Brodygate: The Great PR flub of 2009? Hardly.
Although I try to avoid being a me-too blogger, today is a bit different. I too was graced by the spammy email from the now notorious Beth Brody of Brody PR.
I’ll be honest, I have kind of enjoyed how other bloggers and journalists have been citing an “A-List” of bloggers and journalists who Brody PR targeted with the “[Digitalbrand] New Social Media Marketing for Small Business e-book” email.
This email was sent to a bunch of people using the CC field instead of the BCC field. This is not the first time something like this has happened….and it won’t be the last.
So, what exactly am I going to bring to the conversation? Good question.
Here’s the answer: Perspective.
At least once in our career we have all made a similar mistake…and maybe two. After all, there’s no better teacher than personal experience right? The only problem is that Beth made her mistake today. On a slow news day. A day when many people had time to blog about it. Oh and she sent the email to a bunch of bloggers and journos who could (and did) quickly jump on the read-write-web and blast her. And holy smokes did they blast her.
Here’s a list of some of people who have written about it:
Jennifer Leggio – Public Relations Fail: A lesson and a rant
Ken Wheaton – PR, Email, Social Media: FAIL
Todd Defren – Bad PR Works
Chris Abraham – I would have appreciated an apology
Rachel Kay – Crisis Communications for the PR Firm
Jacob Morgan – The PR Agency of Satan
Cydney Wuerffel – No One’s an Expert, but Everyone’s a Critic
Ari Herzog - More Proof Why PR is about People
TechCrunch – What You’re Doing Part 348 – Complete and Utter PR Fail
Douglas Karr – When to Fire Your Public Relations Firm
Chris Lake – 15 Savage Mistakes Commonly Made by PR Folks
Nick O’Neil - How a Single Email Killed a PR Firm
Frank Strong – No wonder the PR Industry has a bad rap
Mike Bawden – PR pile-on
John Sternal – How Not To Pitch The Media
The reason this issue went everywhere in social media was because some people on the email list started replying to all, starting with Donna Maria (who was actually interested in the ebook), then Shel Israel replied to all, then Trey Yeatts asked everyone to stop replying to all….after these exchanges the flood gates opened, the swearing began, the insults flew and Brodygate was now underway and in full swing. It was time to grab some popcorn and enjoy the show…or train wreck.
I’m not really one to rock the boat, but I am curious how many of those who blogged about Brodygate: The Great PR Flub of 2009 took the time to reach out to Beth and ask her what happened. Maybe get her perspective or a comment. I can’t imagine it was very many.
Or did we all just login to our blogs, write away and post a damning blog….like Jacob Morgan whose blog post called Brody PR – The Agency of Satan. Seriously people? Does Satan need a PR Agency? Interestingly, Morgan’s post has been picked up by Social Media Today and is being Tweeted like crazy.
Earlier today I sent off a note to Beth and asked her for a comment. I have now found out that her “personal” apology to me was anything but (this apology has appeared verbatim on blogs all over the place):
Hi Al,
I created a list of social media experts who might be interested in reviewing a new guide to social media for small biz. I inadvertently put the list name in the cc: box, rather than the bcc: box. A few folks must have hit the “reply all” button, rather than clicking on the “unsubscribe link” at the bottom, which started a stream of spam. Please accept my personal apology, albeit a little late in the day, since I was trying to remove everyone who wanted to be unsubscribed from the list immediately.
Regards,
Beth
I had hoped to be able to write a blog post that could come close to defending Beth, but I have had to come up a little short. I fully admit that most any of us could have made this mistake (okay, maybe not). Most of us made a similar mistake years ago. But in the end, it’s not that big of a deal. Generally, when I receive emails like this, I use my delete key. I think several bloggers have over-stepped and made more of this issue than it really is. Some went way over the line.
Yes, she screwed up. Her strategy was poor, her approach was poorer, but then no fewer than 30 people replied to all (so I think fault can be spread out a little bit).
