The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) on Thursday released the WOMMA Ethics Assessment Tool, which helps marketers identify and eliminate unethical word-of-mouth marketing tactics before they are implemented.

Modeled on the WOMMA Ethics guidelines of honesty of relationship, opinion, and identity, the "20 Questions" ethics tool guides marketers through the questions they should ask before initiating a WOM campaign. The answers identify unethical actions and point to safeguards for avoiding them.

"We're empowering marketers to sort out the good ideas from the bad ones," said WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz, in a statement. "We're ending the 'don't ask/don't tell' option for stealth marketing." He added, "We're going to drive business to firms that stand for ethical, consumer-protecting practices."

Unethical campaigns often happen when a junior executive isn't fully aware of the ethics rules, or when agencies that use unethical practices are hired without the client understanding the implications, according to WOMMA.

"This is the first item in WOMMA's Practical Ethics program to provide the tools marketers need to ensure ethics are implemented throughout their company," said Jim Nail, CMO, Cymfony, cochair of the project. "It ensures that all personnel know what to look for."

"We're going to make it awfully hard for a stealth marketer to get a job," Sernovitz said.

WOMMA is calling for public comment from marketers and consumers to make the tool as useful and effective as possible.