Should Movie Studios Pay Bloggers to Talk About Their Movies?

One of the most debated subjects in the blogosphere is the pay per post model, in which influential and of course up-and-coming bloggers, are wooed either with money or goodies to introduce a product to their blog’s audience.

Should movie marketers make that part of their movie marketing and PR campaigns?

Judging from wisdom of the most prominent social marketing and web pundits, the answer would seem to be an overwhelming ‘No’.

Former Techcrunch editor Marshall Kirkpatrick is miffed that Forrester Research’s lenghty report slants towards favoring this practice in any shape or form.

David Griner of Adweek’s Adfreak blog seems to be a little less reserved, pointing out that he sees nothing wrong with throwing freebies at bloggers, but then adds that however, “when there’s a direct quid pro quo for coverage, you’ve got a recipe for eroded credibility on both sides.”

FishBowlNY took a poll, asking for reader feedback about whether paying a blogger for writing content and coverage is appropriate, and the votes were actually split between the two choices.

Web Pro News was actually somewhat reluctant in putting in its two cents, and instead chose to act as referee in the ongoing debate about whether bloggers should be courted with Benjamins.

Other observers favor the practice, but with a caveat.

The thing about the movie industry, unlike other industries, is that it’s practically impossible to pay your way to a good review or a fawning mention. If a movie sucks terribly, even the most intrepid blogger will not be forced to applaud. And if he or she does, there goes that individual’s credibility.

Pic via Google Images