PR Weeks new study shows that 17% of all CMOs have bought advertising in exchange for favorable editorial.  5% had gone further said their company had given gifts of value to editors to ensure coverage.

What would be interesting would be a survey that asks editors the other side of the same question – I bet it would come up with very different (much lower)  numbers.

So that leaves us with the questions?

Do we believe that marketers will try? Yes – in fact I bet the 17% is an understatement of the true number.

Do we believe that only a few editors accept (in which cae they must have houses full of loot) or that the other editors are simply not as honest (wait – wasn’t that what the 17% figure was indicating anyway)

Conclusion: ad supported content sites will always have a conflict of interest, and when do we generally trust people who have the option to choose money over ethics?

Full story here

Just saw this…brought back some memories. Enjoy.

http://tofslie.com/work/apple_evolution.jpg

And yet another industry giant has now come to the realization that advocates are key to actively supporting and undermining brands. In a study carried out by Weber Shandwick, they say that nearly one out of two global consumers is now an advocate i.e. an influencer.

"High intensity advocates" represent 9% of all consumers (low intensity – 36%). Bad advocates (or detractors as we like to call them) make their dissatisfaction known much quicker now (76% react in one week). Interestingly but not surprisingly, advocates opinions are more strongly influenced by the media than non-advocates opinions.

Some interesting facts and figures coming out of a company called Goldstar Events concerning user reviews on websites. Listen to this.

People were asked about where they get information from in order to make decisions about their entertainment options:

- 62% named ‘web sites with user reviews’ as their top choice.

- 59% picked ‘asking a knowledgeable friend’

- 52% went directly to the website of the product

- 25% consulted a newspaper or magazine

The next question asked was how a negative media article affects their decision vs a negative user review on a Web site. 

- 2.3% said they would be strongly affected by a negative critical review  compared with 45.7% who said it would have no effect at all.

- 30.5% said they would be strongly affected by a negative user review, while only 16.9% said there would be no effect at all.

Third question asked – Influence of a users review vs a friend’s endorsement.

- 86.9% of respondents said they would trust a friend’s recommendation over a review by a critic

- 83.8% said they would trust user reviews over a critic.

The last question asked – Over 40 vs under 40: Who uses what information source?

- 30% of respondents over 40 said they were “very likely” to use newspaper or magazine Web sites, compared with 19.1% of users under 40.

- 55.3% of respondents over 40 said they were very likely to use a product Web site vs 46.7% of users under 40.

The lessons?

- Don’t just think about adding user review, do it now.

- Word of mouth is still king.

- The power of print media is declining.

- Internet usage is becoming pervasive amongst the older users.