3foldComm

The age of social media presents numerous opportunities and obstacles for players big and small. This is especially good news for the underdogs of the world…not so good news for businesses.

Very little gets overlooked any more, and smart businesses have to be prepared to answer for every decision, both in-house and contracted. The days when the largest advertising and legal budgets assured a quiet victory are fading into the shadows of growing online communities and social media’s ever-building power.

Before social media, sites such as DeviantArt would post blog entries identifying possible copyright infringement, whipping their followers into a motivated mass. Now, with sites like Facebook and Twitter, sharing this information and links is instantaneous and widespread. These communities have even developed a micro-blog called “You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice… ,” where vigilant citizens post varying degrees of creative plagiarism for the world to see.

One company who experienced this first-hand was UK-based stationery company Paperchase. At the end of 2009, Hidden Eloise, an independent artist selling on Etsy, discovered a piece she created,  “He says he can hear the Forest whisper,” had allegedly been used by the company without permission for a bag design sold under their label. The artist contacted Paperchase about the issue and the company denied any wrong-doing, telling her they had contracted the design through an unnamed studio.

Lacking the financial means to hire a lawyer to enforce her copyrights, she turned to her supporters and social media. First, she published a post on her blog about the accused plagiarism with an animated overlay showing the remarkable resemblance between the pieces. Then she sent the link out through her Twitter account. The tweet was noticed by fantasy author Neil Gaiman who retweeted it to his own followers. With nearly 1.5 million followers, Gaiman gave Hidden Eloise a major boost. Soon, other devoted fans and independent artists and craftspeople came to her aid as well.

Due to this exposure, Hidden Eloise saw a surge in support from the general public.  Fans and artists flooded Paperchase with angry emails and letters on the artist’s behalf. Press outlets begin requesting comments, and the UK’s Daily Telegraph ran a story which forced Paperchase to publicly address the issue. A public relations nightmare to be sure.

However, it is possible Paperchase wasn’t even aware of Hidden Eloise’s work on Etsy. As a large stationary company producing and selling products throughout the world, how many artists and agencies must they contract with for artwork? While they arguable failed on their due diligence, it is easy to imagine the company was simply unaware there was any other work with which to compare their product.

The story presents two sides of an interesting public relations issue. Hidden Eloise demonstrates the power of grassroots outreach and social media might. Paperchase shows a failure in crisis communications management. Although no longer selling the product in question, the company passed the buck to the contracted designer and admitted no error on their part. The lack of responsibility in any way ensures the angry masses will keep the story alive and continue to damage the company’s reputation, deserved or not.

With easy access to thousands of works by new artists available online, the marketing and business worlds have seen a growing epidemic of knock-offs being presented as independent work. Fortunately, artists now have many additional means for fighting back than in the past. Alternatively, companies working with contracted artists can find themselves embroiled in unexpected controversy due to the questionable practices of those hired to create work on their behalf.

As technology and social media give more power to independent artists, it could easily become a double-edged sword. The more difficult reputation management becomes in the wake of these online grassroots campaigns, the more we may find companies reevaluating the risks of hiring outside artists.