Edelman Worldwide Has The Premiere Stable of PR Bloggers

Thinking about the Edelman Worldwide / Wal-Mart story of last week gave me an idea. Yeah, I don’t really think this might happen, but I do believe it would be a true test of all the “bloggy goodness” a lot of us have been talking about for a few years now.

The Premise

Can anyone deny that Edelman Worldwide is the premiere PR firm when it comes to the bloggers they have online?

They have Richard Edelman, Phil Gomes, Mike Krempasky, David Weinberger, Marilynn Mobley, Josh Morgan, Guilluame du Gardier and now - Steve Rubel. They also have insights and the earshot podcasts.

It is almost Citizen Kane’s stolen stable of reporters, only flipped by being PR and bloggers. No, I’m not equating Edelman with Kane. Now that would be funny - and stupid.

Anyway, can anyone even come close to this bevy of new media offerings from senior execs and consultants? No. They can’t. Edelman Worldwide is ahead - by a mile (or more).

What Made Me Think of It

Richard Edelman stated:

If The Wall Street Journal goes after a client, we don’t have to accept that anymore. Let’s post the documents we gave The Journal; let’s show the interviews the newspaper decided not to show.

Well, people not only went after your client … they went after you, too.

Edelman Worldwide and Wal-Mart were tagged for not being transparent (enough) by two reporters and a few PR bloggers. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to put the information that would clear up the questions out where all can see? You know, one of those “total disclosure” things we all dream about - but rarely see.

Edelman Worldwide’s team of PR bloggers should post their inside, and in-house, instructions used by all account reps re: how to deal with bloggers. Share the process that employees are required to follow. What training do they provide to their account reps for dealing with bloggers? Let us see the inner workings - at least as much as Edelman Worldwide is willing to share - and we all learn from the process. And please, don’t give us any of this proprietary nonsense. For me, I just want to see if any of these documents actually exist.

The Experiment

If we are going to carry these calls for transparency to their natural “bloggy” conclusion, how about this.

Let us have Edelman Worldwide do something bold and in keeping with the culture of the new medium we/they have so embraced. This will accomplish the following in the spirit of the all important Cluetrain Manifesto that helped start it all:

• Answer the questions that have been raised re: their pitching practices and remove doubt.

Cluetrain Thesis #28: Most marketing programs are based on the fear that the market might see what’s really going on inside the company.

• Take the leadership role a step further, while illustrating the power of blogs in a manner atune with this new WOM mentality.

Cluetrain Thesis #14: Corporations do not speak in the same voice as these new networked conversations. To their intended online audiences, companies sound hollow, flat, literally inhuman.

• Give back to the community, as leaders should.

Cluetrain Thesis #23: Companies attempting to “position” themselves need to take a position. Optimally, it should relate to something their market actually cares about.

• Embrace the character and supposed culture of the blogosphere.

Cluetrain Thesis #12: There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.

• Provide a learning experience for many, and …

Cluetrain Thesis #38: To speak with a human voice, companies must share the concerns of their communities.

• Be as blatantly transparent as any PR firm can be, or has been.

Cluetrain Thesis #53: There are two conversations going on. One inside the company. One with the market.

Cluetrain Thesis #36: Companies must ask themselves where their corporate cultures end.

Certainly anyone could pull other lines from the Manifesto. I just chose these. David Weinberger could certainly tell us if I chose the right ones, or if they even fit.

Sure, there are crib sheets available for all of us to compose our own policies and practices. But, wouldn’t you rather see the real deal - the pdf’s and pages from the Edelman intranet that state the policies and practices clearly?

Well, I’m not holding my breath or anything, and neither should you. Yes, the above was intended to be a bit loopy (in an almost sane voice). Some have taken this idea in other paths of lunacy re: “Let us see the phone call lists, daily diaries, meetings schedules and more.”

My point? Honestly, I think I have one.

There is no better recent example that would make this type of action quite powerful. Moreso, if a company ever chose to truly take this path - fully embracing these ideals we talk about so often - we might actually learn how well the many theses of the manifesto really fit and work.

The one thing that could - realistically - happen? The collective family of Edelman Worldwide bloggers could write posts of their own about how to pitch bloggers, what they are doing and how they will assure that these vaunted ideas of honesty and openness will be achieved.

The term “vaunted” was chosen on purpose. We do seem to talk about this new medium with a bit of bravado, don’t we? How wonderful to actually see it in action - some day.