Did Students Go Too Far With Fake Blog?
It was with amazement that I read The True Story of a Bogus Blog by Andrew Adam Newman in Adweektoday.
Has the corporate world learned nothing about the public’s reaction to fake blogging?
In this latest fake blog fiasco, students at a college (working on a Public Relations class project that was financed by Coach) created a fake Coach consumer, “Heidi Cee,” who had lost her coach purse and was willing to reward anyone who could return it.
“Heidi” blogged about her frustration at losing the purse. The students even went so far as to create a Facebook and a MySpace page for their fake consumer.
It doesn’t stop there!
When “Heidi” though she had gotten her bag back, it turned out that the returned counterfeit. The fake persona, “Heidi,” used “her” MySpace page to launch a campaign against counterfeit products.
(I tried to link to “Heidi’s” pages, but it appears that they have been deleted.)
The most disturbing thing about the whole incident is not that another company created a fake blog, but that industry leaders and professionals worked together to teach students this questionable method of marketing.
As a parent, I know that I would not be pleased if I had scrimped and saved to send my child to college, only to have them in that class.
I should mention that the college class responsible has now admitted that there is no “Heidi Cee.”
What do you think about fake blogs? Is it a legitimate Public Relations technique? Should it be taught in our schools?
What should Coach and the college do now?
Image Source: Laura at WritingThoughts
Tags: Heidi Cee, Coach, Fake Blogs, Reputation management, public relations
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POSTED IN: Corporate, Marketing, Reputation Management, ethics
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