april 2008

Earlier this month Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) was gearing up for an important business development meeting with an emerging growth company in the networking/telecom space. I didn’t perceive it to be a conflict with any of our existing engagements, yet it was the same market so I had a responsibility to check with a few clients.

One of our clients got back to me with concerns about the prospect and how their technology could potentially create competitive issues. We immediately backed away from the new opportunity out of respect for the relationship with our client.

Conflict is something we take seriously at Strategic. We appreciate the trust our clients place in us and will run through the proverbial brick wall to help them achieve their growth goals.

We’re also exposed on an ongoing basis to confidential information about our clients’ strategies, product offerings and financial requirements. Accordingly, we will not represent companies that compete with one another.

Not everyone shares this view. I read with great interest the article in PR Week about Sybase’s selection of Bite as its public relations agency of record. To alleviate any conflict of interest issues, Bite branded a group within the company Incisor Communications.

They didn’t spin out a separate organization or even establish some type of internal Chinese wall. Nope…Bite now merely calls a group of employees who will be working on behalf of Sybase by a different name.

Mark Wilson, VP of corporate marketing at Sybase, told PR Week, "We liked how they were creating the Incisor brand; that was important to us.”

I guess ensuring confidentiality of corporate information isn’t that important to Sybase. Or how about the basic issue of ethical representation? What happens if another client wants Bite…er….Incisor to launch a campaign that could damage Sybase’s business prospects?

Are the folks at Sybase truly this dense? I don’t think so. They wanted to hire Bite and the agency is willing to represent competitors. That’s fine. Just call it what it is.

Sybase hires Bite as AOR after firm creates client-conflict unit
PR Week
http://www.prweekus.com/Sybase-hires-Bite-as-AOR-after-firm-creates-client-conflict-unit/article/109421/

It’s no secret that the Internet has proven to be a wonderfully powerful medium to engage key audiences and stimulate debate.  For public relations professionals, the movement of readers to social media outlets – such as blogs, wikis, communities, microblogs, etc. – has opened up new channels to promote high-quality content and thought leadership.

Transparency must serve as the foundation of Internet-based communications.  We have to demand it.  That’s because the lack of a formal peer review process in social media creates an environment in which rumor, innuendo and intimidation can easily gain the upper hand.

I find it disconcerting when a professional has to hide in the shadows when voicing an opinion on a topic.  It just happened with an in-house attorney at Cisco who came clean about his authorship of a blog about patent trolling only when his identity was discovered.

Cisco Sued Because of Employee Blogging

http://gigaom.com/2008/03/24/cisco-sued-because-of-employee-blogging/

 It’s occurring with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists with two Web sites that allow them to trash each other in anonymity.  Aren’t they in the business of building innovation, wealth and value together? 

http://www.thefunded.com/

http://www.theunfunded.com/

If you have something to say in the blogosphere, on a message board or in a social network...then do it with a strong, well articulated position.  Make yourself known.  Encourage debate.  And blackball those who fail to live up to that standard.

Hiding in the shadows is for the weak.

 
Marc Hausman is president/CEO of Strategic Communications Group, a public relations consultancy based in Silver Spring, MD.  Read more at: http://www.strategicguy.blogspot.com/.