A ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority against Mondelez UK Ltd, the makers of Oreo biscuits, which had paid YouTube bloggers to promote its famous brand, means that in future vloggers must indicate that they have been paid to promote a product. Whilst the very cheesy examples provided in a BBC article about this made it quite clear that some form of promotion was taking place, it begs a wider question of how many vloggers are being paid to more subtly promote a range of brands; and how much do consumers know about this.I believe the practice is widespread, but may be unknown to most consumers. We know the power of opinion leaders and of eWOM - electronic word of mouth - to influence consumers on their choice of product. But the fact that some vloggers have been able to garner vast audiences with very little more than an engaging personality and an acute sense of the zeitgeist and what appeals to young people like themselves, means that social media has become a very powerful tool for engaging consumers and positioning brands. Many vloggers have received free product samples, as well as cash, and have been incorporated in more elaborate campaigns - such as the one used to promote pop band the Shout Out Louds. These undoubtedly have a significant impact on their viewers, evidenced by the number of views and "likes" they receive.
It appears that the regulators of traditional media are now beginning to catch up with the digital world.
P.S. This blog is not endorsed by any major corporation, but I am open to offers.