On top of all of these issues, Beth did not stand up and admit her mistake very quickly. She lacked authenticity and openness. This isn’t all that surprising considering her Web site was created in 2003, there’s no blog, I couldn’t find her on Twitter and her LinkedIn profile has one connection. Oh well.
Her lack of social media presence doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She really should. Maybe she could have taken some cues from Rachel Kay and her post: Crisis Communications for the PR Agency.
Beyond this, we all need to remember that we are all people and we want to be treated like people. Blogger relations is simply a different bag. Mass-email pitches don’t work well for traditional journalists and they certainly don’t work for bloggers…as seen today.
In the end, I don’t think Beth should sweat it too much. I don’t think “she ruined her career in front of millions of people” like on Twitterer suggested. The impact of this issue might be pretty small. However, she certainly won’t make the same mistake again….and hopefully no one else will.
Now, let’s see if that eBook is worth all of this trouble.
**Update – Thurs., 8.20 @ 9am – As I have seen more and more posts spill out across the blogosphere, it has become clear that this, like many other PR flubs is helping to damage the credibility of the PR industry as a whole. This worries me significantly. When will we as an industry stop shooting ourselves in the foot? All I can say is that this isn’t how I operate and this isn’t how many of us operate. So, please don’t drag the entire PR industry down under the bus with you.
August 19, 2009 at 8:59 pm #
I agree with everything you’ve said here. Seems like everyone turned to their blogs to vent about this and as a result it exploded. Perhaps, though, it will disappear as quickly as it appeared. After all, someone new could make a mistake tomorrow that we will all need to jump all over.
August 19, 2009 at 9:26 pm #
You are totally right. Something new could happen tomorrow or next week. Who knows. I just hope it’s not one of us. Thanks for stopping by.
August 19, 2009 at 11:22 pm #
Al,
Thank you for mentioning my post. I agree with so much of what you are saying. Great thoughts!
While it was clear what my post was referring too, I purposely did not mention the agency’s name (either in the post or via Twitter) because it simply isn’t my style to jump on the witch hunt of a fellow PR practitioner, even if I disagree with an action. I think many PR people think that if they point enough fingers at the bad apples, reporters will think “WOW, now that’s a PR person who knows her stuff!” I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work that way. On the contrary it just adds to the voices perpetuating the stereotypes.
I have a feeling you, like me, always take a moment to look back and realize that in some instances we’ve made mistakes, and we are grateful that we didn’t have a blow up like this. I will say, for clarity, I do not engage nor condone in spray and pray tactics. But I have made other mistakes. Everyone does.
What led me to write my blog post and what has caused any sympathy for this firm to dissipate fast is as you noted, the response. No, I am sure none of us asked her for comment but, alas, I was writing an opinion piece and not an investigative report.
But she has so much great guidance in the public bashing today that I’m a little shocked she posted a brief and weak canned response on the blogs that covered it. I haven’t heard anything besides that. She still isn’t listening, and that’s the problem. I probably didn’t do her any favors today but then again, my industry once again became the focus of angry mob so frankly, she didn’t do me any either.
I want to feel sorry for her which is why I didn’t call her out by name. But I’m struggling Al. The one place we disagree is that she shouldn’t sweat it too much. I think she should, because one email, whether fair or not, has named her poster child of poor media relations with some pretty important press and bloggers. She will most likely lose her client. Yeah, I’d be sweating.
Rachel
August 20, 2009 at 8:08 am #
Rachel, thank you very much for taking the time to comment. I think you really offered some good insight in your post. I you might be right that Beth does have something to sweat about. My point was made more to suggest that this issue probably won’t put her out of business or end her career. People have come back from worse. Let’s just hope she learns and improves and that we all learn and improve right along with her. She might not have a big future in pitching social media bloggers though. She did start this mess by spamming a big list of people, but a lot of other people added to the problem by replying to all. What a mess. In all, I counted 46 emails in my in box that related to this issue. In looking back at my inbox, I received two other spammed emails from her on August 13th about a Social Media Webinar hosted by Digital Brand.
