Washing away in a tide of 'how could they?'

When Edelman's somewhat shocking "what can we do to get you to stop writing about us" overture to The Consumerist failed to generate much excitement about PR bloggers, I figured the latest stumble -- strike three, some are calling it -- wouldn't cause a ripple, either.

I was wrong.

The "Wal-Marting Across America" blog -- outed this week as allegedly nothing more than a PR creation featuring two free-lance journalists pretending to be just your regular, every-day RV'in family -- has created a backlash that seems to have legs.

BizHack has a roundup of coverage here.

Shel Holtz covers the story here.

And Todd Defren weighs in here.

There no doubt will be more today.

If there's a lesson we can learn from Wal-Mart's attempts to burnish its image, it should be this: You can't run a corporate communications effort like you would a political campaign.

When I first read that Wal-Mart had started a political-style "war room" to combat negative media coverage, I cringed. The very name conjures up a bad ending. War is hell, and politics is dirty business -- no holds barred, do-whatever-it-takes, hand-to-hand combat.

For whatever reason, the public turns a blind eye to what the operatives and paid media consultants do, while the candidates smile and wave and kiss babies.

A company can't operate like that. True corporate communicators have a different mindset, one that by its nature avoids underhanded tactics because of the potential for negative backlash. A political campaign only has a few months to worry about fallout -- a company has years, and there are no partisan "sheep" to defend its moves regardless of how bad they are.

Wal-Mart proponents like to say that their opposition is well-funded and politically savvy, with a crusader's zeal to crush the giant retail store. That may be true, but Wal-Mart can't stoop to that level no matter how hard the zingers hurt.

When you are under siege, you've got to listen to the critics and change what you can about your business (I believe Wal-Mart is doing that in some cases). After that, communicate your strengths straight-forwardly, and then turn a deaf ear to those who continue to attack. If you aren't willing to change, you've got to live with the criticism.

Let's face it. A company like Wal-Mart is not going to please everyone. When you are big, you are a big target. A thick skin is essential.

The other lesson here is about high-profile PR firms who publicly advocate for transparency and engagement. At some point, you're going to be caught in a balancing act between a story you should be commenting on and a big-money client who doesn't want you to say a word. Strumpette has been saying it for months to much criticism, but it's true -- there is an inherent disconnect between being a professional services organization that represents clients and open, honest communication about said clients.

Even I feel that struggle from time to time -- and Wagner Communications hardly qualifies as plankton compared to the big PR fish.

What's especially sad here is that 99 percent of Wal-Mart's shoppers could care less about blogs and transparency. They'll still visit a Wal-Mart this weekend because they can save a few bucks.

But Edelman is seeing so much of what so many people have worked hard for wash away in a tide of "how could they?" All for a silly blog about people living in Wal-Mart parking lots. I doubt it was worth it.