Word of MouthWe’ve all heard of viral marketing, product placements in movies and TV, and know the power of word of mouth. But now Proctor & Gamble (P&G) have taken this a step further. They’ve started paying hundreds of thousands of moms (literally!) to drop their products into conversations and subtly promote P&G’s brand in their everyday interactions.
“By crafting product messages mothers will want to share, along with giving them samples, coupons, and a chance to share their own opinions with P&G, [they’re] using personal endorsements to cut through advertising clutter. ‘We know that the most powerful form of marketing is an advocacy message from a trusted friend,’ says Steve Knox. The program is a state-of-the-art method for reaching the most influential group of shoppers in America: moms.” Read the full story from BusinessWeek here.
Like network marketing, this might work with Boomers, but I wonder how Gen Xers are feeling about it? I wonder what I would think of a product that was recommended to me, and I later discovered the person was rewarded for recommending it? And, most importantly, I wonder what I would think of the person who made the recommendation – originally supposedly just out of friendship, but now I discover for some personal gain?
I’m interested to know what others think of this venture.

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