Zicam and the Reputation Management Fiasco
Posted by Tamar Weinberg on February 6th, 2008
Awhile ago, I used Twitter to talk about one of my favorite cold remedy vitamins, Airborne. It was then that two friends suggested Zicam to me. When stocking up on medication for the winter months, the high recommendations of Zicam had me buying the oral mist.
On Sunday night, after a rather interesting Superbowl XLII, I felt the onset of a cold. As most of these cold medicines suggest, you should take the medicine at the first sign of illness. I immediately thought of my Zicam and was eager to try it out to kill the cold before it really gets bad.
Monday morning, to continue to fight off whatever this may be, I took the recommended dosage of Zicam a second time. I went on my day realizing that I had lost the sense of taste. I ate leftover nosh from the game: really spicy salsa and chips. The spiciness did not impact me. I had some Hershey Kisses. The chocolate taste was dull, as if almost not there.
For the entire day, I discounted the idea that anything would be wrong (and that it was really a cold, after all). I left it alone until late at night when the problem continued to persist. I decided to search for “zicam tastebuds.” I figured that I couldn’t possibly be the only one with this temporary (or so I hope) loss of taste. The first result alarmed me.
It was a link to a class action suit that impacts Zicam users who have lost their taste (and/or smell) by using the spray.
Normally, I’m one who fights for strong reputation management. Now, I’m a victim. If I did this search again, I can’t say I’d want that #1 result to go anywhere. Apparently, Zicam is ranked for numerous health-related concerns and I feel that the results belong where they are. The result I was looking for was relevant to my needs and is certainly something that people should know about.
For all I know, Zicam isn’t out to change their rankings. But if they were looking to make a change, I think that reputation management offerings should still exist. Personally, this is one case that I’m biased about, as it really hits home. In the past few months, I’ve dealt with companies who are unfortunate victims of bad links in Google, but those links refer to incidents that are years old (and are even resolved). The pages, however, are not removed from the Google search results because the site owners often want to be “bought.” (”Pay me some money and I’ll remove the page.”) Poor rankings kill businesses, and negative rankings destroy trust. In those cases, I strongly encourage reputation management services — but I can’t say I agree with it all the time.
The Question: What Would You Do?
What would you do if you have a client who wants you to change their rankings but their mission conflicts with your interests? What if they are trying to push down rankings that you feel are important for public safety? While I’ve asked a doctor for his opinion on my particular case (and he said it happened to him too!), if I lost my sense of taste forever, I’d want other people to know about the dangers of the medication and not to have someone who is paid off to push the results down so that people who are doing solid research will be misled.
What is more important to you? Top dollar or public safety? I’d love to hear your thoughts about these particular cases in the comments.
33 Responses to “Zicam and the Reputation Management Fiasco”
Trackbacks/Pings:
-
The Ethics of Social Media : Social Media World Says:
February 6th, 2008 at 10:49 am[...] Weinberg has a fascinating post on her blog entitled, Zicam and the Reputation Management Fiasco that made me think of the ethics of social media. In it she recounts using Zicam, which was [...]
-
Social Blend 07 - Episode Lucky Number 7: “Blend Over And Drill It “ Says:
February 13th, 2008 at 7:07 pm[...] Stories of the Week Zicam and the Reputation Management Fiasco http://www.techipedia.com/2008/zicam-reputation-management/ [...]
-
How Zicam Can Improve Their Online Reputation Says:
February 18th, 2008 at 3:53 pm[...] result might have hurt her personally. The short story is that she recently had a cold, took Zicam, and then subsequently lost her sense of taste. She then searched on “Zicam taste buds” to see [...]
-
SEO 2.0 | 3 Approches to Reputation Management: Which One Do You Need? Says:
February 20th, 2008 at 4:45 am[...] is a relatively new term in SEO and it is hot. Really hot. Some social media and SEO specialists really focus on it lately or even start to sell reputation management services as their main offer. I already noticed a [...]
-
The Final Word on Reputation Management Ethics Says:
March 5th, 2008 at 8:59 am[...] With a recent flurry of blog posts on the subject of Reputation Management Ethics, I thought we would have to take a look on this subject in our own unique, detailed way and try to ‘wrap up the discussions’. Lots of top bloggers have covered it, many in response to an article from Computer World, some with issues of their own regarding an actual product. [...]
Tamar Weinberg is a social media enthusiast with a passion for all things tech and productivity. She provides consulting in internet marketing and blogs for numerous online publications, most notably Lifehacker, Search Engine Roundtable, and Mashable.
February 6th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Sorry to hear your taste buds took a turn for the worst. On the case of a cover up I would have to decline, I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if something even worse than your case happened and I helped push rankings down for valuable info. On your second instance of reputation management I quite agree. If a business resolved an issue but still ranks for the original mister meaner then assistance should be provided. I expect a lot of businesses don’t realise the power of the web/WOM in these cases. Get well soon Tamar.
