Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery: Corporate Bad News Spies
Peter Rost has written an interesting post which mentions that his blog is read every day by a pr firm called Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery, which, he claims, works for Pfizer. Rost and Pfizer are locked in a legal-and-PR deathmatch stemming from this.
I wouldn't normally mention this as it's not drug marketing related, but the name of the PR firm rings a bell with me. So I went back through my collection of business cards and pulled out an RLM card for svp Anne Granfield. Turns out, years ago, when I was covering the Ogilvy & Mather corruption trial, Anne was assigned by O&M to monitor me. She certainly wasn't assigned to give me quotes from O&M, because the trial lasted weeks and she didn't give me anything.
We spoke about her assignment before the trial started when I noticed she was sitting near me in court with a notebook that had my name on the top of the page, and a description of what I looked like underneath it. My very own PR stalker!
RLM's web site indicates that indeed they are spinmeisters for truly troubled companies. They specialize in "“reputational programs … Crisis management, [and] Litigation support.”
One question: What exactly is Pfizer getting for its money with RLM? Rost certainly isn't getting any quieter. And I have difficulty getting Pfizer to return calls even on the days when I've got good news to write about them.
(Note to Pfizer pr Pfolks: Guys, not every story has to be bad news. This, for instance. Try picking up the phone. Transparency is a powerful thing. Just because you're not talking doesn't mean all my other sources disappear—why give them all that free mileage?)
No comments:
Post a Comment