Advertising Age Uses a Yellow Crayon
09/14/2007
Simultaneously posted on Diva Marketing and the Buzz Bin Blog
This week BBF Geoff Livingston, The Buzz Bin, clued me into a post titled, Color Us Confused, written by Ad Age Executive Editor, Jonah Bloom. I was surprised to find that Mister Bloom’s post was written more in the style of tabloid reporting than of a respected journalist holding a senior position with a highly regarded publication. As Geoff put it Mister Bloom “… called out crayon CEO Joseph Jaffe for coloring the truth in a recent blog post announcing a second round of significant changes at the company."
Geoff and I both found Jonah Bloom’s Ad Age’s coverage of crayon’s challenging situation disgraceful to 
the extent that we are collaborating on this post.
So what if there was some jargon and spin? Taken from a PR perspective, what was Jaffe supposed to say, “We just lost half our senior team because we can’t win enough business?” Wasn’t that clear enough in the letter?
As experienced practitioners, we see right through this post as exploitative, exaggerated yellow journalism. And quite frankly, it’s disappointing to see this occur under the Advertising Age banner, the so-called industry authority hosting the Advertising Age Power 150.
Perhaps you’ve been privy to the changes at crayon, outlined in this letter by Joseph Jaffe. First the high profile departures of Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz. And now there were these recent moves, specifically the departures of Steve Coulson, CC Chapman, and Gerry Cohen. Certainly, changes of this nature garner attention, especially the faltering party is an agency like crayon.
Neither of us knows Jonah Bloom; however, his bio suggests that his career has been spent working for journalist for organizations that could guarantee salary/benefits and not as an entrepreneur. The world of a small business, especially a start-up firm, is quite different. There are sleepless nights worrying that a client’s check will come in before the light bill is due. Projects you were certain would pop are put on hold. Then there are the continuous expenses for the cost of doing business. But if you believe in your dream you make adjustments and trade the Starbucks mocha latte for a coffee made in your own kitchen.
Regardless of Jonah’s responsibility for penning this disgraceful post, Advertising Age itself has a responsibility here. And as marketer bloggers that are technically covered by the magazine, we demand better standards of journalism from the magazine.
Impact
Jonah Bloom’s post brings up a larger issue for us and many questions. Granted that Mister Bloom was writing a blog not a column.
- Is a blog post written by a publication’s editor or reporter an opt-ed piece? Even so should the post be held to the same journalist standards set for the publication’s articles?
- Are the lines blurring to the effect that blogging within a journalist setting e.g., Ad Age, means the blogger is sanctioned to color outside of acceptable guidelines and branding expectations of the publication?
- Would Ad Age have published Jonah Bloom’s post as an article?
- What obligation does the “journalist blogger” have to reflect the publication’s brand image?
Neither of us knows the current crayonistas outside of the usual Facebook and Twitter interactions. However, crayon represented so many of the ideal hopes of the blogosphere and the Cluetrain Manifesto, it’s hard not root for the agency.
At the same time it’s hard not to see these recent events as a disappointment. Not just because of the missteps outline in Jaffe’s letter, but because crayon is more than a company. It’s a dream that we all want to achieve. A marketing profession that is based in transparent, honest, ethical and exhilarating social media communications.
Both of us want to be 100% social media all the time. But getting companies to buy into this new world concept is not easy. For example, the four person firm Livingston Communications gets two thirds of its revenues from traditional public relations clients. The rest is social media.
We understand the challenges and difficulties of getting and keeping a full portfolio of social media clients. And we congratulate all of the crayonistas past and present for their courage in pursuing this noble dream. And to the remaining crayons – Joe, Greg and Scott -- we wish you the best of luck in your continuing efforts whatever color they may be.
-- Toby Bloomberg and Geoff Livingston
Sidebar: Diva Marketing is honored to be part of the Ad Age Power 150.
Sidebar: A bit of background .. I grew up in a small business. My dad owned a data collection company outside of Boston. Small business owners will relate when I tell you that the business took on a personae of its own and conversations that included “the business” were more the norm than not.
Although my professional experience includes assignments with Fortune 100s and not for profits I’ve had the pleasure of working with and mentoring small businesses and start-ups. And it seems as though I’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurship bug too. One might say I know the challenges and rewards of a small business and how difficult it is to make a go of it. My highest respect goes to those who start a new venture.
My dad subscribed to lots of marketing and advertising trade publications. At the top of the To Be Read pile was what I considered to be the king-pin of the ad biz - Ad Age. Advertising Age has spent decades building the trust of its readers and of the marketing/advertising industry. I trust Ad Age to provide articles that are reported fairly and positively critical opt-ed pieces that elevate our industry.
As main stream media encourages its journalists to embrace company sanctioned blogs, what are your expectations of the blog content, not only from Ad Age, but any professional industry publication? I can't help but wonder what would Amy Gahran would think.
