The Third Party Technique is Awesome

On page 17 Rampton and Stauber explain a specific strategy in the PR world known as the "third party technique." It is quite simple and accounts for the many "experts" (i.e. scientists, doctors, historians) that jump in on sometimes random issues to prove someone else's point: hence the title of the section--"Someone Else's Mouth." The view taken on this technique, if you will, is, of course, a negative one. Rampton and Stauber perhaps see this as a violation of the real "truth" behind certain issues, and rightly so. However, as a completely independent marketing strategy, it is very effective.

People will trust and believe these "third party experts," and since the overall intellect of the public isn't always astounding then why shouldn't they be able to take advantage of that. I understand that if we looked at this with Lippman in mind, he would thoroughly reject this idea, but it does not necessarily attack the public as mush as the medieval example used by Rampton and Stauber does. Perhaps I don't see this being used in other arenas besides advertising, but even if I did, the public still has this awareness and knowledge to construct their own opinions. If this technique was completely secret, then I may think otherwise. Or, maybe I should just read a little more, which I think I will.