Agency admits being fake police Twitter account
A marketing agency has today admitted that it was behind a fake Twitter account in the name of NSW Police.
In a press release this afternoon, branding agency Mentally Friendly said it had created the account, which the police force this week publicly appealed to have returned. In the release it said:
“Intrigued by the public reaction and hype towards celebrities aboard the trend, Sydney based branding agency Mentally Friendly wondered what the social reaction would be if a law enforcement agency or figure of authority joined the conversation.With 2000 followers, the experiment proved that there is a place for government bodies in social media in Australia.
“Posting comments or ‘tweets’ appealing to public interest, the team at Mentally Friendly found that users responded positively to the concept of an authorities presence in social media. The experiment has triggered some important dialogue.”
The press release quotes the agency’s Nick Gower as saying: “The intent was never to misrepresent the NSW Police Force, but to create a simple and genuine dialogue with which to gauge the public’s response.”
The account, @nswpolice, has now been handed back to NSW Police.
The agency admits its role with the fake account in an item on the company blog. Somewhat contradictorily, in the previous item on the blog it advises: “For any online activity it is important to keep your site and communication genuine.”
In anoher twist, the PR agency which sent out the press release on behalf of Mentally Friendly is Uno PR. Uno is also handling the PR for Clare Werbeloff, the girl who this week became an internet sensation after her wide eyed description of “wog” on “wog” violence in Kings Cross. As Mumbrella reported earlier today, there was speculation that there was more to Werbeloff than met the eye. Uno’s Adam Abrams was not answering his phone this afternoon.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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no wonder they gave me no response when I told them to arrest Nathan Rees for cancelling our Anzac Day public holiday!
Maybe now it’s back in the right hands, they’ll take some action
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this “speculation” is making me laugh 🙂
i retweeted the link above on Twitter, and suddenly the real Clare Werbelloff began following me… she seems like a nice lass… or is she?? Is she even the “real” Bogan Clare?? omg, what is reality anyway? Am i allowed to call her Bogan Clare, or is that racist? Or even bigoted? Are bogans a separate race, or just a group? So many questions.
Enjoying the blog as always.
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Book ’em Dano. The experiment excuse is wearing thin.
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Poor form / stunt.
Sure it’s good to experiment, and push boundaries – but it’s critical to have transparency online – isn’t there a law about impersonating the police force?
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Will the real @nswpolice please stand up
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Oldest trick in the book. All they’re doing is publicising themselves. Then again, they’re marketers 🙂
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Geez business must be slow!
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Four years ago as companies were entering the social media space we had to endure the ‘flogs’ by companies like Sony and Wal-Mart – these were fake blogs to hoodwink consumers. Over time the agencies learnt that transparency was key to engaging and ‘flogs’ became a thing of the past.
Now we have the ‘fampaigns’ – fake campaigns – out to gain attention and well if it all goes pear-shaped we can always say we are just having fun.
Lets hope the ‘fampaigns’ go the same way as the ‘flogs’.
Let the real consumer engagement begin.
Cheers
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muppets!
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“Mentally Friendly wondered what the social reaction would be if a law enforcement agency or figure of authority joined the conversation”
heh. had to laugh.
Contrary to popular belief, maybe no publicity is better than some publicity. There goes their reputation from a client perspective down the toilet. Or maybe some immature nit-wit with money to burn may waste it there…
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