On Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2008, Tony DiResta, Partner, Reed Smith, former Director of the FTC's Southeast Regional Office, and legal council for WOMMA discussed the laws that affect all word of mouth marketers and brought our dial-in listeners up to date with recent rumblings regarding WOM and the FTC.
On this call, DiResta covered:
- The paradigm shift that's occurring in the understanding of what marketing really is -- both in philosophy and in practice. Formerly, marketing consisted of data and messages passed from marketers to consumers. Consumers were recipients of the message, as opposed to being active participants. In the new paradigm, the consumer is in control -- creating and spreading messages.
- The FTC and WOM: The FTC is most concerned with protecting consumers and makes laws that govern the interaction between marketers and consumers. Recently the FTC has become interested in "unmeasured media," specifically as it related to legislation that was passed in regard to the fast food industry and their perceived targeting of children.
- According to DiResta, the FTC is defining "marketing" very, very broadly and has come out claiming that all forms of marketing (measurable and unmeasurable alike) are within the purview of the FTC. This led DiResta to two conclusions that all WOM marketers need to take heed of:
- All WOM marketers must comply with the FTC, and nothing we do as an industry can be seen as deceptive or unfair. (This is a case where one bad apple can ruin the whole pie.)
- According to the FTC, WOM marketers are responsible for their agents' claims
- DiResta also suggested that hosting a conference specifically around WOMM and the law would be a great educational benefit to all word of mouth marketers.
Featured Speaker:
- Tony DiResta, Partner, Reed Smith
Anthony (Tony) E. DiResta's practice at Reed Smith focuses on complex commercial litigation (trial and appellate), governmental investigations and enforcement, white collar defense, and business counseling. While he has a breadth of experience in many substantive legal areas and in a wide range of industries, he specializes in trade and consumer regulation, antitrust and unfair competition, business torts, and contractual disputes.
Several years ago, Tony was appointed the Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Southeast Regional Office, where he supervised many of the enforcement, investigative, litigation, and outreach activities of the Competition and Consumer Protection Bureaus of the agency in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. Under his leadership, the Office received the John Marshall Award from the Attorney General of the United States for its enforcement achievements.