Andy Bond, Chief Executive of Asda outlined his new vision for a “transparent” business yesterday, “run for the consumer by the consumer” including web cams of the farms where Asda’s milk and carrots come from and a team of bloggers recruited to tell shoppers about the business, rather than “a bunch of PR consultants” said Bond.

Bond has labelled his new way of doing business as “democratic consumerism” drawing comparisons with President Obama’s politics, “offering openess, transparency, collaboration and dialogue”.This is a confident move. Asda clearly feel secure enough about the root and branch value of their company and what it stands for, to start broadcasting directly from their own blogger base. It’s also a smart move in reputation management terms, as they create a volume of their own editorially controlled content.

It’s still PR, but not as we know it. With Matthew Freud lurking about in the background, old school skills are being put to work in the new social media age, managing reputation via new channels.

One Response to “Asda choose blogging over PR”