The internet represents a unique challenge for public relations and marketing departments. On the one hand, its accessible and unregulated nature allows any company to reach consumers throughout the world. On the other, the internet is a hotbed for baseless attacks on a company’s reputation. One example can be isolated in the 11th law of The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation by Ronald Alsop. The 11th law is, ‘Control the internet before it controls you.’ The chief example Alsop uses is CocaCola’s bold counter-offensive strategy of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. At the time, most in public relations worked diligently to make sure we didn’t repeat a negative. Coke’s team, however, took a more journalistic head-on approach. Instead of simply debunking impressive rumors one at a time, or avoiding them, Coke leaders published them on their website. Continue reading