Intro to Marketing Mr. Bernstein Endorsements October 14, 2014

Intro to Marketing Mr. Bernstein Definition of an Endorsement AKA Testimonials, an Endorsement is a public approval of a good or service Can be TV, radio, signage, social media, or other media FTC definition: “Any advertising message that consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions, beliefs, findings, or experience of a party other than the sponsoring advertiser.” 2

Intro to Marketing Mr. Bernstein Definition of an Endorsement FTC guidelines: 1.Must always reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experiences of the endorser. 2.The endorser must have real experience with the product. 3.May not contain any deceptive or misleading statements, and must be substantiated by the advertiser. 3

Intro to Marketing Mr. Bernstein Definition of an Endorsement FTC guidelines: 4. Endorsements may not be presented out of context or reworded so as to distort the endorser’s opinion. 5. The endorser must use and continue to use and believe in the product as long as the endorser is used in the advertisements. 6. If the product changes in any way, the company must notify the endorser, who must continue to use and believe in the new or revised product. 4

Intro to Marketing Mr. Bernstein Enforcement of FTC Guidelines Case study: cles/privacy-1/ftc-warns-of-endorsement-guidelines- violation-risk-presented-by-hashtag-promotions/ Summary: FTC issues warning shot at “Hashtag Promotions” where prizes are awarded to contestants who post content that may not be recognized as paid advertising 5