With media moving to more non-traditional means, it was only a matter of time before the idea of the product placement hit the web. Last month, Sprint PCS launched a consumer promotion on YouTube where they ask you to make a family or summer video that features their new Sprint Instinct phone, as a product placement. Shill their product in your home vid and you will get $20 for your efforts. Their name of the promotion “Sell Out” would indicate that perhaps this all is just some joke, meant to combat the edge and wittiness of Apple’s marketing, owners of the iPhone, which this phone was made to directly compete with.

The idea of this type of placement has had mixed reactions across the board. To me, there are several key questions that have come up from the consumer and brand perspectives that leave gaping holes in a promotion like this that could ultimately note bode well for Sprint’s credibility within non-traditional online channels. A few of these questions being: Is a measly $20 a strong enough value proposition? Will any viewer of this video see it as a genuine endorsement? Is this just some publicity stunt by agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to try out the social media space and perhaps garner some blogosphere buzz? And perhaps most importantly (and most unanswered) will this really translate to any sales of the Instinct?

With reference to the latter, only time will tell, but as someone who prides themselves on working for a company who builds Word-of-Mouth the genuine way, I feel as though the distinction between a genuine brand reference within a social media channel and one of placement must be made. There is a vast and incomparable difference between Word-of Mouth that is cultivated by simply giving your product to a consumer and allowing them to experience it, engage with it, and then let you know how they feel, the natural, raw, organic way that is based on opening up a dialog versus these paid placement promotions that don’t come from any basis other than people willing to shill if the price is right without any passion or affinity towards the brand.

At Affinitive, we pride ourselves on building programs that result in user generated content as a by product of an engagement strategy, where consumers participate because they are interested in learning about the product or because they already have a passion for or relationship with the brand. We could not have the quality or quantity within our library of content for each program that we have by shelling out a few twenties for some videos.

We love to reward consumers for their willingness to engage and create content, but doing so in a way that is about the consumer and not about the creation of a tool for the brand makes a world of difference.