August 20, 2009 at 8:21 am #
I completely agree that bloggers have made it more of an issue than it really is. We all make mistakes, and it seems ridiculous that so many people found it necessary to bash Brody and her company. If her mistake had any malicious intent, it would be different. It may have been annoying, but it was not a huge issue. Delete the e-mails.
August 20, 2009 at 8:28 am #
Emily, great point. While I tried to be balanced in my examination, I hope it didn’t point the finger too much. Sometimes you just don’t want to mess with Karma right?
August 20, 2009 at 9:15 am #
The past is now the past, but here’s a recommendation to help prevent similar problems in the future:
Don’t send mass communications from your regular e-mail client. Use an e-mail sending service. They will make sure that each person gets their own copy of the mailing (removing any possibility of this CC/BCC issue) and can even provide statistics on mail open rates and link clicks. There are many companies providing this type of service. As an example, the one I use can be found at http://www.ymlp.com and starts at just a few bucks a month.
August 20, 2009 at 9:28 am #
What a bunch of schmucks. Even though this may show how much hostility is out there about PR people, I would say that real journalists wouldn’t give a sh*t if they were listed on the cc field instead of the bcc field – probably happens all the time. Smart journos don’t hate smart PR people. It does show the self importance that “bloggers” attach to themselves (and how much time they have on their hands). I hardly doubt this was “the single email that killed a PR firm.”
I bet you Beth Brody writes a book about the incident and all the blowhards will “join the conversation” and write about it. Hey, maybe I’ll start a blog about blogging – oh, too late.
August 20, 2009 at 9:32 am #
That’s awesome. I love your comments. You also made me laugh and I appreciate that. You made some very good points. Good PR will survive and thrive….bad PR won’t.
August 20, 2009 at 10:16 am #
Thanks for this post. I didn’t think much of the tempest, either — the whole scenario seemed very chicken-little-esque to me, for all the reasons you stated.
However, I do agree that if you’re going to promote a book about social media, you ought to also hold up a few of its basic tenets: transparency, immediacy, openness — and the apology fell far short in those aspects.
I don’t want to sound too cynical, but I remember reading a post somewhere where a blogger admitted that he liked writing PR-bashing posts because they “always fetch the clicks.” And as you pointed out that held true in this case as well. As an industry, we tend to rush to judgment, self- and otherwise.
Thanks again for the voice of reason.
August 20, 2009 at 10:24 am #
There is a vast difference between someone writing about an issue NOW vs LATER. I did it later (and thanks for the plug). You did it later, too.
Perhaps your argument is more toward those blogs which included posts in the now, echoing everyone else and not reflecting upon the past and suggesting guidelines for the future.
August 20, 2009 at 10:24 am #
Merredith – Thanks for the comment. I appreciate your insight, I agree with you and I like the Chicken Little reference. That’s a good one. This is a case that we are all learning from or reinforcing our philosophies. The point that needs to be stressed is that blogger relations is different. It’s not that different, but if you step into the ring you have to do it right and well….or there will be blow back. In the end we’re all people. Let’s remember to correspond with each other as people. Thanks for stopping by Merredith.
August 20, 2009 at 10:28 am #
Ari – great points. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve reacted quickly and swiftly. I’m going to say that’s the right or wrong thing to do, but sometimes, context and perspective aren’t there. At least that’s what I’ve learned from my own life – personal and business. I also agree that we need to try to offer solutions for the future too instead of just complaining. Thanks for your comments.
August 20, 2009 at 10:31 am #
Hey Al,
Thanks for your well-balanced reiew of this silly thing. As you rightly noted, the entire email conflagration consisted of only 20 or 30 replies (plus all the service ticket email from the distribution list service provider, which I found even more amusing) and over 150 tweets. The over-reaction by people in the PR world was, in my opinion, more damning than Beth Brody’s ill-placed distribution list in her email.
