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Target's PR Firm in Deep Doo-Doo -- Again

potty_musical.gifTarget PR reps refused to return Lloyd Grove of Lowdown's calls or detailed emails about faux toilet fixtures that ran over on the floor when hapless guests didn't realize the toidies at a Target press event weren't hooked up to actual plumbing. Goodness! What's up with Target's PR operation?

"We have had people use this nonfunctional bathroom all night, which does not even have any plumbing," lamented Samuel Coplan, who helped install the display in the pre-fab rooms set up to showcase Target's home furnishings. "Some poor [people] will just clean it up in the morning."

"Talk about being off-Target!" says Grove. Target apparently neglected to alert guests that the rest rooms were only for show.

Target's PR firm also was caught sleeping over thanksgiving weekend when bloggers realized that you could type "marijuana" and "crack" into the product search on the company's web site and get to ads for both. If the staff had been following what was said about the company in the blogosphere by reading pubsub or technorati, they'd have known and would have been able to respond immediately and de-fuel the fun.


BL Ochman | May 18 05 12:44 | TrackBack (1)

Comments

LMAO I used to live in Mpls and owned a contract computer programming biz. Target was my first account. I am just imagining the faces of some of the vp's reading these comments.

Posted by: Jim Wilde at May 18, 2005 3:49 PM

the thing is, it's not the first time there has been a target PR screwup in the past 6 months. The execs should be red-faced!

Posted by: B.L. Ochman at May 20, 2005 5:41 PM

Good old Target. I'll take a week or two off from shopping there thanks to this news account. I'll assume it's accurate, until Target tells that store leader to take a hike:
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=122500&ran=29340

Posted by: STX at April 9, 2007 12:44 PM

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About BL Ochman
BL Ochman
Blogger, social media strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and sought-after corporate speaker B.L. Ochman heads the creative team of whatsnextonline.com. She also publishes the Ethics Crisis blog for SRF Global Translations


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