The Wall Street Journal has been especially “hot” for the WPP unit. It ran an “A-4” story Sept. 24 about B-M running a “stealth campaign” on behalf of Microsoft to defeat Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick. The paper sourced the story to the Observer in the U.K.
The WSJ returned Oct. 3 with a “B-1” report about B-M’s effort to salvage the reputation of Countrywide Financial, symbol of the subprime mortgage mess. It credited B-M with a “long history of crisis management.”
The Associated Press jumped on the B-M bandwagon with news today that it is working for Blackwater, the tainted security operation involved in a shootout in Iraq that left 17 civilians dead.
This is the how the AP piece began:
“Public relations giant Burson-Marsteller has vast experience steering companies through tough times. But there's a limit to how much it can help Blackwater USA, a new client that's been battered by negative publicity.” That is pure gold for B-M.
Mark Penn, B-M’s CEO, also has enjoyed some heady ink. His book, “Microtrends,” has received many well-deserved favorable reviews. As Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist, Penn will figure prominently in the news throughout the election campaign.
B-M’s work for Microsoft, Countrywide and Blackwater is “real world” stuff. Coverage of those efforts provides inside dope about what PR can and can’t do.