[posted by Brigitta Brunner]
Having an undergraduate degree in marketing, I was curious to see what marketers had to say about viral marketing hoaxes.
I went to the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association’s webpage and found that someone had posted a similar query on the organization’s Ethics Code Review Blog. Specifically, the author asked “As marketers, is it ethical to have fun and be ‘playful’ with social media if our efforts are designed to be a ‘hoax’?.”
I suppose one would have to define what playful is to answer the question. Are there degrees of playfulness? Is something playful so long as no one is hurt? Where are the lines drawn between playful and hoax? Since there were no comments posted at this point, I was left curious. With some more digging, I found the WOMMA Ethics Code.
Based on my reading of this ethics code, I believe that WOMMA members would have to agree that viral marketing hoaxes are unethical. For example, the code states that consumers are to be protected at all times. If something is a hoax, clearly the consumer, the public, the viewer, etc. is not being protected. The code also says that Honesty in Relationship, Opinion and Identity are necessary. If something is a hoax, then someone is not being honest about the relationship, opinion and/or identity of those involved in the marketing of the product even if the hoax is meant to be something “playful.” With that said, I will be checking back to see what comments the WOMMA blog generates.
