DISQUS

Tony · 3 years ago

I prefer "blogging buddy", or should the situation warrant it, "bloggiferous comrade". Of course I kid ... but thanks all the same ;)

What a bloody fiasco.
Has any PR firm actually used blogs in an ethical way?

Mathew Ingram · 3 years ago

That's a good question, Tony. I'm not sure. If any PR bloggers are reading, maybe they would be able to suggest some.

carson · 3 years ago

I think that the "authenticity" factor is part of what makes blogging a powerful PR tool. The very act of PR, however, usually falls far short of "authentic."

I do think it's possible to use a blog for PR purposes successfully, but I don't think the Edelman Wal-Mart strategy is the way to go in the long run. Companies are going to have to find a way to be up front about who they are and why they are blogging if they want to avoid Edelman Excedrin headaches.

That may require abandoning the notion of securing "grassroots" appeal, and will surely make successful PR blogging tougher...but I do think it's possible.

Mathew Ingram · 3 years ago

That's an excellent point, Carson. It is the authenticity of blogging that makes it so powerful. But in many ways, traditional PR is as inauthentic as it gets -- so does that mean PR and blogs are like matter and anti-matter? As someone once said, sincerity is the key to success -- once you can fake that, you've got it made :-)

Dominic Jones · 3 years ago

I'm going to state the obvious.

Wal-Mart should fire Edelman because they are incompetent.

What exactly has Wal-Mart received for their money?

Tony · 3 years ago

Well, they've gotten a whole lot of BAD publicity in the realm where there were trying to elicit GOOD.

So, its like they've gotten negative value for their money. Which is surprising -- how often do you *pay* PR firms to get BAD publicity?

Mathew Ingram · 3 years ago

But I thought there was no such thing as bad publicity :-) Or maybe that's just for movie stars and politicians.

carson · 3 years ago

I don't necessarily think PR and authenticity are mutually exclusive by nature--only in common execution. Rohit Bhargava, I think, does a pretty good job of outlining how it might be possible to capture at least some of the authenticity advantage without making the Edelman error.

PR practitioners may never be able to snag the full power of blogging as a WOM device, but they can capture enough of it to make it worthwhile.

Re: Firing Edelman... Makes sense to me. Wal-Mart really needs to consider firing everyone who has ever been involved in their online pursuits. Their actual commerce pages are less than attractive, their faux MySpace tanked, and now this. Maybe some outfits should just stick to brick and mortar?

CDB

Constantin Basturea · 3 years ago

Tony, the response to your question, \"Has any PR firm actually used
blogs in an ethical way?\" is -- yes, sure. Here are two examples:

-- General Motors\' Fastlane Blog [1] -- its success is the result of the
collaboration between GM and Hass MS&L; [2]. The two companies have won
the 2006 PR Week Awards for Best Use of the Internet [3] and PR
Innovation of the Year [4] for this project.

--the Chocolate Blog [5], launched to support the LG Chocolate Phone
blogger relations program. The blog was/is written by three members of
Hill & Knowlton’s UK social media team; their identity [6] and the fact
they are writing for a client [7] were made clear from the start [8],
and one of the H&K; bloggers, Niall Cook, has discussed what they learned
[9] from this program on his blog.

[1] http://fastlane.gmblogs.com
[2] their blog: http://www.blogworks.org
[3] PR Week Awards/Best Use - http://tinyurl.com/y4t5px
[4] PR Week Awards/Innovation: http://tinyurl.com/y3wwsw
[5] http://chocolate.lgbloggers.com
[6] identity disclosure: http://tinyurl.com/yx4b97
[7] client disclosure: http://tinyurl.com/y8w42h
[8] disclosure from the start: http://tinyurl.com/y4wr3t
[9] lessons learned: http://tinyurl.com/y3alm7

Tony · 3 years ago

Wow -- what a great reply. I should have remembered the fast lane blog; its mentioned in Naked Conversations. I love the references! :)

Let me rephrase the question:

Has any PR firm had success with using blogs when the client was swirling in controversy, and may actually have something to hide? (perhaps Scoble's own blog is an example ... hmmm .... )

Seth Finkelstein · 3 years ago

I think the issue is more that PR and blogs is about successfully faking sincerity - which contains within it the implication that there are times when they will unsuccessfully fake sincerity.

I haven't seen any evidence that this will discourage future attempts, huffing and puffing from blog evangelists to the contrary.

Dominic Jones · 3 years ago

PR and blogging are like oil and water. They don't mix. But snake oil salespeople will tell you they do.

WOMMA is like an Alcoholics Anonymous that says members can drink on special occasions.

Wal-Mart was doing fine until it started listening to the snake oil salesmen. People didn't always like them, but at least it was honest.

Kian Ann · 3 years ago

Wow. Interesting one. Tranparency and PRs.. do they come together? ;P Well, I think PR and marketing need to be hyped or a little exaggerated... its SELLING for goodness sake! Its portraying the "best" of the company.

Blogs should give PRs an opportunity to leak some more light into the real facts, but I feel that TOTAL transparency will ruin PR!

Marina making pictures · 3 years ago

Yes I agree with you on the whole. I think wallmart should have been honest instead of trying to produce propaganda which is hurting the image now.

Thank you for sharing this story with me !

Jon H · 3 years ago

The reputation of the PR profession is at an all-time low because so many journalists, bloggers and consumers view it as propaganda or spin. But companies are waking up to the realization that effective participation in the world of consumer-generated media (where their brands are defined) must be transparent, open and honest. The Wal-Mart Edelman fiasco demonstrates the incredible downside to manipulative PR. Companies embracing higher standards of communications ethics will be richly rewarded in the marketplace. More at http://jon8332.typepad.com/force_for_good/