Social Media Monitoring and Astroturfing

In my last post, Monitoring Social Media, I discussed how Gatorade is monitoring social media to, among other things, protect its brand. Gatorade has constructed “Mission Control,” a social media monitoring operation staffed by four Gatorade employees 24 hours a day, seven days a week. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal that described Mission Control:

Sitting in a glassed-in converted conference room at Gatorade headquarters [in Chicago], Meg Poulelis tweets encouragement to high-school athletes before big games and taps out responses to Facebook queries such as when to use the new protein drink. . . . Whenever someone uses Twitter to say they’re drinking a Gatorade or mentions the brand on Facebook or in other social media, it pops up on a screen in Mission Control. On Saturday, the staff jumped into a Facebook conversation to correct a poster who said Gatorade has high-fructose corn syrup. . . . Aware that consumers may be wary of intrusion, Ms. Poulelis and her colleagues have to figure out when to pipe up – and when to hang back – when someone is talking about Gatorade. “If they’re directly asking where to buy products, we’re going to weigh in,” Ms. Poulelis said. “If they want to talk about working out, we let them have that conversation.”

Putting aside what some consider an intrusive practice, when the staffers at Mission Control jump into an online conversation to talk about Gatorade, they use the Gatorade logo as their avatar and identify themselves as Gatorade employees, which, of course, is the correct way to do things. Doing it the wrong way can have serious legal repercussions.

That is because in October, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had approved revisions to the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising to specifically cover bloggers and social networking sites. Specifically, the FTC’s revised Guides made clear that any online posts by a blogger connected to a marketer must disclose the blogger’s connection to the marketer in such posts. Then, in late August of this year, the FTC announced a settlement with a California based public relations firm, Reverb Communications, Inc. and its owner, Tracie Snitker. The settlement resolved claims that Reverb and Snitker had engaged in “astroturfing” on behalf of its video game developer clients.

Specifically, the FTC alleged that between November 2008 and May 2009, Reverb employees posted reviews about its clients’ video games using account names that gave readers the impression that the reviews were written by disinterested consumers, not by individuals who had been hired to promote certain games. The employees “astroturfed” by consistently giving the Reverb clients’ applications four or five stars or by positively commenting on them with testimonials such as “amazing new game,” “one of the best,” and “one of the best apps just got better.”

As part of the settlement, Reverb agreed to remove any posted endorsements that misrepresented the authors of such posts as independent users or ordinary consumers, and that failed to disclose the connection between Reverb and the video game developers. The settlement also prohibited Reverb from engaging in such deceptive practices in the future.

There are two interesting aspects to the Reverb matter. The first is that the FTC chose to go after the public relations firm and not the video game developers, thus establishing that the employees of a marketer’s public relations firm have the same duty of disclosure as the marketer’s own employees. Second, the FTC went after conduct that occurred before the December 1, 2009 effective date of the revised Guides, thus establishing that it has always considered “astroturfing” a deceptive practice.

Monitoring Social Media

In an earlier post, "What We've Got Here Is Failure to Communicate," I cited the following social media statistics: there are 200 million blogs; 73% of active online users have read a blog; 44% of those online get news at least a few times a week through posts from social networking sites, automatic updates, and emails; and 26% of Twitter users get their news from tweets. Since social media has overtaken pornography as the number one activity on the internet, these statistics represent just the tip of the social media iceberg.

Also consider the following:

• One out of eight couples married in the United States in 2009 met via social media
• YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world
• More video was uploaded to YouTube in the last two months of 2009 than if ABC, NBC, and CBS had been airing content 24/7/365 since 1948, the first year ABC broadcast television
• Seventy percent of eighteen to thirty-four year olds have watched television on the web
• Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the United States
• With 500 million users, if Facebook were a country, it would be the world's largest after China and India, numbers one and two, respectively
• 60 million status updates happen on Facebook daily
• More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook daily
• Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears have more Twitter followers than the combined populations of Sweden, Israel, Switzerland, Ireland, Norway, and Panama
• Eighty percent of Twitter usage is on mobile devices
• Fifty-four percent of bloggers post content or tweet daily
• Thirty-four percent of bloggers post opinions about products and brands

Given this sheer volume of internet traffic, tracking social media for what is being said about you, your client, or your company is a daunting prospect. Nevertheless, a number of companies are trying to track social media, and one of the more ambitious tracking operations is being conducted by Gatorade.

