The article was apparently written by a John Lavitt, who has written other Rolex-centric blog posts...I can't believe the crassness of the blog, the fact that Marketwire would actually DISTRIBUTE the piece, and that Owen Wilson is so desperate that he would allow this to happen...shame on all of the parties involved. Makes all good PR people shudder.
Cathy Browne's Recent post...null
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
I agree Cathy - from a PR perspective, questions need to be asked of Marketwire's editorial process as well. If this is their "quality control" at work, then I sure won't be sending any of my client's releases as well.
As for the release itself, the more I read it the more I feel it wasn't written by a PR professional - it's too salesy and not really news-oriented - a mistake that's all too common in non-PR written press releases.
Mike Smith
· 11 months ago
I'd hold Melrose responsible for the release, but I'd also hold Rolex responsible for not monitoring their brand and making sure they immediately issued a response to this.
Does anyone know if Owen Wilson had anything to say about it? I don't follow the celebrity gossip columns at all, so I don't know :)
Great post Danny. I'm headed over to google alerts right now to add a few more names into the list of names I need to be alerted about :)
Hi Danny. Awesome job, as always. Score one for the good guys - you - for pointing out yet another poor excuse for what masquerades as PR. I don't know what I'd have to add. It's blatantly wrong -- the tie-in, Rolex' lack of monitoring, etc. Bravo to you for bringing it to the forefront, as many who will read this may not know better, and I thank you for pointing it out to them. We can only hope that by leading by example we can "out" those that pollute the PR stream for those of us who take great care to protect our craft. Be well, my friend. ~ Lizz
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
Thanks Lizz. It's a shame we even have to come out and defend our industry when it would appear to be someone that's not a part of it tainting it. I guess every industry has this to work around - just seems more prevalent with PR. Hey ho..
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
Funnily enough, I was speaking to someone today about Rolex's awareness. He's in the jewelry industry and was at a big meeting last night where the CEO of Rolex was also attending. The press release was alluded to and whether Rolex had any say in it - while there was no immediate answer, I think we'll be hearing a lot about it in the next few days. Google Alerts seem a good option for the foreseeable future... ;-)
The Lovable Rogue
· 11 months ago
It's incredible that such an issue can be 'overlooked' by the organisation whose brand equity is being damaged, arguably Rolex in this case. The creation of blog content concerning the subject will invariably cause the brand's name to become increasingly visible for all the wrong reasons. As the content continues to be updated, even a basic brand search will highlight the blogs discussing the negative content. Through the implementation of Internet monitoring, the brand in question should quickly become aware of any threats to the brand's equity.
Can organisations really be this naive towards the potentially detrimental effects which the Internet can have on the brand. I guess so...
The recent Motrin Moms debacle on Twitter only emphasizes your points, Chris.
Information - personal and business - is available immediately to a cast of millions. If you ignore it because you don't want to hear "bad things" being said about you - well, more fool you.
Eric D. Brown
· 11 months ago
Yes another example of organizations and/or people who don't understand the power of the web.
Or is it?
Regardless of how crass it is....it has us talking about Rolex doesn't it? For those people that think any news is good news, they think they've done there job.
That said, I don't agree with the 'any news...' mentality. When people talk about your brand, you want them to smile...not shudder.
Eric D. Brown
· 11 months ago
Yet another example of organizations and/or people who don't understand the power of the web.
Or is it?
Regardless of how crass it is....it has us talking about Rolex doesn't it? For those people that think any news is good news, they think they've done their job.
That said, I don't agree with the 'any news...' mentality. When people talk about your brand, you want them to smile...not shudder.
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
The thing is, does Rolex know it's being talked about this way? I think that's the crux of the matter on this one. If the aim was to get people talking about a company, regardless of the approach, then it should have been Melrose Jewelers that the main conversation pieces are about. Unfortunately, it's not - because of the company's liberal use of the word "Rolex", most people feel that it's Rolex who are at fault here.
It'll be interesting to see what their response is (if, as I hope, they're not part of this "PR" push).
And I agree with you on the whole "any news is good news" - that's a term that was outdated the moment someone cam up with it.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views, Eric, appreciate it.
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
The thing is, does Rolex know it's being talked about this way? I think that's the crux of the matter on this one. If the aim was to get people talking about a company, regardless of the approach, then it should have been Melrose Jewelers that the main conversation pieces are about. Unfortunately, it's not - because of the press release's liberal use of the word "Rolex", most people feel that it's Rolex who are at fault here.
