When it comes to success in the App Store, digit PR concern has discovered a dynamite strategy: intercommunicate motive discover the window. Reverb Communications, a PR concern that represents mountain of mettlesome publishers and developers, has managed to encounter incredible success on Apple’s App Store for its clients. Among its different tactics? It hires a aggroup of interns to trawl iTunes and another accord forums move as actual users, and has them indite constructive reviews for their client’s applications. Yeah, that 5-star iTunes app analyse you saw for the erst top-5 paying app Enigmo? It might not be cursive by a actual user, but kinda by Pangea Software’s PR firm. Reverb isn’t the prototypal to try and mettlesome the individualist analyse process, but they are definitely digit of the most conspicuous cases.

Reverb Communications is an extremely flourishing PR concern that claims to hit “first party” and “personal” relationships with Apple. Aside from representing Pangea Software, digit of the more flourishing App developers for the iPhone (they made Enigmo, which was featured during the Apple WWDC Keynote 2008), they also represent Harmonix (the Guitar mathematician and Rock Band guys), MTV Games, and a patron of iPhone mettlesome developers. Additionally, they’ve managed to do an impressive job at courting the press: clients hit had iPhone apps featured in meet most every field media activity famous to man, including Forbes, MTV, G4TV, NBC (in fact, every the examples were for digit developer: Publisher X, which Reverb happens to own). Reverb claims that their clients hit oversubscribed over $2 Billion of creation low their watch.

Unfortunately, they don’t ever follow the rules, and they hit been stupid sufficiency to tell that to probable clients. One probable client, hereby famous as “Developer Y,” (no humor intended) recently permit us on to Reverb’s demand of scruples. This advisor forwarded us a composition from Reverb Communications (attached below) that described what services Reverb provides to its clients. For $0.75 per paying download of your app, you intend a flooded patron of accepted PR services, and then whatever … not so accepted ones. Here’s a excerpt from the doc:

Reverb employs a diminutive aggroup of interns who are convergent on managing online communication boards, composition influential mettlesome reviews, and ownership a judge on the online communities. Reverb uses the interns as a superficial commission to understand the newborn mediums where consumers are acquisition most products, chance most blistering newborn games and center to the thoughts of our targeted audience. Reverb module ingest these interns on Developer Y products to place mettlesome reviews (written by Reverb body members) ensuring the eld of the reviews module hit the key messaging and conversation points matured by the Reverb PR/marketing team.

It gets worse. They call these “internal individualist reviews” and summary the process for creating them here:

Internal User Reviews Process: o Internal “User Reviews” o Pre-written by in house writers o Positive reviews â€" not over the crowning â€" but endorsing the mettlesome as a beatific creation o Age ranges + 12 â€" 18 + 19 â€" 25 + 26 â€" 34 + 35 â€" 45 + 46+ * Written from the seek of apiece geezerhood group including key book that resonate with apiece conference * Reviews begin to go springy on period of start on the iPhone front o Release reviews endeavor at start as debase over 14 life from release

Yes, the “iPhone storefront” that Reverb Communications is referring to is the digit you every undergo as the iTunes App Store. Our source assured us this composition was real, but sight as how it was our prototypal instance with the guy, we definite to double-check. We went to the App Store tender for digit of their client’s apps, specifically HydroTilt XL by Publisher X, and looked at the earliest app reviews for the title. Sure enough, the prototypal five reviews for HydroTilt XL were luminous 5-star ratings. But, of course, we weren’t satisfied. The app today has over 908 ratings, and 348 of those ratings were 5-star. Clearly, it was a favourite app and users rattling likeable it. So, a few constructive ratings doesn’t prove anything.

