New FTC Disclosure Guidelines for Testimonials and Endorsements

In October 2009, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected to issue new guidelines for disclosure about a company's use of the testimonials and endorsements received from both customers and expert reviewers.

These guidelines present a reminder to all marketers, in the United States and elsewhere, about reviewing your practices and disclosures for using case studies, customer quotes, excerpts from analyst reports, and other content that could be considered a testimonial for your product or company.

In particular, these practices are changing to reflect the expectations of social media users, especially for the impartiality of product reviewers.

These resources will help you understand the new FTC guidelines and principles to adopt for your own marketing communications:

• Start with the thoughtful analysis provided by John Bell of Ogilvy PR in several posts on the Digital Influence Mapping Project blog
• Read the FTC guidelines
• See the broader ethics discussion from the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA)