Remember that bit about GM issuing a press release to let the world know it was pulling it's Facebook advertising the day before the IPO? There is no doubt that was a very off thing. GM doesn't issue press releases when it cancels advertising - no company does. And if they did this time, making it a special case, that means that it's a "special case". In other words, there is more to it than a simple decision about Ad dollars.
It was a message. I don't think there was any doubt of that. I almost never buy in to conspiracies, but this was very clearly a message. Someone involved in the GM decision was telling Facebook that they should 'play ball' in some way or else. I have no idea what. None. It really could be anything.
For instance it could be something like this. Maybe the Facebook people were reluctant to make some information available to the political machines, and the Democrats used GM (now a government subsidiary) to make underline their desire for Facebook to play ball. I don't mean to imply that anything illegal is being done at all. Facebook seems to think it operates on some higher moral plane than most business who focus exclusively on base 'profits', so maybe the Dems just gave it a bit of a nudge. It could even be something that Facebook would make available to both campaigns but that the Dems felt gave them some advantage over Republicans to posses.
Honestly I don't know. All I have is 100% speculation, and based on no facts whatsoever. I have no evidence of anything even impolitic being done let alone anything unethical or illegal. But I know that smell. And it says that there was a message in that very public GM decision. It was sent from someone to some one, and eventually I believe we're going to find out who it was.
9 comments:
Tom we yapped about this before.. 10 miilion account is 1 minute of Super Bowl commercial..Or beer money for the picnic so it wasnt the money.There had to be something else.
I figured that either GM wanted a big chunk of stock under the offering or 70/30 ratio of polticial ads for dems vs pubs...Especially since this is the youth that BHO absolutely has to hold. Maybe Zuck said he didnt need the headache and take your 10 mil and go. I doubt Zuck was counting on the "going" 3 days before the IPO.Thats when Gm would get the most bang for the buck..Then you suddenly started seeing increased allotments and someone screaming fire and 1 door to leave. BAM!! heres an excerpt form Peter Kafka on it
But being a big, lumbering giant that attracts ad dollars without knowing what it’s doing isn’t the message Facebook wants to sell to advertisers. Or to investors.
OK, on to the “this isn’t that big of a deal” arguments. I’ve heard a bunch, all of which come from (different) people who don’t want to be quoted.
Obviously there’s a backstory here. If GM didn’t want to keep advertising on Facebook, it didn’t have to announce that three days before an IPO.
Big Fuel, GM’s social media ad agency, didn’t do a good job. That’s why GM fired them in December. For the record, here’s a quote from a Big Fuel rep: “GM never seemed persuaded of the value of social media in general and Facebook likes in particular. In a sales-driven culture, it is very hard to wrap your head around putting money in places where you don’t see immediate results in an uptick in sales.”
Starcom, GM’s media buying agency, didn’t do a good job. That’s why GM fired them in January.
How the heck did GM spend $3 on Facebook “content management” for every $1 it spent on Facebook ads, as the WSJ reports? That’s a sure sign that someone was doing something wrong.
Ford loves Facebook.
GM is pulling $10 million out of Facebook. Facebook did more than $3 billion in ads last year.
I am with you...I think the GM boys in Detroit are chuckling and waiting for Zuck to show up one am with donuts and coffee..On his knees. They pulled 10 mil and then whacked 25 billion in market cap...Zuck buddy thats how the public world works.. Maybe you should have stayed private.
http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-said-no-when-gm-asked-for-page-takeover-ads-2012-5
Or try this..We will see how Zuck manuevers through these waters when his stock hits $10/share
It would be consistent with the holier than thou management style of Facebook, but I don't see why they would run a PR statement along with it.
Tom you run in circles and have contacts I cant imagine...If you cant get to it then very few can. Ill stick with theory that they wanted more than that fancy ad and Zuck said take your pos 10 mil..Then GM/BHO came down from the mountain top with a can of woop-ass on Zuck....
I think FB has alot of arrogance.Almost that they are untouchable.Not one word from leadership since this fiasco..That makes me think the Zuck is almost muzzled or he may be afraid to tell the real reason and the repercussions it could have.
We need a watergate moment for BHO.
GM was probably peeved Ford's Facebook integrates better than theirs and Facebook wouldn't give GM stuff Ford wanted to keep proprietary. Occam's razor.
It seems to me Zuck is facing a problem he hasnt had to before when he was private. Sorta Google or Netflix moment.He now has 3 subsets of folks . 1st group are just pure users of facebook and want no ads and Zuck walks on water.2nd are Fb users but also own stock.They want it all. No intrusive ads and a higher stock price.3rd are just pure stockholders. they wants drop down ads 24/7 and more revenue and thus a higher stock price.
As a Google shareholder I wish it was in China. To me they should have dropped the ego and went for the money..
Netflix had a similar problem with changing how they operate aand people left and stock is crap.
It will be interesting how FB navigates its 3 groups.Oh and GM/BHO(the biggest group).
OK Frith. Thanx. I now know what Occam's razor is about.. You dudes are are good food. And Tom you have been proven right again with Spain getting a 100 billion Euros. That the EU will keep throwwing money at the problem to keep everything as it is.Good call.
This seems germane to the Union discussion:
http://ineptocracyrules.blogspot.ca/
Sununu is schoooling Becky Quick!
haha!
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