Comments on: An important topic to discuss… http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/ Marcom - Marketing Communications :: PR/Marcom Pros Mentoring Students Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:32:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Derek T. http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-9969 Derek T. Mon, 19 Mar 2007 03:05:44 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-9969 Although the actions that led to this incident were unethical, cheap, short-handed, etc., it is interesting to me that the emphasis is placed on Edelman's slow reaction time. This is a lesson to me on the importance of crisis management and more specifically the importance of reacting very quickly when a situation comes up. It's almost like the public is OK with people messing up on occasion, they just want the details, quick. We can all learn a very valuable lesson from Edelman's mistake here, and not just from their bad business practices. Although the actions that led to this incident were unethical, cheap, short-handed, etc., it is interesting to me that the emphasis is placed on Edelman’s slow reaction time. This is a lesson to me on the importance of crisis management and more specifically the importance of reacting very quickly when a situation comes up. It’s almost like the public is OK with people messing up on occasion, they just want the details, quick. We can all learn a very valuable lesson from Edelman’s mistake here, and not just from their bad business practices.

]]> By: Rachel D. http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6825 Rachel D. Sun, 29 Oct 2006 22:34:35 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6825 I definitely think Edelman has dealt with this Wal-mart flogging scandal in the best way possible. They admitted what they did was wrong, and they are coming out directly to the public to ask for feedback and comments to engage them in debate about what happened. Edelman is a PR firm, and they know that the most important part of this scandal is to be honest with the public with all the facts and to have a good spokesperson deal directly with the public. Because Edelman has such an impeccable reputation, I don't think this flogging scandal will have any effect on its business. My perception of Edelman has not been altered because of this scandal. Good luck to Edelman and I hope the scandal blows over! I definitely think Edelman has dealt with this Wal-mart flogging scandal in the best way possible. They admitted what they did was wrong, and they are coming out directly to the public to ask for feedback and comments to engage them in debate about what happened. Edelman is a PR firm, and they know that the most important part of this scandal is to be honest with the public with all the facts and to have a good spokesperson deal directly with the public. Because Edelman has such an impeccable reputation, I don’t think this flogging scandal will have any effect on its business. My perception of Edelman has not been altered because of this scandal. Good luck to Edelman and I hope the scandal blows over!

]]> By: Danielle http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6694 Danielle Fri, 27 Oct 2006 19:52:23 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6694 Obviously the big mistake Edelman made was not acknowledging the mistake, not making a statement, doing nothing. In crisis pr we are taught to to make an informed and unified statement as soon as possible. Edelman let us down. I know that everyone makes mistakes, even huge corporations who "get it," but those who make mistakes usually acknowledge their mistakes and apologize or explain in a timely manner. Don't they? Well, all humans make mistakes, this is not the first time an error in judgement has been made and I doubt this will be the last. Let's just hope that next time, the company or person at fault will be a little quicker in the response time. Obviously the big mistake Edelman made was not acknowledging the mistake, not making a statement, doing nothing. In crisis pr we are taught to to make an informed and unified statement as soon as possible. Edelman let us down.
I know that everyone makes mistakes, even huge corporations who “get it,” but those who make mistakes usually acknowledge their mistakes and apologize or explain in a timely manner. Don’t they?
Well, all humans make mistakes, this is not the first time an error in judgement has been made and I doubt this will be the last. Let’s just hope that next time, the company or person at fault will be a little quicker in the response time.

