I know. This probably isn’t a real trend (yet), but fake PR cases seem to be on the rise.
The most notable of course have been the following: the fake BP Global PR Twitter account, the General Mills press release hoax, and now, the fake PR account for AT&T.
My personal favorite is the Heishman Flillard stunt which is an obvious spoof of the well-known PR firm, Fleishman Hillard. It’s less an attack on Fleishman and more a commentary on how large PR firms are struggling to reinvent themselves in today’s world. Heishman has a Facebook fan page, a Twitter account and they recently launched a slick website complete with multimedia content and humorous copy like: “the most strategic, powerful and award winning tradigital force in public relations and social media in the universe.”
Although fake PR is not a new phenomenon, I believe PR professionals need to start preparing for more cases of it for three reasons:
- It’s really easy to create and distribute official-looking content via social media.
- It’s time consuming and challenging to shut down or remove fake PR off third-party sites.
- There is an audience for it, as evidenced by the 180,000 people that now follow the fake BP Global PR Twitter account.
So, how does one manage fake PR? Here a few steps to consider:
Step 1: Don’t bury your head in the sand. Issue a quick statement (preferably on your blog) acknowledging the existence of the fake PR.
Step 2: Talk to your legal department. Are the interests (not egos) of the company being seriously harmed by the fake PR? If not, is there a way your company can use the fake PR to its advantage?
Step 3: Consider fighting fire with fire. Don’t only consider serious solutions (e.g., cease and desist letters), consider using a humorous one. The real AT&T ought to engage the person running the fake AT&T Twitter account. For example, why not send him/her a Tweet that he/she’s been selected as employee of the month but needs to pick up the award in person?
Step 4: If the situation is highly sensitive (as in the case of BP), simply acknowledge the fake PR (Step 1) and leave it be (although continue monitoring for serious legal issues). Trying to silence the instigator is not likely to work in your favor.
Most of the fake PR cases that I’ve come across are not purposely malicious and don’t harm the company or its interests. They are meant to simply entertain and get attention for the author (at your expense of course). I don’t think there is any harm in that.
I think for most people the fake BP Twitter account served an important purpose. It became an outlet where people could vent their frustration through humor. And that’s probably a good thing.
But whatever you decide to do, don’t wait. Time is the enemy.
419.730.3040
andrew [at] newsvetter [dot] com
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Mr. Andrew,
Thank you for your lackluster piece which, let me tell you from experience, is not Life Magazine material. No it is not indeed.
By referring to Heishman-Flillard as “fake PR,” we must inform you that you tread on very thin ice sir. In the near-term, we plan to:
Step 1: Bury our heads in the sand. We need not acknowledge your drivel.
Step 2: Our legal department could not be bothered by the “harm” that this piece being read by your four readers would cause.
Step 3: Our only fighting will be kung-fu. We don’t find this funny whatsoever.
Step 4: We do not acknowledge your piece. Period.
You’re welcome.
Lauren Heishman
Chief Executive Strategic Knowlegation Officer
Heishman-Flillard Global Communications
http://www.HeishmanFlillard.com
http://www.Twitter.com/HeishmanFlill
http://www.Facebook.com/HeishmanFlillard
http://www.Youtube.com/heishmanflillardcomm
About Heishman-Flillard: Leading the world’s global business community in dynamically developed, strategic, powerful and award winning turn-key traDigital programs in public relations, social media, digital word of mouth marketing, direct mail, advertising, mobile marketing, website development, e-mail marketing, internal communications, business-to-consumer communications, business-to-business communications, labor communications, crisis management, graphic design, event management, public affairs, investor relations services, telemarketing, door to door, guerrilla marketing, and customer service communications.
Excellent advice, I shall stew on this a bit.
And it’s timely. My boss just asked me yesterday afternoon about how we’d handle this very thing…
Andrew,
Good ideas all around. BP recently had some success in shutting down a Boycott fan page on Facebook. As I told my friends, if they invested that effort into the Gulf, the leak would plugged already. It’s a topic on deck soon enough.
How fake PR is handled is situational, with engagement dependent on what is going on. Where AT&T might engage the fake AT&T, BP seems to be in a position to take it. Until the leak is fixed, the public backlash is mostly deserved.
Best,
Rich
wonderful post Andrew! It’s my first time on your blog and I dig your writing style. My colleague and I were having this conversation with regards to the @HeishmanFlillard stuff going on. You’re suggestions are spot on.
As a side note, i think it’s absolutely hilarious.
z
Good advice but surely the General Mills example is an orange compared to the other apples…?
@Tom Yes, the General Mills case is different. Somebody got access to their PRNewswire acct and issued the phony press release so the intent was certainly more malicious. But the way the company handled the issue is consistent with some of the steps I outlined above.
@Lauren Thanks for stopping by. Where do you find the time…
Nice post, Andrew. It’s always good to have a plan in action, just because you never know where the next “threat” is coming from. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more examples of fake PR in the future.
@KamaAtDoe
These cases of brandjacking are very difficult for companies in that they strike right in the gut (ego, etc). It is pretty easy to take it personally and it generally rises to crisis level internally (even if it is more like a small ant hill externally) – which is exactly what the perps intended.
I agree that Step 3, fight humor with humor, is ideal, but it VERY difficult (if not impossible) for most companies to pull off. Your suggestions are easier for companies that are further along in their online engagement and who already have built a community. Step 4 is more likely, and step 1 is imperative.
Also, there is the pushback from fans and stakeholders. The thing about “fake” accounts is that they don’t have any of the conventions that a responsible company has: shareholders, customers, employees, vendors, regulators, yada-yada. All they have to do is entertain. At the end of the day, a company has to do much more.
You can take the tact of “Oh, be serious. Nobody believes that stuff” and ignore it, or realize that quite a few people actually do believe that Nessie is hiding in Loch Ness and that aliens stole Michael Jackson’s body. In that case, it’s always best to be ready to put out the proper facts and work on revealing who is real and who is fake.
That doesn’t mean these folks aren’t revealing some truths about your handling of a crisis or your communication. In fact, I would say these fake PR sites are doing the real folks a service by pointing out their failings and shortcomings.
In the end, be transparent, anticipate and lead. Always tell the truth and earn trust. That way you won’t have to convince people that you’re the real PR person and not the fake.
I think it’s funny that first we asked companies to have a sense of humor — to lighten up a bit and show their human side — and now we’re worried about how to respond to spoofs.
I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have a response plan in place, although if we put as much effort into response strategies for “real” issues as we do for spoofs, we’d probably be on the right path.
I thought journalists were supposed to fact check? If you’re just publishing newswire feeds you’re lame.
Plus, isn’t it about relationships, at some level? If you know your contact, it makes it easier to trust what they’re sending you,, doesn’t it? Damn automation, damn it!!
Jason Kintzler
PitchEngine
And then there is fake Steve Jobs.
I think the right thing is to ignore it or even play along. But to get upset makes companies look weak in my opinion.
David
Another great post! While all your points are absolutely on target, the challenge I have always had, and never found a successful solution to, is inducing the client to grasp the same cool-headed analysis you present.
Instead of extricating themselves gracefully from the situation so it dies down and goes away, they often run screaming at it with flailing arms. Drawing attention to the situation and their overreaction. Truly a communications party fail.
I only hope your post might encourage more executives to earnestly listen to their communications adviser, and consequently inoculate them from catching a does of foot-in-mouth disease.
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