Info World: Bloggers Break Sony

Dear Fortune 500 company PR people still asking "how can I possibly find time to read blogs?"and "Who really reads what these bloggers write anyway?": take a look at Information Week's report on what happened to Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

There is a new set of rules that change marketing dramatically.
Alan Scott, chief marketing office at business information service Factiva, said, "The old way of doing things by ignoring issues, or with giving the canned PR spin response within the blogosphere, it just doesn't work."

Sony's decision to withdraw its controversial copy-protected CDs, it ignored weeks of flames by scores of bloggers. Bloggers say, apparently correctly, that Sony's music CDs surreptitiously installed digital rights management software based on a "rootkit"--a hacking tool widely considered to be spyware. That's not only bad, it might also be illegal.

"There's a whole new set of rules that people have to live by," Scott says. "Whether it's blogs or user groups or NGOs, it's all about honesty and authenticity. This is just the latest painful example of a major company finding that the old tools and the old actions don't work."

Thanks for pointing to this one BL. There are more and more examples of the importance of listening to bloggers (and consumer-generated media in general) surfacing every day. We're going to start keeping a running tab on Marketing Insight.

What was Sony thinking?

A slow response and a stupid answer to costumers could destroy a company's reputation.

Best,

Great points, BL. Like always, concise and to the point.

This may be the best case yet for PR people to review and attempt to understand the changed nature of the media landscape. "Conventional" media relations won't work, that's for sure. But exactly how do you address this new media situation effectively?

SonyBMG has the money to throw at the problem and attempt to engage on as many different fronts as neccessary (how many? 200-300? 1,000?). But what about small companies? How could they respond to an agressive reaction if they made a bonehead business move like SonyBMG's?

I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I'll also be adding this post to my list of posts marketing folks should read on Monday (11/21) on my "Much Ado About Marketing" blog.

Thanks again,

Mike Bawden
Brand Central Station