]]> By: Sarah http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6522 Sarah Tue, 24 Oct 2006 21:10:59 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6522 We all know that as public relations practitioners we should be forthright and honest about every bit of information we distribute to the public, but let's be honest. In the public relations world, this does not always happen. It's unacceptable, but faulty information gets out. The lines are blurred, and areas that should be black and white become gray. Once again, it's unacceptable to be dishonest, and it makes it difficult for public relations practitioners to gain trust in the media, but it still happens. The things that set this Edelman mistake apart from other blunders are two things: the fact that Edelman Worldwide is a huge and widely respected public relations firm with a high profile client, and the fact that this mistake happened in the blog world. With the scale of Wal-Mart, Edelman should have known to treat this client especially carefully. Edelman represents lots of big clients, and by publicly messing up, they may injure their image and lose current and future clients. Edelman didn't just injure their name, though. With blogs, pr practitioners already struggle to gain faith since the Internet isn't monitered and there's no gatekeeper. Now, after this mistake, pr practitioners have twice the struggle to prove that their information is trustworthy and accurate. This campaign was definitely a mistake, but somebody would have made it if Edelman didn't. And we all know that Edelman is not the only firm making these mistakes. If the family in the Wal-Mart parking lots really existed, it would have made for a great story. But it didn't happen that way. All Edelman can do now is acknowledge their mistake, and move forward. This brings up another mistake Edelman made. They didn't move fast enough. Damage control is a daily activity in the pr world, and Edelman didn't do it quickly enough. There were obvious errors on the firm's part, and other pr practitioners were damaged by this mistake, too. But this isn't the first time it's happened and it won't be the last. It is our responsibility as pr practitioners to prevent these mistakes so that our work is acknowledged as truth. The public needs to have faith in us and trust the information we give them. We all know that as public relations practitioners we should be forthright and honest about every bit of information we distribute to the public, but let’s be honest. In the public relations world, this does not always happen. It’s unacceptable, but faulty information gets out. The lines are blurred, and areas that should be black and white become gray. Once again, it’s unacceptable to be dishonest, and it makes it difficult for public relations practitioners to gain trust in the media, but it still happens.

The things that set this Edelman mistake apart from other blunders are two things: the fact that Edelman Worldwide is a huge and widely respected public relations firm with a high profile client, and the fact that this mistake happened in the blog world. With the scale of Wal-Mart, Edelman should have known to treat this client especially carefully. Edelman represents lots of big clients, and by publicly messing up, they may injure their image and lose current and future clients. Edelman didn’t just injure their name, though. With blogs, pr practitioners already struggle to gain faith since the Internet isn’t monitered and there’s no gatekeeper. Now, after this mistake, pr practitioners have twice the struggle to prove that their information is trustworthy and accurate.

This campaign was definitely a mistake, but somebody would have made it if Edelman didn’t. And we all know that Edelman is not the only firm making these mistakes. If the family in the Wal-Mart parking lots really existed, it would have made for a great story. But it didn’t happen that way. All Edelman can do now is acknowledge their mistake, and move forward. This brings up another mistake Edelman made. They didn’t move fast enough. Damage control is a daily activity in the pr world, and Edelman didn’t do it quickly enough.

There were obvious errors on the firm’s part, and other pr practitioners were damaged by this mistake, too. But this isn’t the first time it’s happened and it won’t be the last. It is our responsibility as pr practitioners to prevent these mistakes so that our work is acknowledged as truth. The public needs to have faith in us and trust the information we give them.

