Influx

Since everyone is going crazy about fake word of mouth on the internet, people seem to have forgotten about the practice in the real world.

It was 20 years ago when a then small NYC agency hired actors to talk about a drinks brand at fashionable bars, but it seems to have taken an age, before the ultimate conversationalists, taxi drivers, got into the game.

“In a promotional campaign for 888.com, an online gambling business,
375 London taxis have been decked out with advertisements for the
company’s Web site. Most of the cabs are simply moving billboards for
888, which provides online poker and other kinds of gaming.

But in 10 of the cabs, the marketing pitch goes further. The drivers
may seek to engage passengers in conversation about poker. If customers
take the bait, the drivers try to steer the chat gently toward 888.com.
Those who show particular interest may be given coupons offering free
hands of virtual cards – worth as much as $10 – on the poker site.”

IHT

Look out for more promotional messages from the random people you interact with in the real world- bar and restaurant staff (a given), barbers and hairdressers, personal trainers, etc.

It won’t be long before everyone has a paid pitch and we can be certain there’s a media company somewhere only too willing to sell it to us.

Posted by Ed Cotton