WOMMA Announces Review of Ethics Code and Living Ethics Project at Global Marketing Summit: Call for Members to Comment

WOMMA will publicly announce the launch of an annual, innovative, review of the WOM and Social Media Ethics Code, the Living Ethics Project, this week. WOMMA was founded in 2005 on defining best practices and ethical standards for the word of mouth marketing industry. WOMMA created the Living Ethics Project and is asking its members and the public to drive the conversation, look critically at current business practices, and recommend updates to the Ethics Code. There are two ways for members to participate in the Living Ethics Project.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) November 12, 2008 -- The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) today announced the launch of an annual, innovative review of the WOM and Social Media Ethics Code as well as the Living Ethics Project at WOMMA's Marketing Summit and Research Symposium being held Nov. 12-14 in Las Vegas.

The Association's existing Ethics Code, adopted in 2005, is widely recognized as the industry standard and has positively shaped and guided leading brands and marketers in developing and executing ethical word of mouth and social media marketing programs.

Transparency and credibility are at the core of ethical word of mouth. The amazing adoption and development of social media demands a regular review of industry best practices.

"Word of mouth marketing is one of the fastest growing and most influential marketing disciplines," said Paul Rand, president/CEO of Zócalo Group and VP and Ethics Chair of the WOMMA Board of Directors. "Transparency and credibility are at the core of ethical word of mouth. The amazing adoption and development of social media demands a regular review of industry best practices."

WOMMA was founded in 2005 on defining best practices and ethical standards for the word of mouth marketing industry. WOMMA created the Living Ethics Project and is asking its members and the public to drive the conversation, look critically at current business practices, and recommend updates to the Ethics Code.

A live webcast http://womma.org/livevideo of WOMMA's Ethics Code Review will take place Nov. 13 at 12:05 p.m., PT during the WOMMA Summit. The public can review WOMMA's current Ethics Code at http://womma.org/ethics and members have until Dec. 5, 2008 to provide input, updates, and comments to the code at http://womma.org/ethics/code/submit. Any revisions to the code will be announced on Feb. 2, 2009.

As part of the Living Ethics Project, WOMMA will also develop educational tools focused on the foundations of the Code as well as the any new guidelines to ensure the membership understands how the Ethics Code can affect and improve their businesses.

"WOMMA's Honesty ROI and Ethics Guidelines are the industry standard. They have helped define what are truly best practices built around the core principles of protecting consumers like you and I while also protecting brands who want to become expert in word of mouth marketing. The Code review and Living Ethics Project will ensure that our guidelines are relevant and critical what's going on right now. That's critical in an industry growing so fast and estimated to reach over a $3.5 billion spend by 2011," noted John Bell, Managing Director of Ogilvy PR's 360 Digital Influence Practice and President of the WOMMA Board of Directors.

WOMMA believes it must remain fervid in its quest for strong ethical standards and self-regulation of the industry. In early 2008, the UK passed legislation, which made nondisclosure in word of mouth marketing efforts a criminal offense. Find out more about the UK legislation at http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/cpregs/oft1008.pdf.

The Federal Trade Commission, which regulates and investigates deceptive and unfair practices, is closely monitoring "unmeasured media" like word of mouth and buzz marketing. In the agency's efforts to promote self-regulation, the FTC has found WOMMA's code of conduct as a useful benchmark in evaluating advertising and marketing practices, and WOMMA looks forward to working further with the FTC in promoting responsible and appropriate transparency and credibility.

Should you have questions about the Living Ethics Project, call WOMMA staff at 312-853-4400 or email them at membership @ womma.org.

About WOMMA:
WOMMA is the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry. Our more than 350 corporate members are committed to building a prosperous word of mouth marketing profession based on best practices, measurable ROI, and ethical leadership. Learn more about us at www.womma.org.