Filed under: Astroturfing, Stealth Campaigning, Stealth Marketing

Say is isn’t so, Hillary Clinton! It looks like you, your staff, and your campaign were caught stealth campaigning — astroturfing — by some folks who decided to do a little bit of Internet forensics. This sort of fisking is the ultimate big trophy hunt. Who would have guessed that a Clinton would be felled so early — not even sporting! Via Wired

Undercover marketing, Stealth marketing - Undercover marketing is a subset of guerrilla marketing where consumers do not realize they are being marketed to.

Stealth campaigning - Undercover campaigning is a subset of political campaigning online where voters do not realize they are being campaigned to.

Astroturfing - In politics and advertising, the term astroturfing describes formal public relations (PR) campaigns which seek to create the impression of being a spontaneous, grassroots behavior. Hence the reference to the “AstroTurf” (artificial grass) is a metaphor to indicate “fake grassroots” support.

Fisking - Fisking, or to Fisk, refers to the act of critiquing, often in minute detail, an article, essay, argument, etc. with the intent of challenging its conclusion or theses by highlighting logical fallacies and incorrect facts.

My advice to the candidates — free from me to you — is simple since I just posted it a couple hours ago on this very blog: Don’t Be Seduced by the Lure of Astroturfing:

“The blowback that can result from using a false name, a false email (a Yahoo, Google, or Hotmail address created for the campaign and the false name), and a false bio, isn’t worth it.”

No Comments » Posted on December 13th, 2007 by Chris Abraham

Filed under: Astroturfing, Authenticity, Shamsparency, Transparency

Pete Blackshaw wrote a pretty good article called The Official 2008 Web 2.0 Buzzword Forecast — I like it because I love it when the industry catches up me me (what, me modest?). Well, this is a great new buzzword that Pete defined: Shamsparency:

‘“Shamsparency”: Don’t get busted buying shills or engaging in unsavory activity. Just don’t do it, or the forces of shamsparency will catch up with you. It happens all the time, and firms in the CGM monitoring space (like my own) make it easier to uncover the imposters. My recommendation: avoid this term at all costs, and write the WOMMA ethics code on the whiteboard 30 times.’ The Official 2008 Web 2.0 Buzzword Forecast By Pete Blackshaw

I wrote something similar in Don’t Be Seduced by the Lure of Astroturfing:

Whenever you engage the Internet on behalf if a company or organization, you are acting as a brand ambassador. If someone is curious as to who you are and why you’re so passionate about an event, product, or service, the understanding is that they will pretty easily be able to find out that you’re a marketing professional.

For some, that is enough. Legally-speaking, it is enough. In terms of building a long-term relationship with your current, future, or present customers, hiding your identity as a professional marketer in the folds of your online profile may be considered deceitful.

You may be attracted to covert online marketing: special ops, black ops, spycraft – “fifth column marketing,” if you will. Don’t be.

The blowback that can result from using a false name, a false email (a Yahoo, Google, or Hotmail address created for the campaign and the false name), and a false bio, isn’t worth it.

There is a term for shooting for the short term by being opaque in your intent, no matter how effective it may be: astroturfing, which “describes formal public relations campaigns which seek to create the impression of being a spontaneous, grassroots behavior.”

Accusations of astroturfing can compromise the integrity of the organization you are representing, and further put your ability to communicate future messages in danger.

Over the short term, pretending to be just another denizen of an online community or a blog works if you can pull it off. It isn’t tough to sneak in and talk, talk, talk.

Even though your reputation online is more defined by your contributions to the conversations rather than who you are, the culture of the Internet doesn’t suffer being fooled, duped, or suckered.

If you are ever found out, you are screwed.

