Ketchum PR: Dumb-Ass Branding -- And A Blown Opportunity at Redemption

Conservative commentator Armstrong Williams received $240,000 from the Bush Administration to promote the unfunded federal mandate "No Child Left Behind," which took issues relating to children's education out of the hands of local communities, where it had been for centuries, and transferred it to Washington

The reaction was predictable. Almost every columnist in the country, notably Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, wrote "this-space-for-rent" columns, offering to shill Bush Administration ideas, which otherwise might have difficulty standing on their own, for a fee. Outrage was so justifiable -- US tax dollars paid to promote a government ideology -- that it was almost cheap.

But, unbelievably, the Bush Administration attacked the media instead of taking responsibility for its actions. Here's the lead of a Washington Post article soon after the controversy emerged:

"Education Secretary Roderick R. Paige yesterday defended payments to a conservative black commentator to promote the No Child Left Behind law as a standard "outreach effort" to minority groups who stand to benefit most from the Bush administration's showcase education program.

"Paige, the nation's first African American education secretary, said in a statement that he was deeply disturbed by the publicity (italics added) surrounding the $240,000 contract. "

Since the Williams controvery emerged, it has been revealed that the Bush Administration has paid off at least two other conservative commentators to promote its ideologies, and more are suspected, primarily because Williams partly defended himself by saying, "I'm not the only one." This is in addition to the video news releases -- "I'm Karen Ryan reporting" -- promoting the $540 billion Medicare bill distributed by the Bush Administration to local TV stations. The video news releases were later ruled illegal by the Government Accounting Office.

So who has been responsible for this government interference in the role of the media in a free society? One party is Ketchum Public Relations. Ketchum funneled the money to Williams, and its role in other Bush Administration efforts are suspect, especially in light of this USA Today article:

"The [Bush] administration spent at least $88 million in fiscal 2004 on contracts with major public relations firms, the analysis found, compared with $37 million in 2001, Bush's first year in office. In all, the administration spent $250 million on public relations contracts during its first term, compared with $128 million spent for President Clinton between 1997 and 2000.

"The top-spending agency during the past four years, at $94 million, was the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The biggest federal public relations contractor in that period was Ketchum, with $97 million."

$97 million of your tax money (or more accurately, your children's and grandchildren's tax money, since the Bush Administration is borrowing the money to run the largest deficit in history)!!! That is a huge sum for an advertising agency, much less a PR agency.

Ketchum has been justifiably and roundly criticized for the $240,000 bribe it paid a journalist to tout a federal policy. It has yet to account for the remainder of the $97 million. But here is how Ketchum CEO Ray Kotcher defended the payment in a January 13 article in PR Week:

"Now, while our industry could never unanimously pinpoint the moment when this blurring began, every one of us would surely agree that the meshing grows with each passing day. I'm not sure even the media itself can agree anymore on how to strictly define and distinguish journalists and news organizations.

"Consider how technologies - cable, the web, and satellite - have converged with demand for instantaneous, 24/7 information. As a result, traditional news media compete for mindshare and credibility with blogs, while infotainment goes head-to-head with edutainment, sportscasters double as product pitchmen, and paid political advisors double as paid political pundits."

I'm sorry, but I don't see how crossing well-established ethical boundaries can be justified on the lines that, well, technologies are blurring. That is why we have ethics -- to clearly distinguish right from wrong. And, yes, while I admit than there can be grey areas, I don't see where paying off journalists with $240,000 to promote a political viewpoint is anything but black on the black/white divide between right and wrong.

That is bad. But it gets worse. Further in the article Kotcher says:

"It is no coincidence that this activity occurred in Washington, where political divisiveness is at an all-time high. That is not to excuse Williams' oversight, but it would be a miscalculation to discount the effect of a highly polarized environment, as well."

When has Washington not been political? And has political diviseness ever been an excuse for being unethical?

So what does Ketchum propose to do about this situation?

"For our part, Ketchum has begun a thorough review of all existing federal contracts and is retaining an outside firm to conduct a complete process that will surely yield recommendations to improve transparency as it relates to government contracts."

Review existing contracts? Appoint an outside firm? That "will surely yield recommendations to improve transparency"??

Nothing about accountability. Nothing about promising it will never happen again. Not even a "we're sorry."

2005 has just started, but I'm on the verge of awarding Ketchum the Dumb-Ass Branding Award of the Year. It will be hard to top what Ketchum has done.

What Ketchum should have done is write the following:

"We made a terrible mistake, and we are sincerely sorry. We did not have the processes in place to prevent such an unforgiveable mistake, but we are taking immediate steps to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Just as importantly, we have fired all those involved. In retrospect, there were small steps that led to such a travesty, and it was hard to see the road those steps were taking us down. But that is no excuse, and we take full responsibility for our actions."

American forgives those who make mistakes, yet take accountability for their actions. It does not forgive those who try to weasel out of taking responsibility by appointing an outside group that "will surely yield recommendations to improve transparency."

Looking for a PR agency? Don't look at Ketchum. When it cannot save its own reputation, do you think it can improve yours?