Burson-Marsteller and Facebook by ZachA. #Prep2

In 2011, the PR firm known as Burson-Marsteller was caught intentionally bashing its clients competitor in order to make them look better. The companies involved happen to be Facebook and Google.

These are two of the worlds biggest social media and online resources ever created. Both are widely used by people everywhere in the world. In this case, Burson-Marsteller purposely put Google's newly created "Social Circle" on the chopping block so that their partner Facebook could be looked at in a better way. They claimed that Google's new social media resource was guilty of invading privacy of millions of people and violating federal trade rules.

When asked who Burson-Marsteller was working with, they declined to comment. It was discovered that Facebook had asked to remain anonymous in the mist of this entire situation. Facebook would then separate themselves from Burson-Marsteller and state that "No 'smear' campaign (against Google) was authorized or intended".

Burson should not have jumped at Google's throat so harshly for the world to see. They should have created a simple review of the new website and stated that it is not the best option for social media.

Public Relations clients should not always be identified unless a situation gets out hand (just like this one). After a topic goes too far, the client should then apologize for their actions and try to move forward. But if everything stays under control, companies have the right to remain unknown.