ok... whose the spy?

Man of Honour
Joined
11 Dec 2002
Posts
10,855
Location
Darkest Norfolk
Some interesting stuff going on over at Penny arcade (tis a bit rude so won't link, but i'm sure you know what it is :))

Basically they've been talking about guerilla marketing, and its use on forums throughout the net:

We received the following from a young man who we will call "Mr. Smith."

(CW)TB

Hey guys,

I interviewed for a guerilla marketing business in San Francisco that targeted web forums.

I was told that if I accepted the job, I was to have at LEAST 50 identities on as many forums as I could muster (they wanted 100 eventually), with a goal of 5 posts an hour. The posts had to be well thought out, and the idea was that I was to establish multiple identities with a history on the forums, so that when the timing was right a well written but subtly placed marketing post could be finessed in. And regular visitors would recognize the post as coming from a long time poster.

They had 12 people working there full time, and were hiring 10 more. You do the math. No wait, I'll do it for you: that's 880 posts a day (if minimum was met). However he said the better ones could do around 8 or 10 an hour. And they had different "verticals" so there was the sports guy, and the games guy, the hentai, excuse me I mean anime guy, etc.

But the most critical point was this: develop and integrate the identity. No random "HEY EB GAMES IS AWESOME BUY THIS" stuff.

Kinda spooky.

Its a very intersting idea, and while i know OcUK's mods work very hard to keep multiple accounts out etc this is a prime place for this kind of activity to take place. Now i'm not usually a conspiricy style person, but allot of weight is carried by the advice given on these forums. Recomendations are requested and given across multiple topics numerious times an hour and the reponses often taken....

Anyhows, i can't beleave you can get payed for posting on a forum ;) some people would be seriously rich by now! I'm not sure say fox isn't working for ford ;)






bit more stuff on it you can read if you want:
[Begin Message]

Wanna know about marketing, ask a Marketer. Here's a couple nifty bits for ya:
1) I have in my possession a marketing plan for NBA LIVE 2004 (don't ask how I got it... ). This marketing plan actually refers to "Hiring viral specialists to advocate NBA Live online via chat rooms targeting gaming fan sites" and "Placing offensive, defensive and PR shills into common gaming chat arenas." It goes on to outline a full page of tactics for said "Guerilla Online Marketing for Core Gamers."

2) I actually hired a company called Hype Council. These guys do a TON of gaming related stuff -- I actually wouldn't be surprised if it's the company referred to in your news post. Their technique is quite insidious. Let's say they were hired to pump up PA (not like you need the buzz, but whatever...). Using one of the hundreds of shill accounts they have across the net, they post a new thread that says something like "hey guys, I've been looking for some new web comics to read. Anybody have any recommendations?" This is non-threatening, and gets the community engaged. They then wait a couple days and post again, this time with "Well, I asked some friends and they suggested I check out Penny Arcade <insert link>. I thought it was pretty funny, although I didn't like all the cuss words. What do you guys think?" Again, seeking engagement, they now have stealthily inserted the client's link, thereby encouraging trial. It's all very measurable and very effective. You should see the monthly reports you get from these guys: everything is detailed. Spooky.
It's all very insidious and, I'm sure, widespread. So much so that I don't trust anything I read. Unless it's a board where I "know" the posters, I always assume everyone on the board is a shill.

[End Somewhat Terrifying Message]
 
Treefrog said:
I think this is a cunning ploy so that we won't suspect you! :p

I know your other identity is Broadband. :D

Very plausible, and if they spend that cash on it, I'd assume they get results - otherwise they wouldn't do it.

oi! i look nothing like him :)

as they say its very quantifiable stuff... the source of click throughs can be recorded pretty acuratly....
 
This is disturbing.

Luckily such things don't disturb me. You see i often drink Red Bull. It gives me the energy to get over such worries and get on with my life. I don't know what I do without Red Bull it saved my life.

Red bull red bull.
 
Vanilla said:
Hey, could Fox be employed by Ford?

Remove "could" and the "?"... it makes less sense, but you get the idea. Although i think BMW are funding him slightly too.

Either way... it wouldnt matter to OcUK as long as it didnt infringe on their products... even then the most experienced posters still get the yellow text'o'doom in their posts if they try and mention.. the others.
 
willd58 said:
I saw this, it did make me think, anyone of us could be a marketing covert assasin forumer.

I think we should start a list of possible marketing scammers.

Weve got so far:

TW Fox: Ford/BMW. Motoring spy, must be due to the constant iterations about these cars in every and all motoring threads.

Gord: Apple. I mean look at all those sigs, could he work for anyone else.

Gilly: FHM. Entices everyone with that lush bum in his sig. OR The makers of Dance Revolution...the game mat.

GordyR: ProMuscleMax. Weve seen the pics, he knows he can entice everyone to buy it.. but he masks it with the "beginners body building thread".

Tru: Some comedy club somewhere. I believe Tru might be working for a joke agency or some other comical business... will require further research.

Broadband: BT. Simply every time he posts/ed its another subconcious advert for high speed internet.

Raymond Lin: Valve. With that ludicrously funny Halflife 2 thread we were all sucked in to play the game and see just how hilariously silly he had been.

Seraphim: Andrex. Bog Roll Challenge? need we say more.

Nix: With paint a film scene 3 came a barrage of movie related images. I imagine more than one of us watched Jurassic Park again just to realise how lifelike avec dino really was.

Otacon: Konami/Sony. Every post is an advert for MGS4.. you know it. Were on to you.

Please feel free to add more.
 
Last edited:
What a load of tosh - urban mythology and hyperbole.















images_eatatjoes.gif
 
Back
Top Bottom