WELCOME

Annual Meeting &

Compliance Seminar

•The FTC monitors testimonials and endorsements as part of its general enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255), revised after almost 30 years in 2009, are administrative interpretations of the law intended to help advertisers comply with the Act.

•Basic truth-in-advertising principle underlying Guides: endorsements should not contain express or implied representations that would be deceptive, or could not be substantiated, if made directly by the advertiser.•In l980 there were no program-length infomercials, no Internet advertising, no word-of-mouth or viral marketing, no consumer blogs.

•The FTC’s Revised Guides Concerning the

Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in

Advertising, effective December 1, 2009,

address, among other things, operating

within this new reality.

What is an Endorsement?

“Endorsement”

“Any advertising message . . . that consumers are likely to believe

represents the opinions, beliefs, findings, or experiences of a party other than the

sponsoring advertiser, even if the views expressed by that party are identical to

those of the sponsoring advertiser.”

In general the revised Guides made

several important changes to those that

had been in effect for about 30 years:

“Results not typical” no longer sufficient

when a testimonial references an atypical

result or best case scenario. Advertisers

need to disclose what results consumers

generally can expect.

New standards for testimonials on the

internet and in other nontraditional media.

Advertisers may be liable for false or

unsubstantiated claims posted by

“sponsored” bloggers. Connections between

advertiser and bloggers must be disclosed.

Celebrity endorsers may be personally liable for false or unsubstantiated claims asserted in their testimonials. Celebrities must disclose their material connections to the advertiser when promoting a product in media that is not obviously a paid endorsement (i.e. talk shows, celebrity blogs).

Focus of this presentation:

Online Marketing Activities

Addressing the new reality of online

marketing activity, the new Guides compel

bloggers and other “word of mouth”

marketers to reveal all material connections

to the advertiser that may have led them to

endorse a product or service.

“Material Connections” (sometimes

payments or free products) between

advertisers and endorsers –connections

that consumers would not expect – must

be disclosed so that the consumer can give

proper weight to the endorsement.

FTC has informally suggested some factors to consider:Explicit understandingPayment or perksIntentional promotion because of future expectationValue of free itemsSteady streamLinks to advertiserBusiness relationshipNetwork marketing program

Disclosure of Connection

How do you effectively disclose the connection in emerging media?

REMEMBER:

UNSOLICITED REVIEWS BY BLOGGERS

ARE NOT ENDORSEMENTS.

VOX POPULI……

However, if there is a sponsor behind the

message……according to the FTC, consumers

have the right to know about the relationship

between the advertiser and on-line influencer

(“blogger”) so they can decide how much weight

to give the blogger’s opinion.

DISCLOSURES SHOULD BE:Clear

Conspicuous

Easily viewed, not hidden deep in text

Easily understood by average consumer

In readable font size and color

ADVERTISERS MUST BE PROACTIVE:

Ensure that bloggers are disclosing the

relationship/arrangement with advertiser

Monitor, monitor, monitor

Be ready to cut off blogger for failing to properly

disclose

Using an agency or service to

procure bloggers will not relieve advertiser of

its obligation to insure proper disclosure by

blogger of its reltionship/arrangement with

advertiser.

Although revised FTC guidelines now contain

disclosure requirements,concern over proper

disclosures are not new:

TRUSTED MOM OR SELLOUT Newsweek – 7/15/09

BLOGGERS JUST SELLING OUT ALL OVER THE PLACE – 7/13/09 Blog

MOMMY BLOGGERS – SELLING OUT 11/15/09 Techburgh Blog

Some bloggers did disclose their material

connections before December 1, 2009 revised

Guides.

BLOG WITH INTEGRITYBy displaying the Blog with Integrity badge or signing the pledge, I assert that the trust of my readers and the blogging community is important to me.I treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.I believe in intellectual property rights, providing links, citing sources, and crediting inspiration where appropriate.

I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.

I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability. I own my words. Even if I occasionally have to eat them. (7/09)

DisclosureJulie’s Journal (owner Julie Vazquez)

Disclosure PolicyThis policy is valid as of 29 October 2006.This policy serves to inform that Julie Vazquez (the owner of this blog) may be compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though Julie Vazquez (the owner of this blog) may receive compensation for posts,

Julie Vazquez (the owner of this blog) will always give honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.

The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely Julie Vazquez (the owner of this blog) own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with themanufacturer, provider, or party in question.

Okay so enough of the legal speak, here’s the real deal. I get paid to write reviews for products, services, and websites. Sometimes it’s in the form of cold hard cash. Sometimes it’s in the form of the actual product I am writing about. But here’s the thing. I only accept these offers if it’s something I feel is worth it to me, my family, and my readers.

If I get a product that I don’t like, I will not write about it. I’m honest and genuine and anything I write you can believe that it’s meaningful and comes from the heart. In other words, I won’t bullxxx my readers, so don’t ask me to!

If you’d like me to write a review about your product or host a giveaway, see my About Julie page to get in touch with me.

Jules

REVIEW:I recently had the chance to try out the Olay Total Effects Body Wash. It was hard for me to judge this body wash because I am completely SOLD on Caress’s new line.

As I’ve said before, the smell of a beauty product is my number one deciding factor on if I will use it or not, and I just wasn’t into the smell of the Olay Total Effects. It almost has a “manly” smell to it, and not feminine or pretty at all. My husband actually loves the smell…on him. HA! I do really like how it lathers, and the way it leaves my skin soft. I will have to use it more to see if it really is anti-aging as it claims to be.

