Social Media Marketing Council Established to Champion Responsible Use of Social Data

Press release

Alterian Establishes Social Media Marketing Council to Champion Responsible Use of Social Data by Organizations

19 October 2009 Alterian (LSE: ALN) the leading international integrated
marketing platform provider today announced the launch of the Social Media
Marketing Council (SMMC) an independent committee designed to ensure the
responsible use of social media and the resulting data by commercial
organizations. This new council has attracted leading figures from the
business and marketing worlds to ensure that data collected by businesses
through social channels is used ethically and responsibly. The announcement
was made at annual marketing event – DMA ’09 in San Diego.

The SMMC will be an independently chaired organization with a mandate to:

–    Help regulate how businesses harvest and use data from social
networks and other online channels
–    Provide guidance on what constitutes responsible use of social
media data
–    Encourage organizations to use best practice when they interact
with consumers.

“Nobody joins a social network or uses online public communications tools
to become a sales target, however it’s inevitable that organizations will
recognize the opportunity that emerges when a huge mass of people
congregate,” said Michael Fisher, Senior Vice President Sales and
Marketing, Alterian. “While Alterian is committed to helping businesses
market their products and solutions in an innovative fashion, it needs to
ensure they do so in a responsible way. By establishing the SMMC, we are
championing best practice in how businesses market using social channels,
while relying on third party communications experts to lead the way for the
best, most responsible use of consumer data generated via such social
channels”

The council will be chaired by Bernice Grossman, principal consultant and
founder of the DMRS Group and includes representatives from leading
marketing services providers such as Merkle and Targetbase. As a leader in
the integrated marketing space, Alterian is sponsoring the formation of
this group to help foster a positive approach for businesses to the use of
social media for marketing purposes.

“The explosion in social media has dangled a huge carrot in front of
organizations that see it as nothing more than an opportunity to scrape
email addresses and phone numbers for their direct marketing efforts,”
said Grossman. “This council is designed to bring together industry
leaders to draw the line of what is acceptable for organizations to do when
gathering information from, or marketing via, social channels. We’re
hopeful that businesses will pledge their support for the SMMC to
demonstrate that they’re interested in the rights of the consumer, not
just in making a fast buck.”

The SMMC will provide guidelines, documentation and best practice advice
for organizations on exactly what kind of data it is acceptable to source
through social media, and how they should be using it responsibly for lead
generation and customer service. There will be an online portal to provide
access to these resources, which will include a discussion forum and
opportunities for companies to demonstrate that they are exhibiting best
practices. The council will meet for the first time at the DMA in San Diego
and thereafter on a quarterly basis to discuss the latest developments in
this space, with the first objective to define what constitutes the
unacceptable use of social media information.

“We all have responsibilities when it comes to using social media for
marketing purposes,” said Don Patrick, Chief Operating Officer, Merkle
– a leading customer relationship management agency. “Customers will
rapidly grow tired of aggressive social targeting and businesses are likely
to do themselves more harm than good by trying to over-exploit social
channels. As responsible marketers we need to be self governing to ensure
we have the consumer’s best interests at heart.”

The council is currently made up of the following representatives and
organizations

•    Bernice Grossman, Founder & Principal Consultant, DMRS Group
(Chair)
•    Jennifer Barrett, Global Privacy and Public Policy Executive,
Acxiom
•    Don Patrick , Chief Operating Officer, Merkle
•    Trae Clevinger, VP Strategy & Innovation, TargetBase
•    Jim Schwab, VP Business Development Social Media, Alterian
•    Janet Rubio, Chief Insights Officer, Engauge
•    Mike Coakley, Vice President Marketing Technology, Epsilon

“Maintaining one’s privacy, especially online, gets more challenging
and important to individuals every day. Businesses are equally challenged
to identify the boundaries around what represents responsible use of social
media for marketing purposes,” said Jennifer Barrett, Global Privacy and
Public Policy Executive, Acxiom. “The formation of this council is a
fantastic step in setting the acceptable standards for organizations and
ensuring they think about what they do with the information they have
access to.”