Fortunately, iTunes allows you to wager another reviews posted by the aforementioned reviewer. So, we clicked on the critic “Vegas Bound” (iTunes link) and started to countenance at his reviews. He reviewed 7 applications, and gave apiece digit of them 5 stars. Each analyse was short and sweet, and extremely positive. These reviews represented 6 assorted developers. A quick Google wager revealed an vexing truth: every azygos digit of these developers was a computer of digit PR firm: Reverb Communications. The dawdle of clams crumbs slowly led us to a stark conclusion: the grounds undeniably confirmed the composition that Developer Y had dispatched us. As we continued finished apiece of the prototypal 5 reviewers of HydroTilt XL, we detected that the difficulty had plagued as whatever as 15 iPhone applications (and belike more).

Below is a table so you crapper wager what we noticed. Each developer on this chart was represented by Reverb Communications for the denomination that was reviewed. The left-hand column is a critic and grapheme squares inform apps that were not reviewed. None of the reviewers wrote reviews for non-Reverb clients. None of the reviewers gave an app less than 5 stars. Yeah, that pretty much says it all. These guys are streaming demoniac in the App Store. Some of Reverb Communications’ clients (*ahem* Publisher X *ahem*) had reviewers who inner reviewed digit client’s apps. That doesn’t needs show dishonor play, of course, as users ofttimes buy binary apps from the aforementioned developer. Furthermore, there were whatever 5-star reviews cursive by users who didn’t indite any added reviews, but that doesn’t hold a flooded aggregation of liquid either. The actual compelling grounds of wrongdoing was that whatever of their client’s titles had binary 5 star reviews cursive by reviewers who inner awninged Reverb Communications games. I understand loyalty to a specific company. I understand existence lazy and meet composition digit review, but loyalty to a PR concern is unheard of. Especially when the name of the PR concern isn’t anywhere near the iTunes accumulation description.

It’s important to note that the reviews mentioned above are meet a subset of the reviews that we conceive Reverb has publicised on behalf of its clients. Due to space and instance considerations, we did not poverty to criticize the point by adding more reviewers and reviews to the list.

Ultimately, this is fraud. Plain and simple. Reverb Communications is using anonymized reviews as a artefact to boost sales, patch misrepresentaation to iTunes users. The poorest conception is whatever of these games defence by themselves. They hit mountain of constructive reviews from users (which we are nervy are not employees of Reverb). The developers are culprits as well. We don’t hit grounds of whether they undergo most the wrongdoing - we do not undergo whether the composition dispatched to Developer Y was the aforementioned as the digit dispatched to every of Reverb Communications’ another clients. That doesn’t exonerate the developers who are clients of Reverb; whatever of them hit been move customers (Pangea Software comes to mind) for nearly a year. We encounter it hard to conceive they weren’t outbuilding to Reverb’s actions.

Furthermore, this programme inner dives into the iTunes fraud. Frankly, this was sufficiency for us, and it was also the best place to grownup Reverb in the act. However, the composition dispatched to us by Developer Y indicates that they don’t meet verify folks on iTunes, they also ingest “online communication boards” and another structure to transmit with potential customers. We also inner talked most their iPhone app delinquence. To me, the actions on the iPhone app store, Reverb’s willingness to talk to probable clients most these actions and the pervasiveness of the difficulty across every of Reverb’s iPhone app developers, stingy inner digit thing: they are shady people. And I wouldn’t be astonied if they had similar ethics-be-damned practices in another parts of their PR approach. But we don’t know, and don’t care. The offender activity on the App Store is sufficiency that I undergo I won’t ever care with someone from Reverb again.

Another interesting side-story here is most Reverb’s relation with Apple. Now, we don’t expect Apple to hit caught the intense activity of digit PR concern on the App Store’s reviews. That would meet be ridiculous. But we were astonied to undergo that Reverb had worked with Apple so much. As such, I can’t imagine anybody module be more furious most this programme than Apple itself. They’ve finished TV commercials for these guys, for pete’s sake. We don’t undergo a flooded aggregation most the relationship, however. All we undergo is that digit computer of Reverb’s told us that he was referred to Reverb Communications by an Apple employee. That employee, from what we know, was conception of a aggroup that manages Apple’s relationships with 3rd band developers. The referral was probable an country mistake: I uncertainty the employee knew of Reverb’s questionable ethics. But it meet makes the programme that much more interesting - this isn’t your mom and imbibe PR shop. Reverb has a body of 15 professionals (presumably full-time employees) and 10 interns.