The point of my post was to discuss the pile-on of wags who would have spent their time more wisely making new business calls rather than tweeting and blogging about the whole thing. (One blogger posted over 20 tweets on the subject himself – nearly the same amount of volume as all of the people objecting to the “Reply All” cascade of email.)
Take care,
Mike Bawden
Brand Central Station
August 20, 2009 at 11:26 am #
I have learned a lot from my email blunder.
About crisis communications, http://communikaytrix.com
How to avoid common mistakes http://econsultancy.com/blog/4473-15-savage-mistakes-commonly-made-by-pr-folks
Social media templates
http://www.pr-squared.com/2006/05/the_social_media_press_release.html
How to write an apology
http://bergerchris.x.iabc.com/2009/07/14/ford-dealer-issues-apology-after-social-media-backlash/
offers of help from experts like Debbie Weil, http://www.debbieweil.com/
an understanding blog by Frank Strong, http://swordandthescript.blogspot.com/2009/08/brody-pr-no-wonder-pr-industry-gets-bad.html
and the knowledge that bloggers cannot be approached with pr as one would reach out to book reviewers.
I hope everyone who received multiple emails yesterday can forgive me.
Beth Brody
August 20, 2009 at 1:36 pm #
To debate this incident in the vacuum of what happened yesterday misses the point. Beth’s mistake wasn’t the end of the world, and the punishment, shame and humiliation being heaped upon her hardly fits her crime. Though, as others have pointed out, her sluggish response is impossible to defend.
Beyond her poor response, I do believe Beth is being spanked not so much for what she did, but rather, for what many in our sloppy profession have been doing for years. Six years ago, I worked at a terrible PR agency that encouraged massive email blasts with little research of, and regard for, the media we were pitching. Results mattered, we were told. Nevermind that future results and relationships were certainly damaged by these mass emails. I refused to embrace this approach to PR and after three months at this awful firm, I left.
It would be one thing if this firm was an aberration, but it’s not, and we all know it. So how do we punish these firms that are making life hard for the rest of us? That is something that the PR profession needs to deal with. And until we figure it out, the media is going to continue to snarl and snap at anyone who makes a mistake, deserved or undeserved.
August 20, 2009 at 1:42 pm #
I’m not a PR guy I’m a business guy.
I’ve been involved in several pitches as I’m sure we all have. Out of every pitch and email that I have ever received what happened with Brody PR was by far the most irritating and negative, hence my title calling it the PR agency of Satan.
Some people have told me I have been to harsh and I don’t agree. The issue here isn’t just about how they spammed my inbox with not only reply messages and support ticket messages. The issue here is that their approach to PR was spam as many people as you can. Then when they screwed up they pasted that same message which you mentioned above on multiple sites, yes, copy and paste.
http://ariwriter.com/more-proof-why-pr-is-about-the-people/
This is aside from the fact that it took them 4+ hours to even get involved.
I’m sorry but if that’s your approach to PR then you’re in the wrong business. Think about this from the clients point of view whose book they tried to pitch. If that were my book I’d be pretty damn angry right now. You can’t represent anything or anyone else unless you know how to represent yourself, and this is where Brody PR failed.
A PR agency should have internal systems set up such that if they make a mistake that recipients won’t get spammed with support ticket emails.
If this were really a silly thing then it would not have exploded. I’m tired of PR pitches and I’m tired of spam, and if this is what it takes to get this garbage to stop then so be it.
I don’t think Brody PR will go down the drain after this and it’s unfortunate that this happened, but honestly what did you expect would happen when you spam a bunch of bloggers? When making decisions like this you need to think of the consequences of your actions. While I’m sure worse things have happened on the internet in terms of PR, this is by far the worst that has happened to me personally.
August 20, 2009 at 2:15 pm #
Jacob, thank you for coming by and expanding on your point of view. I have to say, I agree with you. I’ve tried to have a balanced view of the situation, but you are right.
I have also wondered what the impact has been and will be on the book their client is promoting. Sadly, this isn’t a singular event. I mentioned in a earlier reply-comment that I looked back in my email history and found two other emails from Brody PR….neither of which was addressed to me. So, I’m going to hazard a guess that we all received that pitch as well. I guess she didn’t mix up the CC/BCC fields that week.
