The big three automaker is using its well-established product blog to stem negative criticism over its reaction to coverage in the Los Angeles Times. GM pulled advertising from the major-market daily over what it considers unfair reporting. In doing so, GM has generated enough negative attention that it enlisted its Fastlane blog to address the matter.
Gary Grates, Vice President of Communications for GM North America, weighs in on Fastlane for the first time.
”GM is not averse to fair criticism, and we appreciate the role journalists play in our society. SNIP We often learn a lot from such criticism and take it to heart.
We were one of the first companies to establish a blog where our executives could express their opinions in their own words, unfiltered by anyone else, and hear back directly from enthusiasts and others interested in what we do. Bob Lutz has stated repeatedly in this forum that criticism is welcome, and we’ve published a good amount of it, along with the praise.
But neither do we think that any business should remain mute when it sincerely believes it has been treated unfairly or attacked by reporting that is unsupported by facts and unrelated to reality. It is extremely rare that we take the kind of action we did with the Times, but it is fully within our right to spend our advertising dollars where we see fit.
We anticipate having more to say once the Times reaches its own conclusions, and we’ll share that with you here when the time comes. Until then, acting in good faith and out of respect for the Times’ process for dealing with such issues, we will opt to not add fuel to the media fire.”
The post heard round the sphere?
Grates had me right up to the last line. He does a good job stating GM’s position, but I suspect this will be a match to media-stacked kindling. This move also shows us more of GM’s online savvy.
- Off-Topic: GM did not need to address this topic on Fastlane. It is clearly a product-focused blog where Bob Lutz can talk shop with car geeks. GM WANTED to talk about it. They score points with their biggest fans by addressing the criticism with them directly. GM also knows the response will spread quickly using a potent blend of RSS, search, links and trackbacks to get them on the record.
- Look and Learn: Any corporation considering a blog should look, learn and understand them before creating one. GM shows us the importance of looking and learning well-beyond your first post. They’ve “been reading and listening to a lot of criticism from our friends in the news media and in the blogs over the past week.” Once your ear is to the ground, keep it there.
This chapter in the prolific GM blog case study shows us the reward of corporate blogs—a direct line to customers when you need it most. It also shows us the impact this online tool is having on corporate communications.
To any communications team preparing to launch a company blog, let me merely say: "follow the leader."
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