In April, the company established the Gatorade Mission Control Center in its Chicago headquarters, a war room for monitoring the Gatorade brand in real-time across social media. Using software from IBM and Radian6, four staffers monitor social media posts 24 hours a day for mentions of Gatorade. The monitoring is not passive; the four staffers often jump into conversations occurring on Facebook or Twitter. As reported in the Wall Street Journal:

Gatorade staffers monitor social-media posts 24 hours a day in the glitzy hub, hoping what they see and learn will help the company more effectively promote its new G-series of drinks, which launched last spring. Whenever someone uses Twitter to say they're drinking a Gatorade or mentions the brand on Facebook or in other social media, it pops up on a screen in Mission Control. On Saturday, the staff jumped into a Facebook conversation to correct a poster who said Gatorade has high-fructose corn syrup. "It's like we're a person in their social circle now," says Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Robb O'Hagan . . .

The ability to track social media conversations in real time may not sell more Gatorade, but it has tremendous potential for use in crisis communications:

[F]ew [companies] have staff monitoring blog and other posts alongside those tracking online-ad traffic, producing a consolidated picture of the brand's Internet image. Gatorade hopes such coordination will help head off potential crises like a brouhaha last year over PepsiCo's slow response to consumer complaints that an Apple iPhone application for its Amp energy drink was sexist.

You can see pictures of Mission Control in action here.

Gagging the Lawyers

Defense Lawyers in Wone Case Want Gag Order

Lawyers for three defendants in a wrongful death suit stemming from the murder of Washington attorney Robert Wone have asked a judge to ban the attorneys in the case from speaking publicly about the litigation.

"Publicity Agents" Gagged In Stanford Criminal Case

In August I blogged about the gag order issued by Judge Reggie Walton in the Roger Clemens perjury case. Grounded Rocket. In a subsequent post, I discussed that Judge Walton relied upon Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966) as authority for issuing the order. Pre-Trial Publicity, the First Amendment, and "The Fugitive" - Part One, Gagging the Parties and Controlling the Media. Now, in another high profile matter, participants in the case of Sir Robert Allen Stanford, the billionaire financier who is scheduled to stand trial early next year on fraud charges related to an alleged $7 billion dollar Ponzi scheme, also have been gagged.

On September 30, 2010, Senior U.S. District Judge David Hittner, acting sua sponte, issued a gag order prohibiting public comment from Stanford and his co-defendants, their attorneys, their "publicity agents," and all others associated with the case. In his six-page order, Judge Hittner took judicial notice of the extensive media coverage concerning Stanford's indictment and trial, and that some of the trial participants "have demonstrated a willingness to 'try this case in the press.'" Judge Hittner determined that it was necessary to issue the gag order because "there is a substantial likelihood that extrajudicial commentary by trial participants might taint the jury pool and undermine a fair trial," and that he had "an affirmative duty," under Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966), "to take preventative measures in order to avert prejudicial pretrial publicity." Therefore, Judge Hittner ordered that the prosecutors and their staff; the alleged victims and all other designated or potential witness; the defendants and their attorneys and staff; and the defendants' agents, "including publicity agents, shall not give, authorize, or permit any extrajudicial statement to any person associated with any public communications media relating to the trial, the parties, the witnesses, or the issues in this case" that is not already of public record and that could potentially interfere with a fair trial.

Since Judge Hittner's order was issued sua sponte, it is a fair assumption that he read or saw something in the media coverage about the case that he did not like. Not only did he specifically include the defendants' "publicity agents" in his order, he also defined prejudicial information to include "information and statements intended to influence public opinion regarding the merits of this case."

90th Anniversary of the American Civil Liberties Union

ACLU 90th Anniversary Video - Part One

ACLU 90th Anniversary Video - Part Two

Saturday, September 25, 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois held its annual Bill of Rights Celebration, commemorating the 219th anniversary of the ratification of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. This year is also the 90th anniversary of the founding of the American Civil Liberties Union. I was honored to narrate a five minute video on the history of the ACLU that was presented at the Celebration.

"What We've Got Here Is Failure To Communicate"

Litigation communication, like most public relations, relies, in varying degrees, on using the media to deliver the client's message to the general public or the targeted audience. It is, of course, a source of continuing frustration that often the resulting story is at odds with the client's message. Strother Martin's iconic line from Cool Hand Luke, "what we've got here is failure to communicate," immediately leaps to mind. Indeed, according to a recent study conducted by Burson-Marsteller, an affiliate of Hill & Knowlton, a company's message is lost in translation 48% of the time with the mainstream media, and 69% of the time with bloggers.

