Globe and Mail has a thoughtful piece on the emerging trend whereby bloggers are paid to pimp a product. To me this new activity is another form of paid word-of-mouth; therefore, it presents some issues worthy of further investigation and contemplation.
Vancouver, BC content management company, Marqui, is currently offering $800/month to a select group of bloggers who agree to mention Marqui on their media properties, or blogs. Marqui lists the bloggers on their site, so they’re getting the transparency thing right.
Marqui’s CEO, Stephen King knows it has to be fully transparent to be taken seriously. Marqui promises to pay even if bloggers say bad things about the company and its services. “I think this is extremely risky,” Mr. King says. “In a traditional marketing sense, what you try to do is control your message. And what we’re saying is that the world’s changed and a company with integrity has to go out there and let the world discuss its products.”
I agree with King’s sentiments whole-heartedly. It’s the execution that concerns me. A better executional idea might be to let these bloggers contribute to Marqui’s blog.
