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See Something Here Worth Talking About? Spread the Word — It's What We Do!

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Call for Comment

Purpose

This document is a draft for discussion. It is being presented to all interested parties to enable development of new formal policies with regard to this issue. It is not a final document and does not represent the official position of WOMMA or its members.

Participation

We recognize that this issue impacts a broad diversity of marketing stakeholders, industry associations, government agencies and consumer advocates. We are actively welcoming and encouraging their participation.

Procedure

All interested parties are invited to share their input on this important issue.

Issue

Video sharing platforms, social networking sites and blogging tools are increasingly enabling real and trusted conversations between consumers -- and marketers are moving aggressively to become part of that conversation.

By its nature, "social media" is assumed to emanate from consumers who are unaffiliated with marketers. These communication channels also rely on deeply trusted relationships among consumers. Therefore, marketers must exert special care and attention when using this media to prevent any possibility of confusion or deception. Consumers must get enough information to understand what they are seeing and where it came from.

Early Leadership

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) was founded on a strong desire to ensure trusted, win-win relationships between consumers and marketers. One of our first initiatives was to adopt, with broad participation and consensus, the WOMMA Ethics Code (www.womma.org/ethics) to provide guidance and counsel to marketers seeking to enter the word of mouth marketing arena.

A foundational building block of that ethics code, which we believe is as relevant as ever to evolving social media, is what is known as the "Honesty ROI." This includes the following:

We especially call out the "honesty of identity" provision, which speaks most clearly to the new forms of social media that are quickly unfolding. "Disclosure of identity," the code notes, "is vital to establishing trust and credibility. We do not blur identification in a manner that might confuse or mislead consumers as to the true identity of the individual with whom they are communicating, or instruct or imply that others should do so."

Creative Expression Issue

It is important to note that WOMMA was the first group to address the key issue of protecting creative freedom at the same time as protecting consumers. Our Ethics Code contains specific provisions enabling flexibility and creativity in the method of disclosure.

Current Questions

Looking ahead, a key priority for WOMMA is to develop comprehensive recommendations on best practices for marketers working with social media, drawing from core tenets of our foundational ethics policy. These practices are likely to be formally adopted as part of the WOMMA Ethics Code.

As part of that exercise, we will address the following important questions:

  1. Depth of Disclosure: How, when and where should disclosure be communicated? What should be considered sufficient?
  2. Form of Disclosure: How can we do disclosure most effectively and least intrusively, while ensuring that consumers understand the marketer's role?
  3. Creative Expression Protection: How do we protect creativity and maximize entertainment? Mystery, building anticipation and teasing outcomes are positive forms of communication arts. What forms of disclosure protect the creative process and the entertainment outcome?

Scope

WOMMA recognizes that we are raising questions relevant to a broad spectrum of marketing stakeholders, the answers to which have the potential to reach far beyond the world of "word of mouth" marketing. In every way possible, we seek a policy and framework that draws from existing standards in television, print and other advertising communications, especially those that assert a clear distinction between advertising and editorial. We also reach out to other marketing groups, industry associations and stakeholders to help us address these issues responsibly, constructively and inclusively. Everyone's success is our success.