By now, most brands and retailers syndicating reviews to the PowerReviews Open Network are aware that the four-year court ordered cross-network syndication agreement between PowerReviews and Bazaarvoice entered a one-year, wind-down period in July. As previously announced, PowerReviews secured direct syndication relationships with 25 of the largest retailers in the world 18 months ago and is continuing to accept and share review content from brands using Bazaarvoice during the wind-down period.
Unfortunately, Bazaarvoice over the objection of their retail clients and the market stopped accepting new content from brands using PowerReviews in October. To minimize disruption for brands and retailers, PowerReviews created pre-matched, pre-moderated files for all direct syndication retailers using Bazaarvoice. PowerReviews is offering retailers and brands an immediate solution with no cost and no technical work to syndicate reviews to retailers’ sites.
During November, many of Bazaarvoice’s largest retailers gave them an ultimatum: Either import the files to re-start review syndication, or they will develop a workaround or switch to a platform that will enable open review syndication. Thus far, Bazaarvoice has chosen profit motives over ensuring their retailers have the best review coverage possible.
PowerReviews will continue to work with small and large players in the industry to provide a truly open alternative that puts the retailers and brands in control, and doesn’t attempt to profit by limiting review syndication at the expense of retailers and brands.
As we work with brands and retailers to move to an open network, here are some key points to keep in mind:
- The 150 retailers participating in the PowerReviews Open Network reach 1 billion shoppers each month and represent more than $100 billion in online sales.
- PowerReviews has publicly committed to accepting content from any new brand or syndicating content to any new retailer regardless of what platform they are using. We recently welcomed Dollar General to the PowerReviews Open Network, along with five other retailers accounting for billions in online sales. There are no technical obstacles on behalf of retailers or brands to enable direct syndication.
- There are 900+ brands participating in the PowerReviews Open Network, representing $250 billion in annual revenue. In the last 90 days alone, eight of the top 10 CPG companies in the world have signed agreements to work with PowerReviews.
- PowerReviews continues to accept content at no charge from brands using Bazaarvoice during the wind-down period, despite the fact that Bazaarvoice has chosen to stop accepting content until exorbitant access fees are paid. We have seen quotes as high as $20,000 per brand per retailer to syndicate. This is resulting in syndication-only contracts that are double or triple the total fees a brand pays to work with a UGC provider.
- With competition and open networks come innovation that benefits retailers, brands and consumers. PowerReviews is now also offering Q&A syndication, image syndication, improved match rates and the ability for brands to respond to reviews and questions on retail sites.
- We are also excited to announce that for the first time, retailers who join the PowerReviews Open Network are now able to access content from a community of 1+ million reviewers and influencers who participate in the BzzAgent sampling programs and create highly valuable content beyond reviews, such as images, video and social content for hundreds of brands.
PowerReviews will continue to take an open and innovative approach to review syndication. Offering better value to brands and retailers through the PowerReviews Open Network is our #1 organizational goal. We will continue to provide new developments in the growth of the PowerReviews Open Network.
If you are a retailer impacted by the recent policy change at Bazaarvoice, review content from 900+ syndicating brands is ready to be shared and displayed. We will continue to work through this transition and ensure your review content is available and up-to-date.
Simply fill out this form or contact network@powerreviews.com for your syndicated reviews file, and get syndicated reviews within 1-2 weeks.
Thank you,
Matt
