Thursday, October 19, 2006
Keep your blogs transparent!
We've been following the press about the latest blog-troversy. As you've probably heard by now, the blog "Walmarting Across America" was not started by two random Americans but in fact, it was a carefully constructed media ploy designed by WalMart's PR Agency.
Between the two of us we know of several other "consumer-written" blogs that have been started by well-meaning agencies - Edelman's tactic is certainly not a new one. Those others slid by undetected just months ago, but with blogging fast becoming a ubiquitous strategy to broaden a brand's reach there's a new focus on who is writing and what is being written. As you know, the first rule of branding is authenticity - and this applies to not only your brand values, but how you express them as well. Kudos to Edelman for trying to battle WalMart's sullied reputation in the marketplace...but ouch! - what a monumental backfire.
Read what other bloggers are saying about the misstep.
