Advertising Age Op-Ed: Spam, Pop-Ups, CGM Abuse?
Are we messing everything up in the CGM space? Are we compromising the integrity of CGM and trouncing (once again) on the fragile "trust" covenant with consumers? That's a big fear I articulate in an op-ed published today in Advertising Age's Digital Edition.
CGM... brings to the table several coveted building blocks that advertisers let slip a long time ago: trust, credibility, authenticity and, often, restraint. CGM thrives because consumers trust other consumers more than advertisers, period.
But jumping on the CGM bandwagon in this environment of consumer control presents real risks and liabilities -- and could needlessly alienate consumers. It's unfamiliar terrain and credibility is at stake if marketers and agencies jump into the space recklessly.
Pete, Thank you for using your influence to bring this issue to light. I agree with you completely that this is something we should be debating and monitoring. If the marketers beging to flood CGM with a new form of advertising we will lose the power of CGM.
I have one exception to your article where you say: "It's about listening to real and authentic conversations and using that learning and insight to be become a better, more effective marketer". I would change the last sentence to say "using that learning and insight to become a better, more effective company". It's not just about getting your message to market, it's about being more effective at bringing value to your clients in the form of products and services that are worthy of word of mouth marketing.
Posted by: Deborah | September 07, 2006 at 07:49 PM
This is a subject near an dear to my heart - ONLINE TRUST!
I did a lengthy post on "Deceptive Marketing Lacks Complete Disclosure":
http://301url.com/4n0
Pete, you probably already know about the safe "301 URL" tool, but in case not, here it is:
http://301url.com/index.php
Posted by: Brokerblogger | September 09, 2006 at 06:50 PM