Brand Ambassadors and Referral Programs are everywhere and aim to drive engagement and sales through influencers and loyal fans. However, last week, the company publicly confirmed that Pimax had crossed the line. It was discovered that PC VR headset companies were secretly aiming to launch a program that would provide rewards. Validated positive Forum Posts – A quick-to-understand, ostensible attempt at Astroturfing.
It all started last week with Reddit user “Mavgaming1”. The proposition was clear. Pimax was looking for users who were willing to join the new community engagement program. This allows you to collect points and unlock tear recommendations by posting about your company on social media.
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Programs confirmed by Pimax The road to VR It featured everything from $5 steam gift cards to hundreds of dollars, to be certainly authentic before being cancelled following the leak, with discounts from future purchases of Pimax hardware. Top Remuneration Tia provided a $1,000 grant to the company’s Shanghai headquarters.
The only thing that a selected participant needs to do is Validated positive Posts on Reddit “or other forums to visit”, submit to Pimax for approval, post online, earn points. Below is an excerpt from the posting guidelines given to Mavgaming1 via Discord.
Suggested topics include “First VR Experience with Pimax”, “Tips for Getting the Best Experience with Pimax” or anything related to bringing positive light to your company’s XR headset.
The company was also prepared to provide redemption points to make positive comments about PIMAX-certified social media posts. In fact, it’s similar to a collaborative astroturfing effort. This is similar to attempts to simulate grassroots support for the company’s PC VR headsets, including the upcoming modular flagship Crystal Super, new slim and light participants, Dream Air and Dream Air SE.
In a nutshell, Pimax’s response: The company argues that it is not an officially approved program, and unfortunately not a program designed by employees acting independently. The company moved to shut it down immediately. Additionally, Pimax says it has never paid any positive compensation in the past.
In all, the company allows nine Discord users to contact about the program, three of whom received the full amount of content guidelines and compensation structure.
Jaap Groleman, the director of communications at Pimax, has been the face of the company mainly over the past three years. The road to VR These messages were “not going through the internal application process due to external communication, but were personally sent via a message of discrepancy by a colleague.”
“We have never asked journalists, developers or users to use other voices, but using your own voice to describe your product did not require reviews or comments to be positive. The road to VR. “That’s except that three messages will be sent around May 22nd.”
Groleman characterizes the program as “large judgment errors in some areas from some individuals representing Pimax.” He further declares that he “is not published under this program.”
But it’s more than just a marketing failure. Although only three users received the pitch before the program was closed, the initiative could violate marketing laws in multiple countries.
According to Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15USC §45), “unfair or deceptive conduct or practices that affect commerce are hereby declared illegal.”
This language supports FTC approval guidelines. This indicates that companies should not seek or compensate for a positive review without clear and prominent disclosure of their material relationships. In other words, paying users for proper compensation is not unethical and could be a violation of federal law, especially if disclosure is omitted or neglected.
Similar standards have been enforced worldwide, including the UK’s Competitive Markets Agency (CMA) and the European Union’s Unfair Commercial Practice Directive, both ban misleading or secret marketing strategies designed to simulate organic consumer opinions.