Posts Tagged "FTC"

After all the sturm and drang initially surrounding the threat of  FTC guidelines for bloggers, the sentiment on the day before they are scheduled to go into effect seems to be: “no big deal.”  Bloggers worth their weight long ago began posting disclosure policies, some in anticipation of Dec. 1, others even before. At Child’s Play Communications, we have specifically asked our Team Mom network of bloggers to indicate when we have supplied product for review.  While neither publicists nor bloggers may be convinced that disclosure is entirely necessary — as one blogger put it, “My readers are not stupid, they know I’m not going out and buying all this stuff myself” — the fact is that it evens the playing field. Bloggers who do not clarify their relationship with companies and agencies — i.e., those who do not disclose, whether from ignorance or obstinance – will instantly classify themselves as unprofessional. Unfortunately, ”unprofessional” is a term that has been increasingly applied to mommy bloggers in the past year or so; a clear disclosure statement is one way for moms in social media to demonstrate that they mean business.

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I felt no need to rush to post  on last week’s revised FTC guidelines. The momosphere has been so preoccupied with them for seemingly so long now, their formal announcement felt more like overdue confirmation than breaking news. 

For anyone who has somehow missed the turmoil of the preceding months, the FTC has now updated the guidelines for consumer endorsements and testimonials to include bloggers. To quote from the Agency’s own press release, “the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.”

For all those mom reviewers who have been posting clear disclosure statements for months in anticipation of the move – “this product came from PR agency X, that trip was paid for by Company Y” — this should be no big deal. Despite the fact that many felt that the ruling was unnecessary — as one put it, “my readers are not stupid, they know I’m not going out and buying all that stuff I’m reviewing” — signs are that most plan to comply.

Fast Company did a story last week that really addressed a lot of points related to this and I’d like to share it with you here.

Whether bloggers are journalists and therefore should not be regulated,  whether their opinion is honest or influenced by the freebies they receive, and as annoying as it may be to have a government agency stick its nose into what a mom feels is personal expression, in the end that regulation may well help preserve the integrity and power of the  momosphere.

Or will it?  Now that moms everywhere will know that bloggers receive free products and are regulated, will they respect bloggers’ word more, or less? What do you think?

I was delighted to be quoted in last week’s Computerworld blog titled, “Why K”NEX brands loves mommy blogs.” The author talked about how toy companies such as K’NEX Brands value working with mom bloggers. In the article, K’NEX chief marketing officer Barbara Rentschler is quoted as saying “We raise awareness much more with mom blogs than we did with advertising.” In the story, I answered questions about how Child’s Play has created visibility for K’NEX through our Team Mom blogger network. The article looks at some of the current hot topics in the momosphere — payment for posts, pending FTC regulations and more — in a way that I believe was both fair and thorough.

I thought you might find the article informative.  For the full story, visit here.

Here’s news to tickle the hearts of marketers and mom bloggers alike: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering holding mom bloggers liable for product reviews.

What?

Allow this reporter-turned-publicist to point out that never in the history of journalism have traditional media been held responsible for reviewing products.

So what possible justification can there be for mommy bloggers to suddenly bear a burden that traditional media never have?

It appears that the FTC may consider such reviews advertising as opposed to editorial.

“The proposed revisions signal that the commission will apply existing principles of advertising law to new forms of media, like blogs,” according to an article posted recently on the ABC News site.

The concern is “about those instances when (testimonials) are delivered and it is not made obvious that it’s an advertisement for a company,” said FTC spokesperson Richard Cleland.

“It would only affect bloggers who are paid to write reviews but the sticky issue that is raised is what happens if a product is given for free,” said Cleland. “That is something we are going to have to address.”

Readers, before either the marketers or mom bloggers among you decide to totally abandon the concept of working together — a foundation on which a vast number of blogs and blogger reputations are based — keep in mind that a decision is not expected to be made until early summer.

My opinion: If mom bloggers become wary of posting about products, a major platform on which the success of social media is built will come crashing down. The result? What is now a win-win situation — for marketers, mom bloggers and their readers alike — will devolve into a scenario where everyone loses.

For more, please visit a good post on the subject, including some helpful recommendations, at Mamanista.