Beyond these points, I do admire how you stepped up and got angry about this situation. Maybe our industry needs more self-policing and exposure of the shops that are dragging us into the muck.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
August 20, 2009 at 3:13 pm #
Hi Al, I certainly appreciate your thoughts on this. No doubt it’s a tough one, and one I honestly do struggle with since I’m a PR professional and try to defend the practice as much as possible. That being said, my blog is all about helping small businesses understand the right (and wrong) ways of doing their own PR and marketing. 98 percent of the time my posts are of a positive nature educating the small business person the right way to do something. On a rare occasion I also feel it can be an equally educating experience to illustrate how we should not go about doing something. Understand that my audience WANTS to do PR but most likely does not know how. By showing the right and wrong ways I’m hopefully increasing that entrepreneur’s chances of getting good media coverage. That being said, although I did not reach out to Ms. Brody I also made sure to avoid “blasting” her, too. I even went as far as saying she may very well be a wonderful PR professional who happened to use poor judgment on one particular day. It certainly happens to all of us at some point (yes, all of us). Nonetheless I certainly wanted to take the opportunity to help people learn from it, not blast Ms. Brody.
John Sternal
http://UnderstandingMarketing.com
August 20, 2009 at 8:16 pm #
Can you imagine if the client would have been a large brand such as Dell or Best Buy? I feel bad enough for the poor author that is now being bundled in with this horrible mess but it’s still small scale compared to what would have happened to a large brand. Above all I think the industry needs to realize that it’s changing, which I think it’s still trying to figure out. I have to step up and get angry about this because people are robbing me of my time. That and it’s just how I am
Thanks for including my blog in yours
August 21, 2009 at 8:16 am #
Jacob, more great points. Thank you. It is interesting to consider what the big brand implications would have been (or could be). I wonder though, if people would have been more of less accepting if it was a big brand. Do bloggers/journalists put up with bad pr if it’s from a big important brand? Do they allow the ends to justify the means? Out of all of this, it is clear that the industry is changing and fewer of us are willing to let people get away with doing bad pr. In the same way, maybe we should all take a moment to highlight good pr when we see it or experience it. We learn from the bad…and the good right? Thanks again for your contributions. Be well.
August 21, 2009 at 11:09 am #
Yep Al, you hit all the issues I hit as well. I think it comes down to the fact and this hasn’t changed in a while that people feel more comfortable attacking people via email then they do in a face to face conversation. For all the people who said negative things in “Reply to All” and also via blogs and Twitter, I’d be interested if they’d have the cojones to say it to her face. Here’s my full take on Brodygate.
Social media “gurus” and bloggers are egotistical jerks
http://www.sparkminute.com/?p=915
Also, if you want a real PR fail story, read this one. It’s a two parter where the client comes in with a completely obtuse move at the end.
Hey PR, bloggers are not tools to be used
http://www.sparkminute.com/?p=497
UPDATE: Bad PR experience story. PR firm’s client is obtuse.
http://www.sparkminute.com/?p=514
August 21, 2009 at 4:17 pm #
Hi Al,
Thanks for encouraging me to have a social media presence. I have compiled all the valuable advice I was given and posted it here so that others can learn from my mistake, http://brodypr.blogspot.com/
Regards,
Beth Brody
August 23, 2009 at 10:43 am #
Couldn’t this all have been avoided had Beth just ADMITTED her mistake as soon as she realized it (which would’ve had to have been very early in this process)? I’m sorry but anyone worth their weight in PR knows that if you don’t handle a scandal quick enough, it will handle you. I now have a lack of respect for this Beth person (though I don’t judge her character on the whole, necessarily) because she sounds like a coward who is willing to allow an entire ship to sink to avoid being called out.
It sounds like Beth sucks at PR. If you can’t handle your own PR, what the hell are you doing charging other people to handle theirs?