No Comments » Posted on December 13th, 2007 by Chris Abraham

Filed under: Abraham Harrison, Abraham Harrison LLC, Astroturfing, Authenticity, Black Hat Marketing, Black Hat PR, Blog Counter-Messaging, Blog Messaging, Blogger Effect, Blogger Engagement, Blogger Influence, Blogger Outreach, Blogger Relations, Brand Advocacy, Brand Ambassador, Brand Promotion, Brand Protection, Brand Reputation, Branding, Branding Online, Citizen Generated Media, Citizen Journalism, Client Service, Cluetrain Manifesto, Conversation Audit, Conversation Marketing, Counter Messaging, Crisis Management, Customer Ratings, Customer Reviews, Customer Service, Customer Supprt, David Weinberger, Defensive SEO, Domain Name Registration, Domain Name Strategy, Domain Registration, Edelman, Flogging, Flogs, Google Gaming, Google PageRank, Google Search, Guerilla Marketing, Hate Speech, Honesty, Industry Reputation, Integrity, Internet Forensics, Internet Strategy, Managing Conversation, Marketing Conversation, Marketing Hubris, Marketing Industry, Marketing Language, Marketing Strategy, Markets are Conversations, Messaging Online, New Marketing, New Media, New Media Blogs, New Media Marketing, New Media Strategy, New PR, New Public Relations, Online Advocacy, Online Brand Promotion, Online Brand Protection, Online Brand Reputation, Online Branding, Online Communities, Online Community Outreach, Online Conversation, Online Crisis Management, Online Engagement, Online Evangelism, Online Influence, Online Marketing, Online Media, Online Messaging, Online Outreach, Online PR, Online Participation, Online Public Relations, Online Reputation, Online Reputation Management, Online Reviewers, Online Reviews, Online Strategy, Online Virtual Communities, Open Kimono, PageRank, Passion Chamber, Personal Brand, Pitching Bloggers, Professional Blogging, Promotional Blog, Promotional SEO, Promotional Strategy, Propaganda Warfare, Protective SEO, Public Relations, Public Relations Bloggers, Public Relations Blogs, Public Relations Industry, Publicity Blog, Publicity Blogging, Relationship Marketing, Reputation Management, Reputation Rehabilitation, SEM and SEO, SEO, SERM, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Reputation Management, Search Engine Strategy, Search Engines, Search Reputation Management, Strategic Consulting, Viral Marketing, Viral Media, Viral Propagation, Web Strategy, Word-of-Mouth, Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Check out the article in last Thursday’s Times, Dealing With the Damage From Online Critics, that addresses how to handle consumers who develop a personal vendetta against your company. Well, you could send lawyers but legal cease-and-desists generally just make the customer madder than hell and it isn’t hard to just start yet another attack site.

I hate to say it, sucking less always helps. Start with treating your customers better. Also, be sure to register lots of domain names and work on your online reputation aggressively before it becomes a problem.

Online, the best defense is a good offense and an ounce of online promotion is worth a pound of cure. Here are some great commented-by-me excerpts from the article, Dealing With the Damage From Online Critics, so you can get a gist:

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4 Comments » Posted on October 8th, 2007 by Abraham Harrison

Filed under: Astroturfing, Authenticity, Blog Messaging, Blogger Ethics, Blogger Influence, Brand Ambassador, Shilling, Stealth Marketing

If you are anything like me you have been following with interest the story of the CEO/Chairman of Whole foods Mr. John P. Makcey who, using the online name Rahodeb, would bad mouth competition on Yahoo Finance’s bulletin board. It seems that the Federal Trade Commission is using Mackey’s pseudonym against him as they try to block Whole Food’s purchase of Wild Oats Markets as it would “limit competition among natural and organic groceries” (New York Times).

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5 Comments » Posted on July 21st, 2007 by Dani Sevilla

Filed under: Astroturfing, Authenticity, Conversation Marketing, Flogging, Flogs, Online Advocacy

This was one heck of an amusing 18-months in online advertising, online public relations, and online marketing. All of the biggest, baddest, richest firms proved they don’t know what the hell they’re doing online.

“2006 was not Madison Ave’s year of embracing the internet, but that didn’t stop it from being interesting … Exposed last week was one by Zipatoni that praised the Sony PSP using a made-up amateur hip hop artist. Earlier, McDonalds was caught with one, and Edelman launched Wal-Marting Across America earning it a rebuke from WOMMA .” Via MarketingVOX

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No Comments » Posted on July 16th, 2007 by Abraham Harrison

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