What accounts for this "failure to communicate" and what can be done about it? Insofar as the mainstream media is concerned, the Burson-Marsteller Message Gap Analysis, points out that in an effort to present a complete story, reporters will often include specific details related to the story that the company fails to provide. Because the specific details may be from a non-company source, the resulting story is not always aligned with the message the company is attempting to communicate. In addition, the mainstream media is also likely to identify and quote critics for a different point of view, especially if there is a potential controversy. Therefore, Burson-Marsteller counsels that in order for a company to increase the odds of its message getting through, it should commit to telling the whole story, otherwise, the media will tell it for the company:

Communicators should expect that journalists will attempt to present a 360-degree view of the story and anticipate and answer questions the media will have when writing the story. The company messages should include responses to these questions to clearly present the company position on potential issues that will arise.

Insofar as bloggers are concerned, they present a more difficult communications challenge. Bloggers, particularly independent ones not associated with more mainstream publications, play by a different set of rules. They often operate with little, if any, editorial oversight. They largely answer to themselves, and that is, in part, how they build an audience and get people to follow them. Moreover, bloggers are more likely to incorporate their own opinions and personal experiences and to bring in messages from multiple sources. Most of them have a deep interest and expertise about the topics they blog about, and therefore are eager to educate others who share their interests. In addition, bloggers are more likely to speculate about the company's underlying intentions and strategy. A good blogger will cut through jargon and spam messaging, and will take on the company for using it. Finally, bloggers who solicit comments and actively interact with their commenters are more likely to generate a broad discussion that may include comparisons to the company's competitors or competitive products. All of these reasons account for why, when a company targets bloggers, or "influencers" as they are often called, the company's message is likely to get through only about 30% of the time. Therefore, Burson-Marsteller counsels that when engaging bloggers, a company increases the odds that its message will get through by being clear, transparent, and forthright:

Communications professionals need to be aware of who is blogging about their content and how their messages are being presented in social media in general. Reaching out to bloggers and Twitterers where appropriate can foster a dialogue that enables the company to clarify its messages for bloggers and keep the communications on target. Also, monitoring, responding to and [re]tweeting bloggers'/Twitterers' posts helps generate a dialogue and gives the company an opportunity to refine the social media message. As with mainstream journalists, anticipating and providing the information that bloggers may want to discuss, including comparisons to competitive offerings and broader issues can help a company position itself in the context that bloggers are likely to write about.

The Burson-Marsteller study is important because it quantifies what we already knew through instinct and experience, that is, when you engage the mainstream media and enter the social media world, it is likely that your client's message will get lost in translation. Knowing this, there are at least two things that a good communications strategy must include. The first is a plan to deliver the message directly to key audiences such as employees, investors, shareholders, and customers through the client's website, Facebook page, Twitter account, email, text messages, and even the old-fashioned telephone. The second is to recognize that when using the media to deliver the message, it is a mistake to think that just sending out a press release will accomplish the mission. Therefore, in addition to the Burson-Marsteller recommendations for dealing with the media, the plan must include a process for following the media and correcting errors, challenging false reports and information, and providing continuous updates.

The journalistic relevance of bloggers is very real and proliferating. The Burson-Marsteller study cites sources who provide the following statistics: there are 200 million blogs; 73% of active online users have read a blog; 44% of those online get news at least a few times a week through posts from social networking sites, automatic updates, and emails; and that 26% of Twitter users get their news from tweets. Monitoring all this activity can be a huge undertaking. In a later post, I will examine how one company is taking on the challenge of monitoring social media in order to manage its message and protect its brand.

Lance Armstrong Hires Litigation Communications Consultant

Lance Armstrong, another athlete being investigated for the past use of performance-enhancing drugs, has added legal and communications consultant Mark Fabiani to his team in order to try to limit damage to his image. Mr. Fabiani, co-owner of the public relations firm of Fabiani & Lehane, began working with Mr. Armstrong informally in July, but as of last month began serving as the point person for all media. Mr. Fabiani, a former White House counsel, represented former President Bill Clinton and his wife, current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, during the investigation of the Whitewater land deal. He also served as deputy campaign manager for then-Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election and spearheaded communications during the subsequent Florida voting controversy.

Lance Armstrong hires Mark Fabiani [ESPN.com]