A Bad Week for Brands in the Blogosphere
This was a tough week to be a Big Brand. This was a week in which it was all-too-easy to rile up the blogosphere. This was a week in which the tenets of copyright and fair use and monetization and fandom and PR got all tangled up.
I am going to tread lightly with my commentary about the specific issues. As Jeremy Pepper recently pointed out (pointedly), it’s too easy for bloggers to point fingers and make broad claims, without having done the proper research. But the larger themes are worth exploring.
Ford vs. the Black Mustang Club – CafePress initially blocked the BMC from publishing a club calendar featuring members’ own cars, for fear of legal reprisals from Ford’s legal team (discussed here). According to a Ford rep, the company “has no problem with (Ford) owners taking pictures of their vehicles for use in club materials like calendars…We do have an issue with … individuals using Ford’s logo and other trademarks for products they intend to sell.”
My take: Understandable but a little short-sighted in cases like this (one-off, short-money, and enthusiast-based), in my opinion.
Mattel vs. Scrabulous – Scrabulous was a wildly-popular take-off on Mattel’s iconic board game, for Facebook. Mattel got wise to the lost opportunity and issued a cease&desist (discussed here and here).
My take: Totally understandable on Mattel’s part; but, probably a missed opportunity in that Scrabulous was likely as much a revenue driver as drainer, as noted by at least one angry user. Based on the known facts (hat-tip to Mr. Pepper), it seems to me that a compromise could have been found.
Target vs. the Blogosphere – The flap du jour concerns Target’s blatantly suggestive new billboard campaign and, more importantly, the retail giant’s newly-revealed official policy regarding bloggers: “Ignore them.”
I am not joking, this came direct from a Target PR representative, in response to a blogger’s complaint:
Thank you for contacting Target; unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with non-traditional media outlets. This practice is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest. Once again thank you for your interest, and have a nice day.”
My take: Honestly this is a stupid policy. It’s already drawing fire. I understand that it can be hard to scale a communications program to account for the 24/7 and unpredictable nature of blog chatter, but it’s certainly possible for a corporation of Target’s size.
Sadly, Target is not the only Big Brand that I know of that’s shying away from the woolly blogosphere, due to either scalability or legal concerns, but it represents a lost opportunity to engage with online word-of-mouth experts.
If it weren’t hard, it wouldn’t be worth doing.
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Comments
Thanks for the linklove. I just can't identify with a Brand who doesn't want to connect with me and I will not support them. Bye Bye, Target. You just lost a S/W/Urban professional in the 25-54 demo. You can keep your Isaac and sell it to your "core guest" - whomever that was.
Posted by: annie heckenberger | January 17, 2008 04:36 PM
Regarding the Scrabulous story, they ARE talking, according to a Hasbro spokesperson.
Here's the quote, from an ABC News story: "We are reviewing a number of options with the parties involved and hope to find an amicable solution. If we cannot come to one quickly, we will be forced to close down the site and its associated distribution points."
As I pointed in a post on my blog, the law leaves the lawyers little option but to establish a record of action, but that doesn't mean they're not interested in talking.
Posted by: Shel Holtz | January 17, 2008 04:38 PM
Another Quick Thought –
This isn’t the first time Cafepress has been at the center of a large brand and a trademark dispute with a passionate fan-base. As part of a marketing campaign by Universal Studios to promote the movie “Serenity” – the movie spin-off from the well written, yet prematurely canceled Fox show Firefly – they enlisted the well organized ‘Browncoats’ - zealot fans of original show.
Universal encouraged fans of the tv-show to help promote the Serenity movie through a viral marketing campaign. However, after being encouraged to host parties, develop bumper stickers and t-shirts – spreading the word throughout the verse, the studio started legal action against the very fans they turned to – demanding ~$9,000 in licensing fees against Cafepress as one example and issuing a number of other cease and desist orders against numerous other fans.
The backlash of large brands trying to maintain draconian control over the how their own customer base use their products and services is only going to increase.
Change – she is a coming and Companies can either help usher in a more open, transparent and supportive culture to the market - further establishing and extending and their brand or suffer a closed circuit blackout.
In Universal Studios case – this is how the Firefly fans that they once courted responded – A retroactive invoice from them for their services in promoting the movie.
If you want control – you’ll have to pay – one way or another.....
Posted by: Bob Collins | January 18, 2008 12:19 PM
Target has left me speechless... sort of. This really surprised me. They are missing a huge opportunity here - the bulk of their customer is online, and a good portion blogging. Why wouldn't you want to participate in that conversation and encourage it? If anything, it's a free focus group. Saying you don't recognize the power of this is simply foolish. And something I'm sure they will take back in the very near future. As someone in PR, I spend a good portion of my time convincing my clients to embrace new media and its power. If anything, I spend more time pitching bloggers then I do traditional journalists. In many instances, they have more power. Not recognizing them - Target, you should embrace them!
Posted by: Michelle Venorsky | January 18, 2008 02:25 PM
Todd - tip of the hat for the Jeremy Pepper Blog Truth vs Real Truth link, that's a great observation.
As is your tradition, this post is on the mark. I was at a PR Newswire breakfast in Minneapolis about social media this week and the questions asked were mostly so basic that it just makes me understand just how much work we need to do within our own profession.
I would love to know the true timeline of how this unfolded within Target, what was the thought process.
Until I know I can only guess and remain befuddled. Nonetheless, it's a learning moment for us all so I posted 5 lessons learned from Target missing the PR mark
http://tinyurl.com/2qh8l9
Nice post Todd and have a great 3 day weekend.
Posted by: Albert Maruggi | January 18, 2008 09:46 PM
That and the fact that Ford's Social Media Press Release idea at digital snippets didn't turn out much better: Ford uses Wordpress and Social Media...your thoughts on this?
Posted by: JTPRATT's Blogging Mistakes | February 9, 2008 11:54 AM