Stealth marketing

[Upsidedownpineapplecake]

Been wondering this for a while.
Is it possible for posters to use mumsnet to market product tied up in storytelling?

For example
Post inAIBU “ My DH just bought me an iron for my birthday . I can’t believe it”
Wait for posts to come in. Engage with posters and then later reveal iron brand and that it is a really good one. Say something like “ may keep iron ditch DH”

or
post in relationships looking for advice and mention brands within the story.

is this something marketing would do or is it very bad marketing? How would they gage if it works or is it me just being sensitive when brands are mentioned and people do talk brands when talking?

Just me then

People try it all the time. Not well known brands because they don't need to. It's usually people with crappy small businesses that are desperate for sales, or people selling their 'time' - basically a con. I have seen people post about how wonderful their bathroom/kitchen refit went and proceed to name the company invoked, so blatant and obvious advertising.

Yes I can see how some people would be very blatant with it.
I was probably thinking of more subtle.
the first time I noticed it was a story that included a coat. The brand wasn’t relevant to the story but it was mentioned several times and was a well known brand
maybe people do it for other reasons

I don't know if the type of poster mention a brand of a coat is marketing so much as just showing off that they have a 'brand' coat. Some people think others are impressed by this.

You are probably right. A different type of influence. Thanks

It’s called astroturfing and it’s definitely a thing here (and everywhere), even more so with political candidates and policies.

I've certainly seen it.
And sock puppeting ones.

The sock puppeting ones are not subtle.
Op: Just joined mn to ask for recommendations for X
Response within 2 minutes, also first post from that name: oh I have the most perfect <waxes lyrical about very specific item they provided a liink to>

I'm always tempted to reply about how said item broke first time and customer service wouldn't do anything. They can't respond to that without giving themselves away.
I normally ignore and occasionally report.

there was a a story about a little girl having a £300 coat ripped at nursery. That was a blatant advert for an obscure brand.
Another one where a child was told not to wear monster leggings because another child was scared of them. Of course there was a link to some etsy style website selling these leggings.

They are a bit more like what I am thinking of.
like included in the story but the story may not be about the thing mentioned.
OP mentions at end of post something like oh it been a long day I’ll tackle the problem tomorrow right now I’m going to have a drink. But then mentions exactly what they are having and have just recently discovered it. Often followed by someone else saying that’s my favourite ever.
It could all be coincidental but it makes me slightly uncomfortable

Yes, it happens a lot on here. You can generally tell because the way they write their posts is stilted rather than more 'natural'. I always report them - why should they get their marketing for free?!

I've worked in marketing for over 20 years and can assure you that big brands would never do this as it would go against ethical marketing practices. Smaller independents might.

BUT I see a lot of strange house selling posts on MN, and wouldn't be at all surprised if it isn't estate agents driving traffic to listings, so that they can report higher numbers to vendors or best case actually get a sale.

I remember someone from a digital marketing background was on one of the influencer threads and said this is definitely a thing.

You can spot the obvious ones a mile off, but I have wondered how many more subtle ones there are.

I've worked in marketing for over 20 years and can assure you that big brands would never do this as it would go against ethical marketing practices. Smaller independents might.

Great thanks that answered my question. Glad there are ethical codes

And yes I agree about house links. Unfortunately I am a bit of a sucker for looking at them. Always think I might have the solution about why it isn’t selling!!