Marketers Take Risks Emulating MySpace

An article in USA Today looks at the risks associated with “getting down with the kids”:

Marketers are creating Web destinations where people can leave postings about themselves and the brands — and leave e-mail addresses companies can use for communications.

“Social-networking places are megatrends that are cutting across online everywhere,” says Dawn Winchester, executive vice president of client services for New York digital ad agency R/GA. “They are at the heart of where people come together around their passions. It makes sense for the right type of brands to be engaged in that type of communication.”

Building such interactive relationships with consumers requires the marketer to give up some control, and that has risks. Marketers must monitor sites closely lest they find their brands associated with lewd images or profanity. It is even trickier, however, to try to limit what people say about a brand.

USATODAY.com – Seeking teens, marketers take risks by emulating MySpace