From My Desk to Yours – 10th Edition
By: Penny, EzineArticles Managing Editor
Today, I’d like to share with you a brief guide to avoiding False Designation of Origin – a.k.a. Earning the respect of your readers, building your brand identity and taking pride in your product.
Does this scenario sound familiar to you? You’ve created a certain product or service that you’re now trying to market to the world and you’re determined to see it through to a successful end. Unfortunately, you face the daunting challenge of having an unknown brand, a task that can seem insurmountable in today’s crowded, cut-throat market. With only a fraction of the money and manpower as your more established competitors, you find it can be very disheartening trying to make a name for yourself and your product.
Unfortunately this challenge leads to some authors “piggybacking” on the success of other brands in order to bring awareness to their product or service. There is a term that exists within the article marketing industry that describes this unethical tactic and it’s referred to as False Designation of Origin, or more simply “bait and switch.” False Designation of Origin occurs when an author willfully infringes on someone else’s branding and name recognition to promote their own equivalent product or service.
In other words, the author will discuss a well-known product or brand within their article to capture the attention of readers only to inevitably “switch” and lead them to the lesser-known product in which they are promoting or benefit from.
For example, authors Bob and Ned write an article on how America loves Oreo cookies and proclaim them to be the most delicious cookie available today only to end with a resource box that reads as follows: “If you love Oreos, you’ll really love Bob n’ Ned’s Delectable Milk Dunkers. The same great taste as Oreos without the hefty price tag. Visit us today.”
You may not know it, but bait and switch is in fact a form of fraud, and our editors here are constantly on the lookout for authors practicing this disreputable form of article marketing. The practice of False Designation of Origin will always completely backfire, leaving the reader with the impression that your product is shady and cannot be trusted.
So instead of writing about the success of Oreos to lure people in, Bob and Ned should have instead focused on building their own brand identity and spread the word about Bob n’ Ned’s Dectable Milk Dunkers. They need to write respectable, well-written content that informs the reader of the world’s need for delicious, affordable cookies. They should also conduct a little research and target people who can specifically benefit from their product the most and write with them in mind.
When you interest the readers enough and earn their respect as both authors and business proprietors, they will listen to what you have to say. It’s a challenging feat to create brand recognition for yourself, something that takes plenty of hard work and dedication. Luckily, a great place to start is with your article marketing campaign.
Bottom Line: Take pride in your product, focus on building your brand identity and remember, the best route to take when doing anything is the honest, admirable route. The pay off is always far greater.
I agree with you Terry! “To Be Honest With You” should be a forbidden phrase used in verbal communication… as it accomplishes a mission exactly opposite of its intended influence.
March 22, 2010 at 11:34 AM[Reply]