Paramount Resolves PR Nightmare by Saying Sorry
Anyone doubting the power of word of mouth to create -- and resolve -- a PR nightmare needs to look at a recent situation involving John Campea of the Movie Blog and Paramount Pictures. According to his play-by-play, Campea posted a picture of a character from a movie still in production. Paramount sent a cease-and-desist letter to his hosting company, prompting the firm to shut the blog down. Although later revealed to be an accident, nothing gets the blogosphere talking like a "David vs. Goliath" controversy like this, and negative WOM spread rapidly about the situation.
Instead of letting the PR nightmare fuel itself, Paramount did the right thing by listening -- and then apologizing. In the end, all was resolved and Campea posted a note explaining how he had been personally contacted by a Paramount senior VP who explained the situation and apologized.
Learn more:
John Campea's open letter
The Aftermath
