When a brand seeks to join the conversation of socially connected advocates using an incentive program, paid promotion or endorsement, that brand is relying on the advocates’ reputation to benefit its own reputation. The advocate’s perspective is that he or she is putting hard-earned reputation on the line. Each is relying on the other. Each is effectively “borrowing” the reputation of the other. We’ll discuss the dynamics of borrowed reputation; how it relates to the POE model; how borrowed media relationships can be best structured to build/protect trust and improve ROI; and what marketing performance metrics these programs can reveal when implemented using structured disclosure.