WOMMA (the Word of Mouth Marketing Assoc) recently announced the creation of a new blog for their group, "DiResta-the-Law" written by Tony DiResta. This new blog seeks to address the legal concerns of WOMMA members (both brands and agencies) and the future regulation of this growing industry. Here is the welcome announcement from the blog:
Welcome to WOMMA’s new blog, DiResta the Law.
As WOMMA’s General Counsel, and a law partner in Manatt, Phelps
& Phillips’ Washington, DC office, I’m here to provide insight into
the current regulatory and legal events and look beyond the hype into
the practical applications of WOM.
Up first?
My views on how the Federal Trade Commission may revise its Endorsement and Testimonial Guides.
On September 14, I’ll be taking part in a Webinar Panel about adequete disclosure with John Bell, WOMMA President and Managing Director at 360° Digital Influence, Jory Des Jardin, Co-Founder and President, Strategic Alliances at BlogHer, Sean Corcoran, Interactive Marketing Analyst at Forrester Research, and Tom Collinger, Chair of Integrated Marketing Communications at the Medill School (Northwestern).
(Sep. 14) Webinar Panel | Ethics and Endorsements: What is Adequate Disclosure?
(Register Here)
WOMMA recently amended its code of ethics to read, “We stand against
marketing practices whereby the marketer or its representatives provide
goods, services or compensation to the consumer to make
recommendations, reviews or endorsements without full, meaningful, and
prominent disclosure.”
What exactly constitutes “full, meaningful and prominent
disclosure” and how should brands and bloggers best disclose material
relationships? This is what we’ll tackle.
WOMMA will be reopening the Living Ethics Blog
on September 14 thru October 14 to capture comments, thoughts, feedback
concerning the issue of what is full, meaningful and prominent
disclosure. We ask that everyone put forward their thoughts on this
issue. WOMMA will be compiling this information and releasing industry
standards this fall on disclosure. This is a very important issue and
self regulation is key to our success as and industry and WOMMA is
leading this effort.
Thanks for visiting the blog, and check back soon!
We at MeHype are active members of WOMMA, and proud supporters of the actions of the group to proactively self-regulate the WOM Marketing industry. As the approaching FTC guidelines are being developed, we hope to see your support for WOMMA as well. Best of Luck to Tony DiResta with this new blog, looking forward to some great content coming across soon!