New Media Strategies
New Media Strategies Ethics, Standards and Practices
The driving force behind “New Media Strategies Ethics, Standards and Practices” is our belief in the value and effectiveness of relationship marketing. As experts in business intelligence and Word-of-Mouth marketing, we know it’s important to focus on principles that foster and support best practices. And, as the industry leader, we’re committed to living up to our words and ideals.
1) Honest and Accurate Information
In order to best serve our clients and consumers, any and all campaigns must deliver information that is honest and accurate. The cornerstone of Relationship & Word-of-Mouth Marketing is trust. Consumers need to know that marketing messages are grounded in facts about services and products, and are not intentionally based on rumor, innuendo or patent falsehoods. That’s the only way we, as marketers, can effectively support and promote our clients’ brands, and preserve and enhance their reputations with customers. We need to be able to stand behind the products we promote, and doing so depends on ensuring that our marketing messages are honest, accurate and trustworthy.
2) Respect and Community
On the Internet, as in life, we are part of a larger community. As marketers, it’s crucial that we deliver knowledge to that community, while respecting its culture, and adding value and information where people seek it out. Doing so isn’t just good etiquette; it is good business and good ethics. Respecting online communities means delivering messages that are timely and relevant. As the American Marketing Association notes in its Ethical Norms and Values for Marketers, we need to “avoid using coercion with all stakeholders.” Our role as professional marketers is, then, to create and implement campaigns that are welcomed and embraced by online community members. In order to do so, we believe it is important for Word of Mouth marketers to disclose their identity and relationship as marketers. And it’s incumbent upon us to sustain a community’s vibrancy and integrity by being sensitive to issues of campaign frequency, message authenticity, and consumer feedback.
3) Privacy
Privacy is a top concern for individuals and consumers both online and offline, and it should be so for marketers as well. As marketers, we must respect the privacy and the anonymity of each and every individual online. We do not, and will not, ever seek out or collect Personal Identifiable Information (PII) in the course of our marketing efforts without explicit consent from consumers or campaign participants. In those circumstances when consent is solicited, consumers/participants will be given the opportunity to opt-out of providing their PII in the event that (i) it will be used for a reason other than that for which it was originally gathered; (ii) it will be utilized for future marketing endeavors; and (iii) it will be shared with third parties.
4) Zero Tolerance for Marketing With Minors
We stand firm against the practice of using minors as marketers and/or as part of a distribution force in online and offline marketing campaigns. New Media Strategies is, and will be, steadfast in our refusal to recruit them as marketing agents in campaigns. Because of their often greater vulnerability to adult coercion, we believe it is irresponsible and unethical to actively entice minors into marketing products/services and to solicit their participation in Word-of-Mouth programs designed to leverage and exploit their friendships and their interactions with peers.
5) Responsibility and Accountability
We take great care to ensure the high quality and effectiveness of our marketing efforts for clients. As a result, we only employ marketing and communications professionals, research specialists, and brand and online experts. All of our employees are compensated fairly with salaries and healthcare benefits.
New Media Strategies believes that every company and stakeholder involved in Relationship & Word-of-Mouth Marketing must take action to make sure its campaigns and employees play by the rules. At New Media Strategies, we make certain that clear instructions regarding policies and practices are communicated by senior management to the company as a whole, with the expectation of strict adherence throughout the ranks.
We also regularly review our internal policies, and campaign protocols, to confirm that we live up to our own rigorous standards and maintain our compliance with the FTC’s truth-in-advertising rules.
About NMS
