Just to share, we once had a press launch for a digital camera (I was intern then) and we invited a lot of photography enthusiasts. Part of their press kit was a digital camera. ALL 50 of them. But because the product itself wasn’t very good, we ended up getting only ~15 positive reviews. Did we get back the cameras from those who gave bad reviews? No. Did we compensate the positive reviewers more than the negative reviewers? No. Freebies are just part of the whole thing.

So anyway, you definitely have the right to rant about Mad Crowd’s emails, especially since you have continually posted that you are non-commercial and this blog is personal all throughout. However, I think it would have saved you a whole lot of grief if you just replied in an equally curt way right from the first email that 1. You are not interested 2. You are not writing/blogging for money 3. (and this is important) You want to OPT OUT. Opting out will take you out of their target list forever and if they are any self respecting agency, they will make sure that all their advertising people will be informed that you and your blog are to be left alone in terms of invitation.

But in all honesty, I don’t think that Aisha is trying to insult you or anything with her emails. I’m thinking this is really a standard letter sent out to bloggers who may be interested in blogging for money (and you have to admit there are legions of them). I know it’s a bit of an assumption on their part to think that you are blogging for money, but I think the principle is the wider the net you cast, the more fish you might be able to catch. Some bloggers will be happy to do this, and some like you will hold on to their own personal blogging policies. I think that bit where she said “how much do you guys charge…?” is just an innocent assumption that you are one of those who blog for money. Again, assumption is bad. But it doesn’t mean that she really wanted to insult you.

I like your blog, primarily because of the posts and also because you are ad-free (makes the site look cleaner and easier to load), but I guess I’m speaking here for the agencies trying to do their work, as I was once part of an advertising agency as well. An advertorial is not uncommon…even broadsheets have advertorials. When radio and tv commercials can have testimonials of celebrities squealing how good a product is, print media would have advertorials.

Maybe it’s just that you took “compensation” as paying for good reviews. That’s not really the case. It’s like talent fee…for the time you spent to type down the article, for the effort you took in actually going to the event, your pamasahe and stuff like that. Ultimately, it’s like giving away giveaways (since I cannot think of any other word, hehe) or pabaon or “balot” to people who attended your parties. Is it right away assumed that the people who received a gift from the host would think that the party was such a blast? Not necessarily, but that’s the idea. Still, in the end, it will depend on the guest if he/she will declare that the party is good or not.

Lastly, I will venture to say, but just a totally educated guess, that whichever agency Nestle and Orbit (?) chose to continue working with after Mad Crowd, the agency will still offer compensation (whether cash, gift cert or goodies and products) for the attendees and the bloggers.

So there. Just my view on this matter. :)

MM: this is why i always visit your site, because i know that what you write about is from your own true experiences. It doesn’t guarantee that i would have the same experiences as you, but at least it guarantees that the experiences are genuine.