Lessons from the Ferrari Fiasco

Michael Gartenberg | December 28, 2006, 10:35 AM

First lesson, No Good Deed Goes Un-Punished. I've been following some of the posts about Microsoft (actually Edelman PR) sending some very nice Ferrari laptops with Windows Vista to some bloggers. Ostensibly to keep, although now bloggers are being told to return them or to "give them away". Some folks are angry that they weren't included, others didn't want them in the first place and now still others are upset that they can't keep something they were told they could have. (wonder what the tax issues are, especially if you keep it and then decide to give it away.)

I won't go into the whole debacle here. It's been covered very broadly. But I will say this, the idea wasn't wrong but the execution is turning into a bit of a debacle, in fact I know exactly what Edelman was trying to do. The problem is that what they tried to do and what they did turned out differently.

Edelman needed to figure out who the right people were for this (some choices were better than others and I would have suggested some folks who didn't get chosen). They should have contacted those folks weeks ago, made it clear what was coming and ask if they wanted to participate. It should have been clear if the laptops were loaners or were gifts or were meant for charitable donation after Vista launch. Bloggers ideally should have disclosed what the rules were.

There are a number of times stuff like this happens. For example, each year Microsoft invites a select few to their Mobius event, those folks are given lots of access to information and new mobile devices. Yes, there's a lot of grumbling from those that aren't on the invite list, but the event works because everyone knows what the rules are upfront. Not making the rules and expectations clear upfront was a mistake and this is a good example of how not to tap into enthusiasts and bloggers.