February 6th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I’m extremely biased against Big Pharma, so I’ll say public safety is more important than top dollar. As for ethical reputation management, especially if a company is trying to address bad press that affects their consumers, identifying (owning up to) the problem is as important as letting their consumers know what they are doing to solve this problem. I don’t think it should be about erasing the problem from public knowledge. Isn’t reputation management about promoting transparency to build trust in their brand?
On another note, Airborne looks like a healthier product. Were you unsatisfied with it? I personally use the herbal remedy Echinacea at first sign of illness. Works for me every time.
Take care, Tamar!
February 6th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Tamar, that live twittering of commercials must have been too much for your immune system.
Public safety comes first but reputation management is something the company may want to engage in. What if a new formula is developed that does not have the same side effects? If the issue is resolved they should move forward to clean things up. If it’s not, they deserve whatever bad rep they are getting.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Hope you get well soon Tamar. The website in question is a few years old now so a little clarification either way on the current situation would be nice - I guess if there was an FDA investigation there might even be a verdict by now.
You never know, your post might revive wider interest in the topic and in a few weeks we could be seeing mysterious new pages promoting “Zicam’s zincy goodness” appearing in the SERPs
February 6th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Is that what it is? Zinc? I’ve had Zinc before and it hasn’t killed my taste.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
It’s a personal choice. Think of all the attorneys that do insurance defense work…no friggin’ way could I do that and sleep at night.
A reputation management consultant who doesn’t know somebody with your affliction might not see this a public safety issue…it’s certainly less clear than the stuff going on with Celebrex.
Hope you get better.
February 6th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
You’re spot on Tamar that as an (ethical) reputation management company you should always check out the negative results first to see how genuine they are. It’s often very difficult to get right 100% of the time but in a case where we feel the negative reputation is deserved we most certainly wouldn’t work with a client to clean their online reputation.
SEO is all about manipulating the search results for profit (however much you hide that fact, it’s true) and you should always bear in mind what the consequences of your actions will be.
PS - hope you’re feeling better now!
February 6th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Be proactive about it, like Dreamhost. They misbilled people for $10M and quickly sent out an email apology for the error. I just got the email newsletter and it’s kidding (in a self-mocking way) about it and really boosts their brand, imho.
Zicam? They should pull it until they figure out how to fix their product. And stop naming products with these ridiculously ugly names like Zicam. It sounds like some Greek mythic monster with 8 legs 7 eyes and too many warts to count. “Beware the Zicam beast!”
February 7th, 2008 at 6:30 am
No,No and yet another no…that would be my response.Reputation matters when you have one.As with any other Social media campaign,if the content or the product’s not strong theres no pint in taking up the campaign
February 7th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I use ester-c when I feel a cold coming on. I pop in a good 1200mg every 2 hours and by the next day, cold is gone. I haven’t been sick once this winter!
February 7th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Tamar,
I wouldn’t work with someone if their interests conflicted with mine. I wouldn’t help this company lower their rankings for the loss of taste issue.
I think it has a lot to do with confidence. If you’re confident that you can find work, which doesn’t conflict your interests, then you will turn down this job becuase you know you’ll get something else. If you aren’t confident, you might accept the job becuase you don’t’ know where the next one will come from.
Greg
February 9th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Sorry to hear you’ve been sick, I also picked up a bug at this year’s Super Bowl party and have been fighting it all week.
I think Tom’s dead on here. You have to pick the clients you feel right about or soon you’ll just end up dreading the work. Enjoying your job is far more important than short term revenue.
On a side note I’ve been using Zicam all week. While it does screw with my taste buds, any effects go away for me in a day or so.
February 11th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Wow! I have been using Zicam for years with excellent success. I have used many of the different delivery methods including the spray, soft chews, and the nose swabs. I hated the taste of the spray and chews so I have settled on the nose swabs as that is where “rhino” viruses start to multiply and that is the best place to attack. The taste seemed to stick to my tongue for a while and had a weird after taste kinda like I licked a rubber tire.
This is really too bad because to this day I swear by the stuff and actually just fought off a cold with it successfully again last week. While my family and everyone in my office has missed many days of work and doctor’s visits, I was able to fend it off.
February 11th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Miguel, yeah, that’s the big issue. To those who recommend it, it’s excellent. To those who don’t, it’s because it kills your tastebuds (or smell!) I wish I’d have been able to swear by it, but alas, it’s not for me.
