A little less than a month ago I blogged about the PR gaffe involving Gordon Brown’s rant regarding a Rochdale senior citizen that arguably left the Labour re-election campaign in tatters. It now seems however, that it is not the former PM alone that is capable of PR Clangers but more worryingly, supposed PR experts that are the subjects of the latest faux pa.
In what is being billed as a staggering lack of professional decorum, PR Week have reported that a social media PR company have taken to their blog to verbally berate a rival company, for what they perceived as their inability to manage social media. The smaller agency’s crime; to send unsolicited press releases to a database of bloggers - hardly the crime of the century.
The blog post itself reeks of an overeager need to ‘get one over’ on a competitor that won a pitch (the very pitch that forms the subject of the blog) they were interested in. Not only is it excessively hasty in its criticisms of a growing company, it is exceptionally hypocritical. The blog post makes fun of grammar that is correct whilst the post itself is riddled with grammatical errors for which the writer atoned by explaining it was ‘hastily’ written, highlighting at the very least the incompetency of the individual in question.
What is most concerning about the post is not its flagrant transparency or the spiteful tone it adopts, it’s not even the mistakes that litter the text, it is the fact that the offending company has done little to assuage the contempt felt by fellow industry professionals. In fact, they seem content to add to their woes by attempting to excuse their actions under the pretence it was ‘for the good of the industry.’
In what is being billed as a staggering lack of professional decorum, PR Week have reported that a social media PR company have taken to their blog to verbally berate a rival company, for what they perceived as their inability to manage social media. The smaller agency’s crime; to send unsolicited press releases to a database of bloggers - hardly the crime of the century.
The blog post itself reeks of an overeager need to ‘get one over’ on a competitor that won a pitch (the very pitch that forms the subject of the blog) they were interested in. Not only is it excessively hasty in its criticisms of a growing company, it is exceptionally hypocritical. The blog post makes fun of grammar that is correct whilst the post itself is riddled with grammatical errors for which the writer atoned by explaining it was ‘hastily’ written, highlighting at the very least the incompetency of the individual in question.
What is most concerning about the post is not its flagrant transparency or the spiteful tone it adopts, it’s not even the mistakes that litter the text, it is the fact that the offending company has done little to assuage the contempt felt by fellow industry professionals. In fact, they seem content to add to their woes by attempting to excuse their actions under the pretence it was ‘for the good of the industry.’
NixonMcInnes MD Will McInnes said of the issue: 'Inevitably we all make mistakes so we shouldn't point the knife when someone slips up. Effectively we exist in what is like a village so we should act like a community. We're all in this together.'
Had they removed the post and apologised for any offence then the matter may have been forgotten. But they have not seen fit to do this and all the blog has succeeded in doing is cause one to question the integrity of said company and its Managing Director, who cleared the post for publication. With 95% of the comments on the blog being negative, future relations with PR professionals will no doubt prove difficult for the company in the coming weeks.
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