{"id":300,"date":"2006-10-18T08:15:47","date_gmt":"2006-10-18T12:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/?p=300"},"modified":"2008-10-17T18:39:36","modified_gmt":"2008-10-17T22:39:36","slug":"coda-wal-mart-and-edelman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getgood.com\/roadmaps\/2006\/10\/18\/coda-wal-mart-and-edelman\/","title":{"rendered":"Coda: Wal-mart and Edelman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some final thoughts. The reaction to Richard Edelman’s apology in the PR blogosphere has been mixed, with some<\/a> bloggers<\/a> accepting the apology and others<\/a> aghast<\/a> that<\/a> "we" should even consider accepting it when Edelman violated so many ethical principles, including the code of ethics of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association<\/a> (WOMMA). Hugh MacLeod, in inimitable fashion, has the usual cartoon.<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s the thing. I don’t think it is up to "us" (whoever "us" is) to accept or refute the apology. It really does not matter. Sure, this fake blog was a serious ethical lapse by an agency that should know better. An ill-considered campaign, it did not achieve its goals for the client, and spawns far larger problems for the agency. How come the top bloggers at Edelman didn’t know? If I were Richard Edelman, I’d find out. And I am sure he is. For the sake of his business. <\/p>\n

But it wasn’t mass murder. Or financial malfeasance. It was a blog. Really, a blip on the radar screen of life.<\/p>\n

Yes, it makes PR look bad, and critics of the profession will waste no time in tarring us all with the same sticky Wal-Mart brush. But it’s a big leap to say that any of the PR and marketing blogosphere was actually harmed as a result of Wal-marting Across America. <\/p>\n

So, I’m not going to forgive Edelman. I’ve got nothing to forgive.<\/p>\n

But we also shouldn’t forget. If Edelman wants to be a social media leader, it really has to start acting like one. There’s been a lot of talk<\/strong> about the me2revolution at Edelman, but not a lot of tangible proof. <\/p>\n

Remember: it’s not what you say. It’s what you do. <\/p>\n

Tags: Edelman<\/a>, Wal-Mart<\/a>, PR<\/a>, public relations<\/a>, fake blog<\/a>, ethics<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some final thoughts. The reaction to Richard Edelman’s apology in the PR blogosphere has been mixed, with some bloggers accepting the apology and others aghast that "we" should even consider accepting it when Edelman violated so many ethical principles, including the code of ethics of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). Hugh MacLeod, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[36,5,23,13],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t