A Blogger in Their Midst

A Blogger in Their Midst:

An Analysis

Executive Summary

A major product announcement by the CEO of Lancaster-Webb was upstaged at an industry conference by the blogger Glove Girl, presenting the benefits of blogging. Glove Girl has been sprinkling news and product information about Lancaster-Webb in her personal blog posts. These unsolicited reviews have generally been a positive marketing tool for Lancaster-Webb, but the lack of content control and the leakage of confidential and proprietary information is a concern to upper management.

Because of this incident, it is apparent that Lancaster-Webb has trouble communicating not only bottom-up, but also top-down. The CEO did not understand key issues about this blogger. Just as importantly, upper management did not communicate the company vision and goals downward; as a result, Glove Girl exposed company confidential information about suppliers, potential customers, and Lancaster-Webb.

Not only does the Lancaster-Webb upper management need to communicate with the CEO on more issues, they also need to be communicating the vision, goals, and successes to the workers. This includes guidelines for employees talking to the press, and more pressingly bloggers.

Marketing and communications also need to embrace new techniques, presently blogging, and explore what is coming in the future. Glove Girl has been good PR for the company so far, but with the right communications policies, they will gain much more control of the public face of the Lancaster-Webb.

Introduction

Lancaster Webb is a strong company with one age-old and one new-age problem. If they address them correctly and swiftly, they can solidify themselves as not only the best known, but also the most innovative in its industry.

One of the oldest and most common problems in any organization is communication. It seems that Judy, the communications chief was shocked to learn that Will, the CEO, had never heard of the blogger Glove Girl. It should be Judy’s job to inform her boss of her presence. Evan, VP of Marketing, thought that by giving Will the book Gonzo marketing that he understood all about blogs.

Blogging is a new issue that faces corporations, it has been around long enough that most marketing departments have explored it, and either dismissed it, or embraced it for their use. The blogger Glove Girl has increased their sales, but has left them open to scrutiny and possible lawsuits with the confidential information she has leaked. Creating better lines of communications and responsibly utilizing the latest technologies and marketing techniques would help them get out in front of the competition.

Symptoms

• Glove Girl is certainly