NCP and Wickes: so immature
Rob Barker of Artisan has found himself on NCP Services’ ‘database of agencies we would never use’ after writing on his blog about some embarrassment they suffered
But this kind of thing is far from unusual. After criticising Wickes, the builders’ merchants, I received a letter form Paul Fertleman, apparently a commercial lawyer at parent company Travis Perkins, claiming my piece ‘may be defamatory’. He didn’t bother to go into specifics (as required by the relevant pre-action protocol) and didn’t respond when I asked him to do so, so I reckon that case is closed. (I had used a headline that implied MD Jeremy Bird is not god; perhaps Paul Fertleman thinks he is.)
However, what all this serves to illustrate is that some very senior people are pretty clueless. They will never be capable of leading an organisation that genuinely engages with its publics and has grown up conversations with customers, employees and others with a stake in what they do.
Threatening people with blacklists and the like is so very, very silly, so very immature. I’m embarrassed for them.
Comments (One comment)
Stephen,
but many people back down.
I admit to being apprehensive at first and checking the law on the e-mail disclaimer
The thing is that NCP Services has some strong stories, certainly a point of view that it should be promoting.
If it had an approach that tried to influence rather than coerce it might have more success: at least the public would appreciate that they have a job to do and sometimes they are justified or have reason for tehir actions.
The reaction NCP had simply confirms many negative views we have firmly embedded.
Perhaps more alarming from a PR view is that a director of communications is earning big money and clearly does not understand blogs or how to influence.
Rob
Rob Artisan / May 29th, 2008, 9:21 am / #
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