We’re continuing to share perspectives from WOMMA members on how their companies are incorporating and interpreting the new FTC guidelines.

Tyler LeCompte is the director of operations at MeHype, a company that connects brands with amateur and professional video filmmakers who produce online marketing videos in support of a product or service. Tyler shares his take at three questions we’re asking WOMMA members to sound off on.

Q1: What concerns have your clients raised to you about the FTC requiring disclosure?

TYLER: “ Of the clients that have been paying attention to the recent FTC guidelines, most have expressed that they are happy to have some documented guidance from a leading source such as the FTC about required disclosure for any ‘sponsored’ blogging/review programs that they have either been participating in or have been considering for integration into their Word of Mouth Marketing efforts. Luckily, none require many changes to their current internal guidelines since they all subscribed to the WOMMA Ethics Code as previously defined prior to the FTC ruling which encouraged transparency and upfront disclosure for any questionable relationships.”

Q2: What steps is MeHype taking in designing marketing programs to comply with the disclosure requirement?

TYLER: “None of our existing clients have much internal changes to make to their existing programs, mainly simply integrating the newly required disclosure statements and defining more clearly their ‘sponsorship’ payments, be they either cash or otherwise. Going forward, we will be including a specific disclosure agreement contract that adheres to the FTC guidelines as well as the updated WOMMA Ethics Code.”

Q3: Have you seen a best practice example of disclosure? If so, do share who is doing what and why you see it as a best practice.

TYLER: “ I believe IZEA has been leading the charge as to proper disclosure, and will continue to be a leading force in the bloggersphere for proper disclosure of sponsored conversations (relevant to blogs versus reviews). Any of their member blogs all have the required disclosure statements built into their sites and required statements for each particular post easily available for each member to use. As with most Social Media tools, making the ability to integrate/share these tools and disclosures easy for the end user will improve the overall success and adoption of the FTC guidelines.”

More perspectives from WOMMA members on the FTC Guidelines to come …