Can a PR firm harness the power of blogging?

Public relations is yet to come to terms with the implications of blogging. All the usual rules apply to blogging that should apply to any other media outlet. It is a big mistake to write bloggers off as of no consequence. Ignore a blog post today and it can come back and bite you tomorrow.

A PR firm in New York decided to try and harness the power of blogging. Ten out of ten for trying!

Bloggers were invited to an upmarket New York restaurant together with their guests. They thought they were in for a gastronomic treat. They were upset to find that this was a ruse to serve up some production line food and film them complimenting  the food.

The expectation was  to use the footage for promotional videos on YouTube and the client web site, and for bloggers to generate buzz when they wrote about being pleasantly surprised.


The company were using a technique much used in American advertising in the 1980s and 1990s where diners in upscale restaurants unknowingly enjoyed instant coffee instead of the house brew, to more recent Pizza Hut ads, where diners, again in upscale restaurants, unknowingly enjoyed pasta from Pizza Hut.

"But while consumers tend to laugh along with the ruse, ConAgra was about to learn that bloggers, who often see themselves as truth-seeking journalists, find the switcheroo less amusing, especially when it entails them misleading their readers beforehand."

The full salutary story can be found on the New York Times media and adverting page.