]]> By: Hayley http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6516 Hayley Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:03:34 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6516 It is amzing but also sad how one mistake in PR can attract this much attention and perform this much damage to the company. Props go to Edelman for trying out this campaign first and for actually working on improving social media for our society. However, if you are an organization or PR firm this large and with this much prestige- you absolutely have to take more time in researching and planning out your campaigns! If you do not, mistakes will happen that will really damage your credibility because all the rest look up to you. When you are on the top, be prepared for people to try to knock you down. If this had happened with a PR firm that was very small and unheard of, it would not have received this much attention or damaged their perception by society too much. If you want to be the best and remain the best, you have to put that extra work and time into EVERYTHING you do- that is what got you at the top and it will take even MORE to keep you there! As Richard Edelman himself explained, they failed in being transparent about the identity of the two bloggers. However, Edelman did accept 100% blame and error, taking on the responsibility and making sure the client was not considered at fault by any means. Trust was lost by many when this mistake was made by Edelman, however there is full confidence that they can recover from this and build back up the trust that was lost. Thanks for the thoughts! It is amzing but also sad how one mistake in PR can attract this much attention and perform this much damage to the company. Props go to Edelman for trying out this campaign first and for actually working on improving social media for our society. However, if you are an organization or PR firm this large and with this much prestige- you absolutely have to take more time in researching and planning out your campaigns! If you do not, mistakes will happen that will really damage your credibility because all the rest look up to you. When you are on the top, be prepared for people to try to knock you down. If this had happened with a PR firm that was very small and unheard of, it would not have received this much attention or damaged their perception by society too much. If you want to be the best and remain the best, you have to put that extra work and time into EVERYTHING you do- that is what got you at the top and it will take even MORE to keep you there! As Richard Edelman himself explained, they failed in being transparent about the identity of the two bloggers. However, Edelman did accept 100% blame and error, taking on the responsibility and making sure the client was not considered at fault by any means. Trust was lost by many when this mistake was made by Edelman, however there is full confidence that they can recover from this and build back up the trust that was lost.
Thanks for the thoughts!

]]> By: Rachel M http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6470 Rachel M Mon, 23 Oct 2006 19:14:57 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6470 When you label yourself as a leader in anything you have to expect to be under the microscope. In the blogging world people were watching the moves the Edelman made because of this claim. Unfortunately for them this means when they mess up people are going to notice. I was surprised that it took so long for Edelman to respond to the problem. One of the first things you learn in crisis management is to respond quickly. One of the problems could be older PR tactics meets blogging. Most people do not get blogging and do not want to understand it at all. You just have to wonder if the people in charge of this campaign knew what they were doing. This situation just goes to show you that even if you are a leader you have to follow the same rules as everyone else. When you label yourself as a leader in anything you have to expect to be under the microscope. In the blogging world people were watching the moves the Edelman made because of this claim. Unfortunately for them this means when they mess up people are going to notice. I was surprised that it took so long for Edelman to respond to the problem. One of the first things you learn in crisis management is to respond quickly. One of the problems could be older PR tactics meets blogging. Most people do not get blogging and do not want to understand it at all. You just have to wonder if the people in charge of this campaign knew what they were doing. This situation just goes to show you that even if you are a leader you have to follow the same rules as everyone else.

]]> By: Michelle P http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6469 Michelle P Mon, 23 Oct 2006 19:09:12 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6469 I think the biggest mistake Edelman made here was their lack of acknowledgement of what was going on in the blogosphere. It took them way too much time to issue a statement and for Richard Edelman to make a comment. People in Edelman must have know about this as soon as it broke, people like Steve Rubel apologized for the late remarks and claimed no involvement but someone should have spoken up in appropriate time. We are taught in all our classes be transparent, be honest, be ethical- but it is much better to see examples of this in the real world and this is just not the case we need to be looking toward as an example of transparency and ethical standards. Edelman considers itself to be the number one company that "gets it" when is comes to social media-yet they totally didn't get it when it had to do with their own company. I have read a lot of what people are saying out there in the blogosphere and I agree and disagree with the things people are saying. Sure everyone makes mistakes, but I think this is a bit bigger than a mistake, I am not really sure what the word is but mistake doesn't seem to cover it for me. I think the biggest mistake Edelman made here was their lack of acknowledgement of what was going on in the blogosphere. It took them way too much time to issue a statement and for Richard Edelman to make a comment. People in Edelman must have know about this as soon as it broke, people like Steve Rubel apologized for the late remarks and claimed no involvement but someone should have spoken up in appropriate time. We are taught in all our classes be transparent, be honest, be ethical- but it is much better to see examples of this in the real world and this is just not the case we need to be looking toward as an example of transparency and ethical standards.

Edelman considers itself to be the number one company that “gets it” when is comes to social media-yet they totally didn’t get it when it had to do with their own company.

