I was doing my daily round of web-browsing this morning, when I discovered Blockbuster is filing for bankruptcy. Good memories of wandering through rows and rows of DVDs came to mind. But somehow, I didn't have a lot of trouble saying goodbye to my old blue and yellow friend. He was nice, but over the years he turned out to be too far, too slow, and way too expensive. My new friend Neflix, on the other hand, is fast, cheap and hip. It lets users stream movies and TV shows on personal devices, and it drops DVD's directly at their doorstep. The company has a great concept that's catching on worldwide. On Wednesday, Netflix launched its services in Canada. But what was supposed to be a great event turned into a big PR disaster.
Apparently, the company hired actors to attend a press event in Toronto. The extras were told to act "very excited," and especially be cheerful to the media. The secret came out and quickly became one of the hottest topics on Twitter. Big blogs and mainstream media picked up the story, and VP of communications Steve Swasey spent the day putting out fires on an embarrassing story. The sheet handed out to the actors is available online. It seems to confirm that Netflix paid people to fake enthusiasm to the media.
Thursday morning, Swasey apologized in a blog post titled: "We Blew It." He confirmed the story is true: "The launch included the shooting of a corporate video with some hired extras, who, it turns out, were given improper direction to talk with the news media about their enthusiasm for the Netflix service. This was a mistake and was not intended to be part of our launch plan. Simply put: we blew it. We didn't intend to mislead the media or the public, and we can understand why some have raised questions. We're sorry that our misfire has given Canadians any reasons to doubt our authenticity or our sincerity." I found it very interesting to watch an ethics case unfold right in front of me. I still have many questions (Who wrote the instructions? Who approved them?), but Swasey's apology is a good move and seems sincere. He writes about the public's trust in the company's authenticity and sincerity. I believe that's the core of this issue. The main problem: losing the public's trust. Deceiving reporters and the public in this manner violates several principles of PRSA's Code of Ethics:
- Failure to disclose information. Netflix was not honest about the identity of the attendees. This decreases trust with the public.
- Failure of free flow of information. Honesty and accuracy are vital in maintaining a good relationship with the media and the public.
- Failure to enhance the profession. I'm sure many PR professionals are shaking their heads in disbelief right now. Many professionals work constantly to strengthen the public's trust in PR, and blunders like these are a big blow. It must have been a long day for Swasey, but I think he did the right thing. He acknowledged the mistakes, apologized, and moved on.
That's exactly what I'm going to do. Even though this was a stupid blunder by Netflix, I'm still going to use their services. I'm not going anywhere else for my weekly movie fix.
Blockbuster is going bust anyway.
Apparently, the company hired actors to attend a press event in Toronto. The extras were told to act "very excited," and especially be cheerful to the media. The secret came out and quickly became one of the hottest topics on Twitter. Big blogs and mainstream media picked up the story, and VP of communications Steve Swasey spent the day putting out fires on an embarrassing story. The sheet handed out to the actors is available online. It seems to confirm that Netflix paid people to fake enthusiasm to the media.
Thursday morning, Swasey apologized in a blog post titled: "We Blew It." He confirmed the story is true: "The launch included the shooting of a corporate video with some hired extras, who, it turns out, were given improper direction to talk with the news media about their enthusiasm for the Netflix service. This was a mistake and was not intended to be part of our launch plan. Simply put: we blew it. We didn't intend to mislead the media or the public, and we can understand why some have raised questions. We're sorry that our misfire has given Canadians any reasons to doubt our authenticity or our sincerity." I found it very interesting to watch an ethics case unfold right in front of me. I still have many questions (Who wrote the instructions? Who approved them?), but Swasey's apology is a good move and seems sincere. He writes about the public's trust in the company's authenticity and sincerity. I believe that's the core of this issue. The main problem: losing the public's trust. Deceiving reporters and the public in this manner violates several principles of PRSA's Code of Ethics:
- Failure to disclose information. Netflix was not honest about the identity of the attendees. This decreases trust with the public.
- Failure of free flow of information. Honesty and accuracy are vital in maintaining a good relationship with the media and the public.
- Failure to enhance the profession. I'm sure many PR professionals are shaking their heads in disbelief right now. Many professionals work constantly to strengthen the public's trust in PR, and blunders like these are a big blow. It must have been a long day for Swasey, but I think he did the right thing. He acknowledged the mistakes, apologized, and moved on.
That's exactly what I'm going to do. Even though this was a stupid blunder by Netflix, I'm still going to use their services. I'm not going anywhere else for my weekly movie fix.
Blockbuster is going bust anyway.
