PR giant advising corporate clients to stay silent on abortion rights

[Nevilledog]

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Judd Legum
@JuddLegum
BREAKING: A massive PR firm that represents high-profile corporations like @CocaCola, @Netflix, & @Starbucks is privately advising its clients to avoid commenting on abortion rights, according to an internal email obtained by http://popular.info

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popular.info
PR giant advising corporate clients to stay silent on abortion rights
A massive public relations firm, Zeno, is privately advising its high-profile corporate clients to avoid commenting on the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, according to an...
6:07 AM · May 6, 2022

https://popular.info/p/pr-giant-advising-corporate-clients?s=w


A massive public relations firm, Zeno, is privately advising its high-profile corporate clients to avoid commenting on the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, according to an internal communication obtained by Popular Information.

Zeno is a multinational company with almost $120 million in annual revenue and a roster of blue-chip corporate clients including Coca-Cola, Salesforce, Hershey's, Netflix, and Starbucks. Zeno is also a subsidiary of Edelman, the world's largest public relations conglomerate. According to Zeno CEO Barby Siegel, the firm's mission is to "champion the courageous to achieve something better for humankind."

That mission is not reflected in an email sent to Zeno staff this week by Katie Cwayna, Zeno's Executive Vice President for Media Strategy. Cwayna's message includes "a template email to share with client contacts" regarding the leaked Supreme Court opinion which would end all constitutional protections for abortion rights. The template tells clients that "the media" and others "will look for corporations to take a stand and make their views known." Zeno's advice, however, is to keep quiet:

Do not take a stance you cannot reverse, especially when the decision is not final. This topic is a textbook "50/50" issue. Subjects that divide the country can sometimes be no-win situations for companies because regardless of what they do they will alienate at least 15 to 30 percent of their stakeholders… Do not assume that all of your employees, customers or investors share your view.

(While Cwayna claims overturning Roe is a "50/50" issue, 72% of Americans oppose overturning Roe, according to a January poll by Marquette Law School.)

*snip*

[Raven]

1. It's time to boycott. Women are a major economic engine. We should use our power. Speeches are great

marches are great but $ is the best way to make the point. We can all do without the shit these companies are selling and I'm going to bet it won't take long for them to get the message. Disney is a good example of a corporation that stood up for what was right.

[Xoan]

2. Massive...

as in less than 500employees.

[Novara]

3. Those fuckers.

I live in Michigan, where the motherfucking legislature made abortion coverage an opt-out for health insurance. They left it up to employers to cover it. Thankfully, my company sees the sense in covering it, but a lot of companies just don't.

[ret5hd]

4. Silence ALWAYS favors the oppressor.