Needless to say, we’re fascinated in your thoughts. The comments section is beneath and I countenance nervy to sight what you think. Please primed your comments rated PG, if possible.

We asked Reverb for a statement, and this is what they hit dispatched us. (My salutation is beneath it).

Hi Gagan â€"

I’m sure you are speech with digit of our past employees that has been contacting media outlets most Reverb. I’m not sure what “unethical practices” you are referring to so it would be hard for me to comment, but I am hoping that you module do the comely investigate to secure that the facts you are reporting are faithful and nit cursive supported on aggregation provided by a disgruntled past employee who is violating his confidentiality agreement.

My duty did name that you had issues with our body and interns composition reviews for whatever of our clients games, I’m sure you are aware that in visit to indite a analyse on iTunes an individualist needs to acquire the mettlesome or app and crapper inner indite digit review. Our interns and employees indite their reviews supported on their possess mettlesome endeavor experience, after having purchased the mettlesome by themselves, a training not uncommon by anyone commerce games or apps and hardly unethical.

I am in Europe until Tuesday, I’ll primed my eyes discover for the story, erst again I do wish you do whatever schoolwork before posting erroneous or inaccurate aggregation most Reverb communications.

Doug Kennedy

No, we didn’t intercommunicate with a past employee, and no much past employee is mentioned in this story. I did in fact inform Reverb via sound (I crosspiece with their VP of Public Relations, Tracie Snitker) terminal period that the programme was most composition reviews on behalf of clients. I don’t buy the discussion that the interns and employees indite reviews supported on their possess experiences: it’s a pleasant story, but at the end of the day, belike not true. Flipping finished the reviews on iTunes and examining the book and messaging module give you a country communication that it corroborates the programme Developer Y told us. Furthermore, taking meet digit of whatever examples, the reviews for Publisher X’s HydroTilt XL came discover within 2 life of the game’s release. I encounter it hard to conceive that 5 constructive reviews from Reverb (which owns Publisher X) were not fashioned or coordinated. Not to name the fact that we’ve got a composition from Reverb explicitly birthing discover their contract on this matter.

Here is the composition provided to us by Developer Y. We’ve taken discover irrelevant parts of the medico and replaced them with “…”

Top-line: Reverb Communications aggroup module amend a flooded open relations and marketing crusade for the start of … [Developer Y's] iPhone products.

Public Relations Strategy:

Reverb module drill a open relations strategy that module pore on creation reviews and “earned” media. Our programs module be fashioned uniquely and specifically for apiece denomination with the intention of dynamical industry and consumer cognisance finished advise interviews, creation reviews and previews, and out-of-the-box programs. Aspects on the PR information include:

o Traditional organisation utilised to start recreation cipher o Messaging and Positioning o Press Releases o Media Outreach o Preview Code (if applicable) o Review Code (if applicable) o Focus on Online and Print Publications o Media Tours (if applicable)

Apple Marketing Support:

Reverb module work directly with Apple on apiece and every iPhone title. While Reverb cannot guarantee flooded marketing hold for every iPhone game, we are overconfident with the comely PR and marketing show to Apple they module hold apiece individualist title.

Reverb has secured the mass types of Apple marketing hold for our iPhone clients including:

* On-stage attendance with Steve Jobs at WWDC * National iPhone broadcasting commercials * Apple retail programs, Apple candid e-mail pieces * iTunes App positioning on the App Store * Placement on the “What Hot,” “Staff Favorite,” and “What’s New” * Premier positioning on the Apple iPhone store.

Intern Program:

Reverb employs a diminutive aggroup of interns who are convergent on managing online communication boards, composition influential mettlesome reviews, and ownership a judge on the online communities. Reverb uses the interns as a superficial commission to understand the newborn mediums where consumers are acquisition most products, chance most blistering newborn games and center to the thoughts of our targeted audience. Reverb module ingest these interns on Developer Y products to place mettlesome reviews (written by Reverb body members) ensuring the eld of the reviews module hit the key messaging and conversation points matured by the Reverb PR/marketing team.

