Public relations and Wikipedia, more Amazon pre-order woes, the “Google doodles” archive, and The Grand Budapest Hotel + Legos = LOVE. ★
• Several major public relations firms go on the record with a pledge to play by Wikipedia’s rules. Also: what other PR industry leaders think of the statement. [Harvard Business Review Blog Network, Mediabistro’s PR Newser, Advertising Age, Wikipedia]
For a lot of marketing and PR folks, Wikipedia is simultaneously both one of the world’s greatest resources and a major thorn in our side.
We love it for its sheer amount of information and often use it for finding leads as we study subjects in depth.
However, some of my most frustrating client conversations over the last decade have been explaining why we can’t just go in and edit the clients’ Wiki pages and/or pay someone else to do so. Equally frustrating: Playing by the rules and providing suggestions, leads, and resources in a factually incorrect page’s talk area only to see no action for months on end – all while the client gets increasingly irritated. And my experiences aren’t unique.
When the larger firms speak out and commit to ethical best practices, it’s a step forward for the entire profession.
• In addition to the ongoing standoff with Hachette, Amazon removed the pre-order buttons from physical media offerings distributed by Warner Home Video, whose clients also include Viz Media, Cartoon Network (and other Turner Broadcasting properties), BBC, HBO, and more. [Variety, ICv2, Home Media Magazine]
• Google’s archive for its “doodles” is pretty nifty. [Google via The Beat]
• In addition to loving The Grand Budapest Hotel, I’m also pretty in love with its marketing. To celebrate the film’s home video release (this week!), a Lego-maniac built a replica of the hotel… and it is glorious. See the video (also below) and find out more about the project (and how you can see it in person) here. [Flixist, Fox Searchlight on YouTube, USA Today]