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NYT: The Hidden Persuaders

The Hidden (in Plain Sight) Persuaders
From the New York Times Magazine, 12/5/04

Excellent cover story by Rob Walker about agencies that enlist everyday joes to buzz products. By now most Stay Free! readers know about viral marketing, but what makes this piece so good is Walker's attention to the social relationships involved. The agencies Walker profiles have been able to get people to work essentially for free, with only product samples and the promise of bolstered egos as payment.

The one thing missing from this piece is an acknowledgment that the companies' claims are no doubt exaggerated. Marketers routinely inflate their numbers, and these guys are already on record as encouraging their charges to lie (asking agents to call book stores pretending to be customers searching for a desired book, etc.). Besides, anyone who has worked with volunteers before (especially volunteers operating independently from a distance) knows that 95 percent of them aren't doing much of anything; thus, you can forget BzzAgent's claims of 60,000 and Tremor's 240,000 -- my guess is that they each have a few hundred active agents. Still, the success of their business model is no less terrifying; and this quibble shouldn't detract from an otherwise solid article. (Thanks to Salim Virji)