chuck leads the charge of the dt brand as an advocate of social capital, karmic business, design for change and community.Find me on Google+.