Community vs. Corporate: Prita Case

There are many interesting cases of Public Relation featured in business schools and PR schools. But I guess this one will soon be featured as well…

I first heard about it two days ago, featured in Kompas newspaper (2 June 2009): Prita, Saya Ingin Pulang…

The case is basically the poor Prita, imprisoned because of her email. “Pencemaran Nama Baik” that’s what the lawyers said and what the court has ruled. Am not a legal fanatics, but basically they (mis)-use a number of laws to build a criminal case. And the result: imprisonment for Prita. She was jailed for approx. 3 weeks while waiting for her trial. Though just recently released… after the case got sooo big attention from everyone (including all three presidential candidates… )

It started as Internet-related case… then it will continue [be fought and won] through the Internet media. Kompas in that article mentioned about Facebook group/page/Cause supported by 15,000 people already. By the time of this writing, there’s already 120k people… so it’s 100k overnight.

Viral. Social media is sooo viral.

Guess the Corporate chose the wrong “enemy” and played the wrong card. It’s going to be a PR hell for them. For years probably. It’s going to take millions of Rp to recover their credibility… no matter whether they are right or wrong (legally). Public opinion has been formed and shaped firmly. (Good luck changing that).

Some old Corporates just don’t understand and underestimate the power of social media and community, the power of recommendation, the power of word of mouth… multiplied by the effectiveness of Facebook (and others) of spreading news.

Community vs Corporate = 1 vs 0

Links:

• Facebook Cause – join now! 1,000,000 supports for Prita

Social Media Intro @ Slideshare

A good intro of social media marketing. Found in Slideshare. The author explained two big points: what is social media (engagement and conversation v.s. advertisement, trust v.s. control) and how to get into it (open, engage, honest)

I think we really need to take this seriously, as the new element of marketing – going beyond the classic 4P/7P.

Social Media…

… will change your business! “Beyond Blogs” was the cover story in Business Week. There is a series of article that explores the promises and the adoption of social media. A very good read. Here’s the link, in case you missed it: link.

Social media marketing is definitely the new buzzword for 2008 marketing. Generation change is the main driver: Gen C rules. Attention scarcity. Blending virtual/real life. UGC. Web2.0. Social network. Community. Demise of interuptive marketing and advertising. Redefined “trust” – people trust their community instead of brands. Engagement marketing. In short: we need a new paradigm in defining our marketing strategy.

MarkPlus wrote an excellent piece of article earlier this year: “Creative Marketing in 2008 v.s. Price War (bahasa Indonesia)“. Two of the marketing strategies to be explored are Internet and the community marketing — combined together: social media.

Also interesting to watch the transformation of Kompas.com – one of the largest media conglomeration in Indonesia. Towards UGC-ish media. Online + print + (radio + TV). Citizen journalism. YouTube-like video. Showing a good start, but still a few more miles to go.

(Wondering whether detik.com and okezone.com will follow suit).

Personally, I believe that this is a sexy area for few years to come. An area where we need a lot of thought leaders and pioneers… daring to venture the unchartered water (at least in Indonesia) of social media marketing.

I am tired of SMS Ad Spam, TV ad, Newspaper ad. All above the line promotion efforts. Too noisy. I need marketing that is relevant to me (and only me). Word of mouth – community – social. Social media marketing….

(this is actually a bad post… not much info…. too much rants… too random… but hey, this is a new area. still need to structure my thought properly. I promise I will read more about this, structure my information & knowledge, and come up with suggestions and insights…)