Brand ambassadors, influencers, loyalty programs—everywhere you turn, there’s someone pushing the next big thing. And then you’ve got Pimax, who, well, let’s just say they took a rather interesting approach. So, picture this: a VR headset company trying the ol’ secret rewards program, rewarding folks for saying nice things on forums. Almost like a secret club, or maybe it was meant to be until things got messy.
It all kicked off with a Reddit user—’Mavgaming1′ if you need names—who spilled the beans on a quiet little chat with Pimax via Discord. The pitch was simple: post positively about Pimax on social media and gather points to score rewards. Sound innocent enough? Maybe. But once uncovered, the whole plan kinda fell apart like a house of cards in a windstorm.
Before Pimax could wave their “just kidding” flag, they did confirm the program was real. Rewards ranged from humble $5 Steam gift cards to hefty discounts on their gadgets. Oh, and if you climbed the ladder far enough, there was a whole $1,000 trip to Shanghai up for grabs. The catch? Pretty straightforward: craft some positive posts about Pimax, drop them in forums, get approval, post, and gather points. Easy peasy?
Here’s a gem of Pimax’s guidelines given to Mavgaming1, full of gems like “Your First VR Experience with Pimax” and tips on getting the most out of your tech. Almost like a not-so-subtle nudge to make Pimax look like a superstar in the VR galaxy. There was even talk of earning points for upbeat comments on Pimax’s social media posts. I mean, who wouldn’t want to simulate grassroots support for Pimax’s shiny toys?
But then they backpedaled. Pimax said the whole thing wasn’t officially green-lit, just some rogue employees acting on their own. They hit the brakes fast, saying they’d never thrown money at positive reviews before. Nine Discord users were contacted, but only three got the full rundown.
Jaap Grolleman, their Head of Communications—you might call him the face of Pimax these days—told Road to VR that the message “didn’t go through our internal channels but was whispered in Discord chats by some colleagues.” They never strong-armed anyone to use the company’s voice or demanded positive reviews. Except for, you know, those three messages in May. Oops.
Jaap goes on, calling the project a “massive misjudgment” by certain individuals. He assures no reviews came from it, at least officially.
But let’s be real. It’s not just a whoopsie in marketing. Even if only a handful heard the pitch, it could have danced into the realm of illegal marketing territory. The FTC isn’t shy about laying down the law with their guidelines on endorsements. You can’t just pay folks for praise without a big “Hey, this is sponsored!” sign. Ethical, it ain’t. Legal? Probably not.
You’ve got similar rules elsewhere. The UK’s CMA and the EU’s directives stand firm against sneaky marketing to fake out real customer voices. Pimax trod awfully close to astroturfing if you ask me.