February 12th, 2008 at 10:16 am
i <3 airborne and tamar
February 14th, 2008 at 11:31 am
i am hesitant to talk about this in public — google being what it is — but i have a client that wants me to do this, and it is definitely an ethical challenge. he’s not promoting anything that’s going to destroy people’s taste buds, but he is making some fairly outrageous claims about some really basic (but highly overpriced) supplements. quackwatch and another similar site both have whole pages devoted to him, very well-ranked. they have mercilessly dissected his whole professional life and been very harsh, in my opinion. however they do have some valid points.
it’s a dilemma. here is a client that pays his invoices promptly and is a really super nice guy, except he may be a little delusional about the benefits of his product line. i try to edit him and restrain him from making any egregious overstatements about his supplements, and yes i am helping him rebuild his digital brand. i am trying to toe the ethical line best i can, but i still feel a little icky doing it.
hope you get your taste buds back!
February 14th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Oh no!! I just took a bunch of Zycam the other day. Technically I still have all my senses, I think. I’m gonna keep my fingers crossed.
Thanks for posting about this Tamar.
February 14th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Drew, just don’t overdo it
Quite frankly, I think I’d do fine if I took the Zicam syrup, but I don’t even want to take chances anymore. It’s only the oral and nasal mist that I think they name in the suit.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I posted this on Digg. It’s well worth the read. I do hope all goes well with you. I’m a big advocate on holistic remedies, but I don’t like the effects of Zinc ( a chief ingredient in Zicam). I don’t like the taste of Zinc… or actually, the aftereffects of Zinc. I hate the metallic taste of it, and how everything I eat tastes metallic after I ingest it. There’s alot to be said for alternative remedies, but then again, let the buyer beware. Excellent read.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Yeah, I don’t like the taste of zinc either. Thanks Linda.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Wow. I’ve used Zicam tons and it’s like a “miracle drug” for me. Never had this problem!
February 18th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
A lot of negative reactions against pharma’s… Face it, they also have shareholders BUT also ofter do a lot around diseases that don’t bring the best ROI for the less educated parts of the world. Also DAC is often done, and that is useful despite the governments should take the lead in this.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:13 am
Hey Tamar, hope you’re feeling better now.
I had a doctor once ask me to fix his “reputation” issues in the serps. I drop it in quotes because his problem wasn’t his reputation, but rather his questionable behavior in a number of situations that led to his crappy reputation on the serps.
Get this: the article that was bashing him actually WON the Pulitzer Prize and was located on pulitzer.org/article-title.html.
He tried to tell me the article was wrong. I told him it was doable but was going to be really damn expensive. I guess that means I’m a whore, but whatever.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Hi Tamar, great post.
We all want others to consider our safety so how could we ever justify a lack of consideration for theirs?
Our personal values play a huge role in your ability to reach our goals and achieve success in life. If we do not take the time to figure out what our standards and values are we can easily undermine your own success without even realizing it.
I am not just talking about success in business. I’m talking about success in life. I am talking about your personal sense of self-worth, your relationships, your level of joy and satisfaction.
If you want to have a truly worthwhile and abundant life, you must be clear on what it is right and what is wrong according to your personal code of ethics.
When we want something in life, there is a tendency to justify our actions and excuse behavior that is out of harmony with our deep down sense of right and wrong. We may not even know we are doing it on a conscious level or we may minimize the situation telling ourselves it’s no big deal.
The problem is, a on a deeper level we have created a conflict, an internal battleground. If we allow ourselves to continue without correcting the problem, sooner or later that internal conflict will undermine our efforts and we will be forced to compensate.
Moral of the story: We need to be true to what we know to be right. If we sell out we might make money but the cost is way to high.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Reputation management is generally a dirty line of work. I’ve been asked to do it a few times, and in every case the negative coverage was well deserved. Honor is worth more than money…
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Very interesting discussion going on in the comments. You’ve clearly hit a nerve since so many people are talking about Zicam along with the rep management issue you highlight.
It’s a dilemma that hits close to home right now. If I feel the search results over-represent an incident that’s long in the past, then I’m generally okay with trying to push that stuff down. That does not mean, however, that I’m going to be making up fake positive buzz to push to the top.
Some clients who need reputation management do so because they had incompetent PR firms that allowed something to grow out of control, beyond reasonable proportion. Others are still digging that hole while they ask for help. The latter group is pretty hard to help and I’m not inclined to try.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Tamar, I wish you the best of luck at getting your senses back working properly. It happened to me a long time ago and they’re still messed up. Don’t expect anything sudden to happen. It will take a long time if it happens at all. I have been bitter about this issue because the company refuses to admit anything is wrong with Zicam. It’s a very long story I won’t bore you with but something can potentially happen when zinc gluconate comes in contact with sensitive human olfactory cells. The problem is finding a human Guinea Pig to verify it.
May 10th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
This is a good example for people will face the situation you were in. They will act on a good way i think.