I have read a lot of what people are saying out there in the blogosphere and I agree and disagree with the things people are saying. Sure everyone makes mistakes, but I think this is a bit bigger than a mistake, I am not really sure what the word is but mistake doesn’t seem to cover it for me.

]]> By: Adam Keeshan http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6468 Adam Keeshan Mon, 23 Oct 2006 18:49:37 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6468 This obviously has not been the greatest thing to happen to Edelman, but I don't think it's going to be their downfall. More than likely, Edelman and the cheif officers of the company probally had no idea that this was going on. One thing that could hurt them is the response time it took them to reach the public. Even though Edelman accepted full responsibility for his companies actions he still needs to find out who let this happen. This seems like something that most people would understand is a bad idea and would be stopped before it even started. I have not seen any of this on any of the news programs or traditional media so I don't know how big of an impact this will have on Edelman. I'd like to hear what Edelman has to say once he is done figuring out what happened. This obviously has not been the greatest thing to happen to Edelman, but I don’t think it’s going to be their downfall. More than likely, Edelman and the cheif officers of the company probally had no idea that this was going on. One thing that could hurt them is the response time it took them to reach the public. Even though Edelman accepted full responsibility for his companies actions he still needs to find out who let this happen. This seems like something that most people would understand is a bad idea and would be stopped before it even started. I have not seen any of this on any of the news programs or traditional media so I don’t know how big of an impact this will have on Edelman. I’d like to hear what Edelman has to say once he is done figuring out what happened.

]]> By: Wade Cothran http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6463 Wade Cothran Mon, 23 Oct 2006 17:26:12 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6463 Robert French's classes recently had a run-in with Rick Murray and I wish this would have come into play during our 3 hour meeting. He visited the class to discuss social media networking and some new products Edelman is working on, but never mentioned this little fiasco. I think this is rude and inconsiderate to everyone who has ties with the company. Edelman has issued an apology on its site and this PR tragedy by no means should be considered a mistake. What they should do, is figure out how to put themselves back in the light with the public. Obviously, there are a ton of Edelman bashers out there who would love nothing more than to see the company go down in flames. Robert French’s classes recently had a run-in with Rick Murray and I wish this would have come into play during our 3 hour meeting.

He visited the class to discuss social media networking and some new products Edelman is working on, but never mentioned this little fiasco.

I think this is rude and inconsiderate to everyone who has ties with the company. Edelman has issued an apology on its site and this PR tragedy by no means should be considered a mistake. What they should do, is figure out how to put themselves back in the light with the public. Obviously, there are a ton of Edelman bashers out there who would love nothing more than to see the company go down in flames.

]]> By: Dallas Perry http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6450 Dallas Perry Mon, 23 Oct 2006 15:36:14 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2006/10/16/an-important-topic-to-discuss/#comment-6450 I was also shocked at this mistake made by Edelman. We started to discuss it in class right after Rick Murray came to visit(who was, by the way, a very nice man and completely willing to indulge a bunch of college students with answers to all of the questions we asked).Our teacher was so blown away by what happened that we talked about it for almost the entire class period. It's so funny that we as a society think that just because a company is powerful that they don't make mistakes. This is just proof that anyone can make a mistake, no matter how large and in charge they are. I was really surprised that Edelman didn't step forward right away to admit a wrongdoing. Hopefully this will serve as a lesson to everyone in the PR world, I wonder if Edelman has a crisis plan for something of this nature? I was also shocked at this mistake made by Edelman. We started to discuss it in class right after Rick Murray came to visit(who was, by the way, a very nice man and completely willing to indulge a bunch of college students with answers to all of the questions we asked).Our teacher was so blown away by what happened that we talked about it for almost the entire class period. It’s so funny that we as a society think that just because a company is powerful that they don’t make mistakes. This is just proof that anyone can make a mistake, no matter how large and in charge they are. I was really surprised that Edelman didn’t step forward right away to admit a wrongdoing. Hopefully this will serve as a lesson to everyone in the PR world, I wonder if Edelman has a crisis plan for something of this nature?

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