So BusinessWeek and The Economist write exactly the same cover headline a few months apart slamming Google for privacy concerns. Seems Google may have too much data on YOU.
Coincidence?
We find it intriguing that WSJ now reports Microsoft is using surreptitious PR to undercut Google's proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad giant DoubleClick. Apparently Microsoft used PR giant Burson-Marsteller to send emails to business writers in the U.S. and Europe asking them to focus on the privacy risks of Google's expanding online ad models. We don't know if BusinessWeek or The Economist got the pitch, but both ran the headline "Who's Afraid of Google?". Both articles raised the ghostly spectre of Google abusing YOUR personal data, and painted Google as an emerging dark monopoly of online advertising.
Sounds very similar to WSJ's investigation of Microsoft's PR:
In recent months, public-relations firm Burson-Marsteller pitched media outlets and Internet companies on what it said were the dangers of the deal, which would bolster Google's already strong presence in online advertising. In the written pitches reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Burson cites the deal as part of a larger discussion of "fair and free competition" in Internet-search and privacy rights of consumers...
Adrian Webb, head of corporate communications at (U.K.) Esure, said he was miffed when he received the email since he sensed a Google competitor was behind the pitch. 'Burson-Marsteller acts for Microsoft -- this has not been stated anywhere,' in the email, Mr. Webb said.
Well, if true, bully for Microsoft. All is fair in love and war. Exactly 50 years ago Vance Packard first wrote about the psychology of getting people to want what they don't want in his landmark book The Hidden Persuaders. With bloggers now picking up the Google risk story, it's nice to see the hidden persuaders of PR are still in business.
0 comments:
Post a Comment