UKNM: Stealth Marketing

[Carl Christensen]

Subject was "Herpes, pregnant women and other custom publishing projects..."



This got me thinking about Stealth Marketing which is I believe manifested

at its best at a site called, CafeHerpe, a resource for all things related

to genital herpes


Designed as a "virtual coffee shop" to make it easy for visitors to explore

and learn how to live with genital herpes, the site is organized into five

thematic sections :-.


"The Buffet" serves up "a mixture of viral facts" where visitors can pick

from one of three items on "Le Menu": virology, a herpes virus briefing, and

an awareness quiz.

"Reading Lounge" details how visitors can access information on how one

contracts herpes

"Espresso Bar" provides a wealth of product information

"The Terrace" focuses on online support groups

"Your Waiter" provides a helpful section for those who can't quite find what

they're looking for.


It is stylish, lavishly illustrated, very well put together and serves as an

informational support resource


But is it all helpful? or is there a hidden commercial agenda?


Scroll down, and at the bottom of the index page you will see that the

site's "sponsor" is the well known pharmaceutical giant SmithKline Beecham


Also at the bottom of the page, next to the legal disclaimer is a hyperlink

to a form where upon providing your name and address, information about a

potential treatment for the disease,  a prescription drug called Famvir,

will be mailed to you. No prizes for guessing which pharmaceutical company

is behind Famvir


At first (and second) glance, the site appears as a resource providing

medical information on herpes in an entertaining cafe-style environment, but

be in no doubt that SKB provide all the content. Their marketing agenda may

not be immediately visible, but by providing volumes of useful information

they have leveraged the Web as a data collection and marketing tool and

successfully achieve the overall purpose of the site - to promote Famvir


Interesting that when we started doing some development work for SKB here in

the UK and discussed the reasoning behind cafeherpe, the UK boys considered

the site "avant garde" and "ahead of its time"



The site has been live in the US for over 18 months



http://www.cafeherpe.com



Carl Christensen

Domino Systems