I have been following the story of the McGuire high-rise in Seattle—a 9-year old, 26 floor apartment building that is being evacuated for demolition and unfortunately, it is one of those lose-lose-lose situations for all involved. The more information that comes out the more you see that no one-side is at fault. It is simply a series of mistakes, bad judgment calls, and corner cutting all the way around.

Residents of the building are being asked to move out and some businesses are being put out of business because of this. While they joked about the poor construction of the building and debated over what would break next, they now have to find a new place to call home, and for how long?

The owners paid for an apartment building to be constructed so they could rent it out and earn money. They got a building, but unfortunately 9-years later they have to tear it down—or so they think. Did they skimp during the planning process? Did they want to build the cheapest building possible? I don’t know, but it is not something that can be ruled out.

The contractors and designers involved in this process are getting so much negative press, I am not sure they will ever be able to rebound. They also claim the damages can be fixed and that the building does not need to be demolished. While that is great news if it is true, why should such a young building need so much work? It started rusting when it was barely 3-years old!

Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development considers themselves to be a “safety net” protecting customers from getting shoddy work, but they too missed things and approved things that should not have been approved. While the city has made it known that they are looking to learn from this experience, they are also making it clear that they use third-party inspectors. So are they passing the blame or do they need to revamp their approval process, amongst other things? Regardless of the changes, it is still going to be innocent companies and people that pay for these mistakes.

What do you think about this whole situation?

For some, testimonials are what sell their business. The Federal Trade Commission issued a new regulation (12/1/09) that is changing the rules of business. These rules apply to ALL testimonials, endorsements and affiliates that specify results. The new regulation is an attempt to make companies become transparent and to be current which helps customers feel more confident.

Before companies were able to be truthful and not tell the whole truth, now it is your responsibility to be careful, thorough and honest in your marketing. According to the Commission’s guidelines:

“The fundamental question is whether, viewed objectively, the relationship between the advertiser and the speaker is such that the speaker’s statement can be considered ’sponsored’ by the advertiser and therefore an ‘advertising message.’”

While all of this can be scary, the thing to remember is that the changes are only making legal what were considered good marketing practices before. It has never been advised to build a brand on lies and mistruths as the repercussions were enough to taint your brand for life. Now on top of those risks, the FTC has added some steep fines.

Yes these are major changes and they will affect how you promote your business, but look at the good things it has done. It will help you get better testimonials from your clients, better client relationships, improve your marketing; it could even shorten your sales cycle. So look at these new rules as an opportunity and have fun with it! 

Articles for more information:

• Mashable / What Businesses Need to Know
• Lynn Terry / FTC Compliant Endorsement & Testimonials
• Federal Trade Commission