Microsoft Taps PR Firm To Thwart Google
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| Microsoft Taps PR Firm To Thwart Google |
The Wall Street Journal said these pitches asked companies in Europe to sign an online petition for a "transparent and competitive Internet." In a humorous twist, visiting the i-comp.org site shows how much "transparency" is being offered; the site cannot be accessed without a login and password.
Confronted with the claims backed by written pitches the Journal obtained, as well as reporting by The Observer in the UK, Microsoft owned up to its role:
Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans said Microsoft is a client of Burson's and is a "founding member" of the group directing companies to i-comp.org. "We've been very clear that we were going to work to promote an industry dialogue about issues affecting the online-advertising market," he said. "It's no secret that Microsoft has concerns about the market-concentration impact that this proposed Google merger would have."Microsoft wasn't quite as forthcoming in those pitches about its involvement. Solicitations sent on its behalf by Burson-Marsteller did not note Microsoft had backed the campaign.
According to The Observer, i-comp.org stands for Initiative for Competitive Online Marketplaces. Burson-Marsteller director Jonathan Dinkeldein admitted the group had been formed by Microsoft.
One would think Microsoft had learned from the PR debacles Wal-Mart suffered when it tried to quietly back some pro-company online initiatives. Although there seem to be legitimate reasons to question Google's proposed DoubleClick buy, Microsoft probably didn't need to help things along this way.
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