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Why Would Any Agency Want to Be Wal-Mart's PR Firm?

The news about Wal-Mart's heavy handed "image" tactics and questionable ethics keeps cropping up like a bad penny. Today a front page story in the NY Times is about Wal-Mart vendors claiming that Wal-Mart is strong arming them into joining its PR offensive.

Says the Times story:

Wal-Mart, having helped start an advocacy group that trumpets its contributions to America, is now helping that organization recruit Wal-Mart's suppliers to join the public relations offensive - a move that some vendors say puts improper pressure on them.

"The campaign...shows how eager the company is to fend off a well-organized union-backed campaign critical of its wages and benefits." ... In response, Wal-Mart has hired Edelman, a major public relations firm, which has created a public relations war room at the company headquarters and reached out to bloggers who support the company.

Categories: Business Ethics, Public Relations

BL Ochman | May 12 06 2:07 | TrackBack (0)

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I believe that same article also quotes people as saying they were not pressured to join the new group. Right now, all it is is speculation. Wal-Mart just can't do anything right can they? They have every right, just as every company does, to improve their image in defense of their bottom line.

No matter what they do, it is always seen as a PR stunt. As of now, it is unclear if any ethical boundary was crossed. And the reason an agency would want to represent Wal-Mart? $$$

Posted by: Mike Sacks at May 12, 2006 4:00 PM

Call me a child of the 60s, but I think there are far better ways to make money than by representing a corporate bad guy company.

Maybe this incident involves speculation, but the blogger issue didn't, and neither did a lot of the other unethical issues involving Wal-Mart that have happened so consistently over the years.

Posted by: B.L. Ochman at May 12, 2006 4:29 PM

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About 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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