Internal User Reviews Process:

o Internal “User Reviews” o Pre-written by in house writers o Positive reviews â€" not over the crowning â€" but endorsing the mettlesome as a beatific creation o Age ranges + 12 â€" 18 + 19 â€" 25 + 26 â€" 34 + 35 â€" 45 + 46+

* Written from the seek of apiece geezerhood group including key book that resonate with apiece conference * Reviews begin to go springy on period of start on the iPhone front o Release reviews endeavor at start as debase over 14 life from promulgation

* Message boards o Blogs o Online Sites o GameStats and GameRankings (if applicable) * Ongoing open relations outreach module move finished the start of the denomination with different key elements

o Final cipher existence dispatched to analyse sites (if applicable) o Inbound and outgoing media inquiries existence directly addressed

* Press promulgation writing, interviews and creation articles â€" The iPhone front provides the unequalled aspect of allowing games to remain for sale, for and extended period of time, it module be important for Developer Y to maintain a sustainable open relations crusade activity the title. Reverb Communications recommends a information which maintains continuous advise coverage. Reverb has matured individual copyrighted recording mettlesome media lists including, but not restricted to, advise itemize specifically for the iPhone. Reverb’s recommendation is to begin with the iPhone specific advise but apace verify Developer Y titles to mainstream media.

Sample Media List

The media outlets beneath hit been identified because they currently, or hit previously covered, iPhone products. This itemize does not represent the whole itemize Reverb is recommending and is inner witting as a organisation itemize of media Reverb has worked with previously. 1up 4theGamers AOL Games Cheat Code Central CHEATCODES.COM … Wireless Gaming Review and More!

Recommended Marketing Asset List:

* Trailers (prep life from release) … * Game One Sheet (ready to go 45 life from release) o (5) Screen shots that showcase title

Online Marketing Opportunities * Video Uploading o Reverb interns module upload trailers to UGC sites (internal itemize of over 100 sites) o If there is an inner promulgation with a destined site, uploading module begin mass inner o Links to uploads kept in a spreadsheet for views tracking o Tagging and keywords to be matured for apiece recording + Words that exposit the creation + Words that our mart commonly ingest + “Hot” book and underway scheme searches * Cross Links o Digg, Facebook, MySpace any constructive advise relating to a denomination (when applicable) + Timing is unmediated * Web 2.0 Applications o Twitter, Facebook, MySpace every content relating to denomination (when applicable) + Video uploads + Positive advise + User reviews * Social Networks o Link content to places where consumers are social (when applicable) + Facebook, MySpace, StumbleUpon + Blogs + Podcasts

By employed with Reverb Communications, Developer Y crapper be overconfident apiece of their iPhone titles module obtain the comely advise news apiece denomination deserves. Reverb module control every aspects of media from aggressively hunt discover creation reviews and write-ups, planning interviews for Developer Y executives to fielding inbound media requests, Reverb module control every aspects of consumer and joint PR and Marketing allowing Developer Y to pore on upcoming projects.

UNIQUE ELEMENTS OF EACH GAME:

Reverb module amend a unequalled information for Developer Y App focusing on “earned media” or placed stories fashioned to adorn mainstream media attention.

APP STORE PLACEMENT EXAMPLES:

For iPhone games, we recommend that the start of open relations be timed with the Apple marketing programs. When apiece mettlesome is submitted, we permit it intend posted/go springy on the App Store, and then within a 2 hebdomad pane the advise promulgation announcing the mettlesome goes discover day-in fellow with the Apple marketing programs.

Included in the Program:

* Product positioning organisation * Management of Apple marketing programs * Product messaging * Press promulgation composition * Press promulgation organisation finished Reverb Games News (if requested, professed accommodate assist costs are additional) * Press outreach and follow-up (associated OOP costs not included) * All Intern related programs * Press news reports * 1 Press associates appointed to the statement * 1 Team Marketing member to trainer interns

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