At the beginning of this year, a word became very hot in the Japanese Internet community. The word is "SUTEMA," which means "stealth-marketing," the way of advertising with trying to make people unrealize it is advertisement. The start was that Tabelog, most popular restaurant ranking site in Japan, disclosed that paid-poster gave high mark for some restaurants. After that, lots of same problems reported in the other ranking sites, and also it was unveiled that there were so many companies to take on the paid-posting task.
But in my opinion, it doesn't look working so well. Basically, people I think are not so stupid. If you have very bad meals in the restaurant which has high marks in the ranking site, what will you do? Never come again. OK. But, also you can tweet like "the restaurant was terrible!" or "the ranking is shit," or something like that. And, you can post the review in the ranking sites, facebook, blogs, forums, whatever. So it would spread much more virally because the negative information tends to spread faster and broader than the positive one in my understanding.
Furthermore, once the trick is unveiled, the clients will be heavily damaged. Sony, as Sugai Sensei referred in the class, tried to arrange fake viral campaign about PSP in the Christmas season in 2006 but failed, and the sales of this season decreased by 75% (!) from the previous year.
But I am afraid if I am wrong, or I am so optimistic. Have we already been deceived by someone who is building up incredible fortune with the trick?
[Social Media Advertising Done Wrong]
http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0912/social-media-advertising-done-wrong.aspx#axzz2AvOJuIN2
[Stealth Marketing' by Companies is Polluting Online Forums]
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/operator-of-restaurant-rating-website-tabelog-admits-paid-posters-involved
[Operator of restaurant rating websiteTabelog says paid posters manipulated rankings]
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nc20120118aa.html
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