It's September 27th, 2006 when a folksy blog breaks into the blogosphere. A journey from Las Vegas to Georgia made by two people...
Imagine this couple.
Let's call them Jim and Laura.
Jim and Laura decided to take a trip to see some of their children (one in school in PA, another in NC). They decided to make it a road-trip and travel via an RV. Someone mentioned to them, while they were planning their trip and trying to figure in finances, that RVs could park for free in Wal-mart parking lots. Since Laura had become a part of "Working Families for Wal-mart", the couple decided to get permission for Laura (a freelance writer) to write a number of pieces chronicling their experiences.
"We are not bloggers, but since our lives have always been more journey than destination we are explorers at heart…. We figured we'd give it a go." (Laura's First Blog Entry)
This was the perfect opportunity for Wal-mart to get some free (and good) press. So, the sneaky Wal-mart executives decided to fund Jim and Laura's entire trip (flying them out to Las Vegas so that their trip was longer) including gas and a new mint-green RV; the company also created the blog "Wal-marting Across America" and compensated Laura for each blog entry.
The two were already fans of the mega superstore, however, their posts are particularly one-sided and work towards knocking down the stereotype that many people had for the way Wal-mart treats their employees. People began to question the validity of Jim and Laura since it seemed the blog did not give any negative information. Was the Wal-mart corporation behind this?
Yes.
BusinessWeek.com exposed the ploy, which was really the fact that no one in the situation was upfront about the exchange of money and thus inherent bias in the process. The stunt was especially bad for Wal-mart's Public Relations firm Edelman, since it violated ethical guidelines it helped to write for the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Prior to this blog, Edelman had the reputation of leading PR firm for social media; if it was not for their immediate response to the situation, the case may have been more widely recognized and destroyed both companies.
"The tale of how they started the blog reveals how hungry Wal-Mart is to find people who have anything positive to say about the company.” [BusinessWeek 10/8/06]
The identities of Jim and Laura eventually surfaced and the blog was taken down. Wal-mart Watch, a group critical of the Arkansas store, disclosed much of the information in October of 2006. Since then many critics of Wal-mart as well as other bloggers use this case in discussions of Web 2.0 ethics.
This is a really interesting story. I've heard about it before. I just wonder what was going through their heads when they did this. In a social media world they had to expect that they would be found out; now who is going to trust this company on any of the future communication they put forth?
ReplyDeleteI think part of it is that Wal-mart has already been heading in a downward direction for a while. Because this situation was not completely upfront, I think a lot of the heat was laid on the PR company Edelman. Fortunately for Wal-mart, the situation was taken care of quickly and efficiently. Edelman is still the leading PR company when it comes to social media even though they weren't completely forthright in this instance. It makes you wonder where else their influence runs.
ReplyDeleteI think this is typical of many PR stories today. A lot of large scale blogs and even viral videos are funded in some way by larger companies. But for the most part the majority of society is not aware of this.
ReplyDeleteIt is what we are not aware of that can make the most difference. Always question, investigate, play devil's advocate, and think beyond the surface. What is partially or minimally represented and how does partial transparency relate to interpretations? Awareness is essential.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I remember hearing about this story before, but I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, it's REALLY interesting. Yes Walmart paid the expenses of their trip and I guess that could have swayed opinions to be much more positive. But honestly, coming from a small town, I've noted ALOT of RVs staying overnight in Walmart parking lots. If one's traveling via RV and knows Walmart accomodates them for free, then there's more than likely (though I could be wrong) a network of RV-ers who maybe suggest which routes are best? Because, yes, my small town is between Charleston and Myrtle Beach (two resort towns), but I cant imagine why anyone would choose to stay overnight in Georgetown, SC when Charleston is only an hour and a half's drive south, and Myrtle Beach is 45 minute's drive north.... just my two cents though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I find it embarrassing that they would do something like this. I also agree with Emma, as to how they didn't think anyone would find out about this especially in the media age we live in.
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