Inside Spin: The Dark underbelly of the PR industry

By Kristin Biery

For my book blog I chose to read Inside Spin, The Dark Underbelly of the PR Industry by Bob Burton. Inside Spin is a “behind the scenes investigation of the billion dollar a year Australian PR industry.”
I knew this book was going to be an interesting read just by some of the titles of the chapters: food fights, pushing drugs, killing them softly, when corporations want to cuddle and battle tanks.
The most interesting chapter to me was Chapter Seven: When corporations want to cuddle. It’s an interesting concept but it makes sense. In Inside Spin, Burton talks about Peter Sandman, a low profile PR adviser who recommends his clients act like kindergartners “tell the truth, say you are sorry and share.”
While that is not a radical concept, it is quite strange to hear him recommend bringing in activists and critics where “they are provided with information, their advice is sought and they are even encouraged to help set standards for their operations.” I have heard of thinking of the opposition and planning to avoid their complaints, but to actually bring in critics and find out what they think is a brilliant concept.
The reasoning behind his thinking is that “PR managers need to pay the most attention to those who have the greatest overlap between passion and power.” Activists and critics have passion about their opinions and they have the power to boycott your company or your product. By getting them on your side and opening the door for communication it helps in the future when it comes to coming out with your product and needing support.