17% of Senior Marketers Say Their Organizations Have Bought Advertising in Return for a News Story

Almost 17 percent of senior marketers say their organizations have bought advertising in return for a news story, according to the results of the fifth annual PRWeek/Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L) Marketing Management Survey. The survey, which polled 279 U.S. chief marketing officers, directors of marketing and marketing managers, focused on consumer generated media, integrated marketing and industry ethics.

The survey also found that 7 percent of marketers said their organizations have had an implicit/non-verbal agreement with a reporter or editor that they expected to see favorable coverage of their company or products in exchange for advertising.  And 5 percent of marketers said their companies had paid or provided a gift of value to an editor or producer in exchange for a news story about their company or its products.

“These results indicate that there continues to be a group of marketing executives that do not respect the proper role of news media,” said Mark Hass, global chief executive officer of MS&L. “Even the smallest percentage of people who are willing to pay in return for a news story creates an ethical issue that the marketing industry needs to address.”

When the survey respondents were asked if the gift or payment was publicly disclosed to the audience, a total of 58 percent of marketers whose companies had given a gift said it was not. Moreover, the majority of marketers at large companies had specifically requested for the payment to be disclosed but the media outlet did not divulge the payment or gift.

Editorial credibility is important to the marketing and news industries, because trust is at the foundation of reputable message delivery. Without full disclosure, transparency, and ethical practices, media lose credibility and their value as an unbiased source of information for consumers.

The survey also addressed other ethical issues that affected the marketing industry this year. Fifty-five percent of respondents, for example, said that Wal-Mart’s non-disclosure of its authorship of a blog was a recent event that most strongly represented a breach in marketing ethics (rating it a four or five on a scale of 1-5), and 46 percent agreed that former Wal-Mart marketing head Julie Roehm’s acceptance of gifts and dinners from a future advertising agency was also a strong breach.  A slightly smaller number, 41 percent, believe that Turner Broadcasting placing magnetic lights around the city of Boston that closely resembled bombs was a major breach in ethics, and 32 percent said that Microsoft acted unethically in how it provided Windows Vista on loaded laptops to technology bloggers.

With a changing media landscape, increase in alternative forms of advertising and rise of new media, communication norms and values have shifted. The need for strict standards that marketers and the corporations they represent abide by is imperative, so that consumer trust does not continue to erode.

Ethics and the need for full disclosure have been a hot topic in recent months. Numerous fake blogs and the cloaking of online identities have been revealed and become a focus for public debate on the need for open and honest communication. It is issues such as these that have caused the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) and various agencies to increase their education and training on proper and ethical media relations, specifically in the online world.

Marketing executives may not understand there is a line they shouldn’t cross, but ethical issues shouldn’t be discussed only when a company is found out,” said Hass.

“Ethical issues in this new digital age need to be a regular part of the discussion. If they’re not, marketers will start to err on the side of excess and risk doing the wrong thing.”

The 2007 PRWeek/MS&L Marketing Management survey was conducted by PRWeek and Millward Brown.  Survey results were collected between April 26 and May 9, 2007. Results are not weighted.  Based on the sample size, the results are statistically tested at a confidence level of 90%,the standard error is 5.98% and the margin of error is + or - 2.99% points.

About PRWeek Magazine
Launched in November 1998, PRWeek was Haymarket's first weekly title in the US. Over the years, PRWeek has established itself as a vital part of the PR and communications industries in the US, providing timely news, reviews, profiles, techniques, and ground-breaking research for practitioners. This research includes annual salary, CEO, and corporate surveys, as well as key industry sector rankings and regional forums. The magazine also launched the PRWeek Awards to showcase and recognize the best practices in the PR industry. PRWeek is responsible for creating the largest advertising market place for products and services, as well as for jobs, in the public relations industry. For more information, visit prweek.com.

About Manning Selvage & Lee
MS&L (mslpr.com) is one of the world's leading global public relations firms. Headquartered in New York, MS&L has 46 offices throughout North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, as well as an extensive global affiliate network.  The agency meets the needs of global and local clients by providing best-in-class services in consumer marketing PR, healthcare PR, corporate communications and technology communications, as well as industry-leading work in digital communications.  MS&L won PRWeek's Best Use of Internet/New Media Award in both 2006 and 2007.

MS&L is a member of the Publicis Groupe (Euronext Paris: FR0000130577 and NYSE: PUB), the world’s fourth largest communications group, and a global leader in digital and online advertising, media consulting, and healthcare communications. With some 42,000 professionals in 104 countries, the Groupe's activities cover advertising through three global advertising networks:  Leo Burnett, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, as well as through its two multi-hub networks Fallon Worldwide and 49%-owned Bartle Bogle Hegarty; media agencies with two worldwide networks ZenithOptimedia and Starcom MediaVest Group; and marketing services, including digital and interactive communications through Digitas, relationship and direct marketing, public and media relations, corporate and financial communications, multicultural communications, and event communications. The Groupe is also the world leader in healthcare communications. Web site: www.publicisgroupe.com

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