It'll be interesting to see what their response is (if, as I hope, they're not part of this "PR" push).
And I agree with you on the whole "any news is good news" - that's a term that was outdated the moment someone came up with it.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views, Eric, appreciate it.
Eric D. Brown
· 11 months ago
Hey Danny - great point.
If this release was put out but Melrose and their point was to get people talking about Melrose, they failed miserably.
Susan Murphy
· 11 months ago
Interesting that they've posted an apology on the site now, but have not removed the post itself. Disgusting, is right.
Danny Brown
· 11 months ago
Thanks for pointing that out, Sue. Like you say, they would have come across as more genuine had they removed the piece altogether. As it stands, they're just as insensitive as the "3rd-party writer" they're looking to blame.
And the press release is still live as well - so what does that tell us?
Julie Bonn Heath
· 9 months ago
This is disgusting. Not many things leave me "almost speechless". I will have to come back later when I can think of what to say for real. Sheesh.
Tiffany
· 9 months ago
This definitely puts brand monitoring into perspective.
Branding is so messy these days. You have to be willing to get in there with the mess. This just illustrates that further. So many people think they own your brand... and so many companies are terrified about that idea, the loss of brand messaging, getting messy, etc. etc. etc.
But the hard truth is, if other people are the ones talking about your brand, don't they really own it?
At least their part of the conversation. And 99% of the people who came across this message online didn't do what you did. They didn't dissect the brand "responsible" for the story. They heard Rolex, got upset, and moved on.
Jacqueline
· 9 months ago
This is just like when "The Back Up" gun rack company issued a press release saying that their product could have saved Jennifer Hudson's family from their tragic murders.
People that try to profit from others tragedy should be hung. What slimy, greedy, good-for-nothing scum!
All Comments
Cathy Browne's Recent post...null
As for the release itself, the more I read it the more I feel it wasn't written by a PR professional - it's too salesy and not really news-oriented - a mistake that's all too common in non-PR written press releases.
Does anyone know if Owen Wilson had anything to say about it? I don't follow the celebrity gossip columns at all, so I don't know :)
Great post Danny. I'm headed over to google alerts right now to add a few more names into the list of names I need to be alerted about :)
Mike Smith's Recent post...See Through Blogger: Are you on the positive or negative side?
Can organisations really be this naive towards the potentially detrimental effects which the Internet can have on the brand. I guess so...
TLR
The Lovable Rogue's Recent post...Keeping the Conversation Alive
Information - personal and business - is available immediately to a cast of millions. If you ignore it because you don't want to hear "bad things" being said about you - well, more fool you.
Or is it?
Regardless of how crass it is....it has us talking about Rolex doesn't it? For those people that think any news is good news, they think they've done there job.
That said, I don't agree with the 'any news...' mentality. When people talk about your brand, you want them to smile...not shudder.
Or is it?
Regardless of how crass it is....it has us talking about Rolex doesn't it? For those people that think any news is good news, they think they've done their job.
That said, I don't agree with the 'any news...' mentality. When people talk about your brand, you want them to smile...not shudder.
It'll be interesting to see what their response is (if, as I hope, they're not part of this "PR" push).
And I agree with you on the whole "any news is good news" - that's a term that was outdated the moment someone cam up with it.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views, Eric, appreciate it.
It'll be interesting to see what their response is (if, as I hope, they're not part of this "PR" push).
And I agree with you on the whole "any news is good news" - that's a term that was outdated the moment someone came up with it.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views, Eric, appreciate it.
If this release was put out but Melrose and their point was to get people talking about Melrose, they failed miserably.
And the press release is still live as well - so what does that tell us?
Branding is so messy these days. You have to be willing to get in there with the mess. This just illustrates that further. So many people think they own your brand... and so many companies are terrified about that idea, the loss of brand messaging, getting messy, etc. etc. etc.
But the hard truth is, if other people are the ones talking about your brand, don't they really own it?
At least their part of the conversation. And 99% of the people who came across this message online didn't do what you did. They didn't dissect the brand "responsible" for the story. They heard Rolex, got upset, and moved on.
People that try to profit from others tragedy should be hung. What slimy, greedy, good-for-nothing scum!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/116954...
Wow.