Mamma Mia, Here I Sell Again

What's she selling?

"No major corporation has embraced word-of-mouth marketing as aggressively" as Procter & Gamble, writes BusinessWeek, in a story about P&G's Vocalpoint. Vocalpoint is "a state-of-the-art method for reaching the most influential group of shoppers in America: moms." The program has enrolled 600,000 mothers with "large social networks" to pitch products. P&G provides Vocalpoint participants with "messages mothers will want to share," along with "samples, coupons, and a chance to share their own opinions with P&G." While the Word of Mouth Marketing Association supports full disclosure, P&G doesn't tell its stealth marketers to disclose their involvement with P&G. P&G's Steve Knox said, "We have a deeply held belief you don't tell the consumer what to say" (except for product pitches). The Federal Trade Commission "hasn't yet developed a disclosure policy" on word-of-mouth marketing, though it's expected to rule on a complaint that Consumer Alert filed against P&G's teen word-of-mouth program soon.