Categories: Articles

The Astroturfing Wars

Astroturfing is a word and technique that has been floating through the communications and marketing world for some time. We need to be paying attention to astroturfing, because as social media breaks down the barriers between marketer and consumer, cases of astroturfing are much more challenging for companies to hide.
But first, what is “astroturfing”? Let’s see what Wikipedia says:
“The term, said to have been used first in this context by former U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas), is wordplay based on ‘grassroots’ efforts, which are truly spontaneous undertakings largely sustained by private persons (not politicians, governments, corporations, or public relations firms). ‘AstroTurf’ refers to the bright green artificial grass used in some sports stadiums, so ‘astroturfing’ refers to artificial grassroots efforts… A form of propaganda, astroturfing attempts to selectively affect the emotions of the public, whether trying to win a campaign, be the top music record seller, the top book seller, or gain political support.”
Now that you know what astroturfing is, I’m sure real-life examples are flooding your thoughts. The models who are hired to pimp a new vodka to unsuspecting bar patrons, the “person” (re: paid actor) on the street who asks you to take their picture with a brand-new digital camera and then engages you in a conversation about the camera… it goes on and on (and, it’s also been called Undercover Marketing).
Lately, the term astroturfing has gained more steam. Most recently, The New PR Wiki started a page called AntiAstroturfing.
Ultimately, companies that engage in this activity give our industry a bad name. As marketers, it’s our job to be vigilant. To create real conversations. To demonstrate the real benefits and values of the products and services we market.
It’s our job to weed out the astroturf.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.