 "Questioning the roles of those who helped SpeakAsia speak")
Media reports on SpeakAsia being a ponzi scheme started breaking as early as October 2010. “An MLM company that claims to be Asia’s largest online survey company, does not even have an office address or a telephone number but is offering to ‘pay’ $10 just for filling out online surveys.
[caption id=“attachment_51601” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Speak Asia Online is spreading its multi-level marketing (MLM) wings in India under the pretext of online surveys. Screen grab from SpeakAsia website”]
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Speak Asia Online, which claims to be Singapore-based based, is spreading its multi-level marketing (MLM) wings in India under the pretext of online surveys. As is usual in any MLM scheme, this company also makes big claims about earnings, but fails to provide any documentary evidence for the same,” said Moneylife, warning investors.
What did SpeakAsia want you to do?
“As a Speak Asian, you have the control, the authority, the power to dictate the market place. Speak Asia is one of the largest growing consumer networks because it is a media channel, market place and marketing system rolled into one. This enables you to unlock your true worth and earn wealth, confidence, social standing and respect through multiple channels.
How is it possible? Organizations approach Speak Asia for research; you earn reward points (RP). Companies advertise with Speak Asia you earn reward points (RP). Products are available with Speak Asia at special rates, you earn through savings and selling of the products available on the Speak Asia website earns you more reward points (RP). Speak Asia helps you build your own network and team and you can earn more RPs with every member who is part of your network. And some of your reward points translate into actual income in your bank account and some can be used for purchasing products,” says the official website.
That was the officialspeak.
For some plainspeak, Capital Mind is a lovely read:
“You get money for filling out surveys. Supposedly because some company wants to pay for those surveys as market research. They want to pay it out to you.
Out of their kind hearts? Where’s the survey? (Fishes out multiple identities)
No, you fool. You have to pay for the privilege. $120 (standard) to $220 (premium). They’ll tell you it’s your investment. That is utter bullshit -if they get paid for a survey and they pass on some of it to you, there’s no need for you to pay, period. You fill your surveys, you get paid - that’s the model some of the big online writing companies (Demand Media and all that) seem to work - those are not MLM.
But for Speak Asia, you have to send them money first. People seem to say “you need to take risk” - I can tell them please go and put your money behind such companies. I am very suspicious of such companies because there are hundreds that have conned people - if they cannot explain why they need to charge, then it’s likely they are using the money to pay “uplines”. Eventually as it becomes too large and growth stagnates, it can involve the promoters-running-away-with-your-money,” wrote Capital Mind.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
[caption id=“attachment_51578” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Speak Asia advertisement.”]
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Certainly, one of the factors which made the ponzi scheme work was their aggressive advertising in mass media - all in credible media products.
The campaign was not restricted to print media; TV commercials sold the same line.
While the company had put together an informative, well-designed website and an effective advertising campaign ( creatives designed by Lowe Lintas and media bought by Lintas Media Group ), the company stumbled when it came to the media management.
Watch video:
The Times of India, which certainly gets a large part of SpeakAsia’s print budget, carried a clearly negative story in February 2011.
It was obvious that the company needed expert help in their PR, and that’s where Dilip Cherian, co-founder and consulting partner of PR firm Perfect Relations, came in.
Yesterday, Cherian was questioned by investigators yesterday , according to a report in Mumbai Mirror.
About a decade ago, Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar were amongst many celebrities endorsing a company called Home Trade , which went bust, causing losses to their investors.
In cases such as SpeakAsia and Home Trade, what is the role that communications companies and media need to play?
As with any product or service, advertising and PR agencies need to understand the product, the selling propositions of the product and the intended target audiences before they can start work on a campaign. Celebrities need to understand the companies and brands that they endorse as well.
In a dog-eat-dog world, made more difficult by the pressure to deliver quarter-on-quarter, communications companies need to do some introspection on whether all business that pays the bills is good business.
In instances where consumers may be conned and cheated out of their hard-earned money, it can never be good business.
Anant Rangaswami was, until recently, the editor of Campaign India magazine, of which Anant was also the founding editor. Campaign India is now arguably India's most respected publication in the advertising and media space. Anant has over 20 years experience in media and advertising. He began in Madras, for STAR TV, moving on as Regional Manager, South for Sony’s SET and finally as Chief Manager at BCCL’s Times Television and Times FM. He then moved to advertising, rising to the post of Associate Vice President at TBWA India. Anant then made the leap into journalism, taking over as editor of what is now Campaign India's competitive publication, Impact. Anant teaches regularly and is a prolific blogger and author of Watching from the sidelines.