NYC Single Mom Reviews Disclosure Author: NYC Single Mom | Posted at: 11:42 AM Filed Under: Disclosure | In light of the recent FTC ruling that bloggers must provide disclosure, I thought it was a good idea to post an official disclosure for NYCSingleMomReviews.comDisclosureCurrently, NYC Single Mom Reviews accepts and keep free products, services, event tickets, etc. fromcompanies and organizations for review purposes.

That said, I have and will provide my honest opinion, findings, beliefs, or experiences about products that are provided to me. In providing a review, I have tried to include a personal perspective or relevance to my life as it relates to the product. That is why, there some products that I will not review (e.g. baby products) as my daughter is older and it's hard to provide a credible voice.

All of the reviews so far have been positive as I have yet to be provided a product that I did not like. If I do receive a product that I do not like or does not live up to my expectations, I will provide the company with a draft and allow them the opportunity to run or not allow the review.Currently, the site does not have direct paid advertisers/sponsors meaning that companies do not pay me directly. I do currently have affiliates advertisers (e.g. Amazon) on the site.

I am in the process of soliciting paid advertisers. In choosing advertisers, it is based on products I think my readers are interested in and are of the highest quality and relevance to your daily life…

Three Days To Softer Lips With Neosporin Ohio winters are brutal on skin and hair. My skin is always dry and flaky in the winter, and my hair carries enough static to jump start a car battery. But my lips show the worst of it. They're always dry, flaky, and when the temperatures really plummet, they crack and bleed.

Mom Central offered me the chance to take the Neosporin Three-Day Challenge, trying both the Neosporin Daily Hydration Therapylip balm, and the Overnight Renewal Therapy balm. Seeing how no amount of lip balm has ever given me totally smooth lips in the winter, I was skeptical but willing to try it….

Overall, I think Neosporin does deliver on its promise of visibly healthier lips in three days. Iprefer the overnight renewal therapy to the daily hydration therapy, but your experience may vary. if you suffer from chronic dry lips, especially in the winter…

Full disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Neosporin and received a sample of the Lip Health Overnight Renewal Therapy and the Lip Health Daily Hydration Therapy to facilitate my review and a $20 thank-you gift certificate to GlobalGiving.org. All opinions are my own and should not be taken as medical advice. 

For 45 years, Hess Toy Truck has introduceda classic collectible vehicle every year for the holiday season. Until receiving this 2009 Hess Race and Racer, as a review product I was unaware of the tradition, but as soon as my friends and neighbors saw Kyle playing with this spiffy Hess Race Car at his birthday party, they knew just what a special toy he had in his hands.

My next door neighbor says her husband has been collecting the annual Hess Toy Truck every Christmas. For the 1st time since 1993, Hess Toy Truck is introducing a Race Car for 2009. For $25 with batteries included, the value of this car is incredible….Classy Mommy Approved!

MICROBLOGS: TWITTER

Disclosures in microblogs, i.e. twitter are challenging because of the 140 character limit.

Twitter messages must be concise and impactful.

Lengthy disclosures waste twitter space.

WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Assoc.) recommends including a hash tag notation in the tweet to disclose relationship:

-#spon(sponsored)

-#paid (paid)

-#samp (sample)

WOMMA also recommends

creating a link to the disclosure

and relationship statement in

the profile.

OTHER PROPOSALS:

Jeff Sayre proposes use of 6 character

“slashtags.”

The $ symbol in the slashtag indicates a

financial relationship

/$empl –> I’m an employee of this company/organization; I work at the firm that manufactures this product; I’m in the industry being discussed

/$exec –> I’m an executive at this company/ organization; I manage the firm that manufactures this product; I’m in the industry being discussed

/$paid –> This company pays me to review/test/endorse their products; the company that manufactures this product paid me to review/test/endorse it

/$prod –> This product was given to me to review/test

IMO Xbox is the best gaming platform in the universe. /$prod

Apple just announced this game-changing product that will … /$exec

I love Stringy’s String Cheese. It’s the best! /$paid

FTC Moves to Action:•FTC investigated the retailer AnnTaylor •Gifts were given to bloggers who attended the review of its Summer 2010 collection •Some bloggers failed to disclose that they had received a gift card worth $500 for posting coverage of the event within 24 hours

•FTC didn’t investigate the individual bloggers, but examined whether AnnTaylor had taken sufficient steps to prevent or correct the bloggers’ failure to disclose this “material connection.”

•FTC closed the investigation withoutmaking AnnTaylor sign a consent agreement because: the preview was the only one AnnTaylor ever held; only a few bloggers were involved, some did disclose the material connection with theadvertiser, AnnTaylor did later adopt a written policy stating that it would never again give gifts to bloggers without first telling them they were expected to disclose this in their blog.

In its closing letter, the FTC said that itexpected that AnnTaylor “will both honor that written policy and take reasonable steps to monitor bloggers’ compliance with the obligation to disclose gifts they receive.”

Learning from this matter:

•Advertisers should have a written policy governing disclosures in the social media context•Advertisers are responsible for monitoring bloggers to determine whether the policy is observed or ignored•FTC concerned with advertisers rather than individual bloggers

Moving Forward:

Expect enforcement: more personnelhired by FTC

JOSEPHINE BELLI jbelli@combe.com

COMBE INCORPORATED 914-461-4641