Battling Big Business
Countering Greenwash Front Groups and Other Forms of Corporate Deception

Losing control in the media arena as a result of activist pressure has become a public relations nightmare for the modern multinational enterprise. Shell’s Brent Spar fiasco is one well-known example, when the Greenpeace campaign against sinking that former drill platform achieved its goals. Monsanto’s gross underestimation of the European resistance against the introduction of genetically engineered products now universally known as Frankenstein Food is another. Today, as more companies shift to being all about brand meaning and image, the more vulnerable they are to attacks on that image. At the same time, corporations are becoming as powerful as governments. Battling with Business reveals how corporate giants attempt to control their ‘enemies’ - and how groups and individuals can fight back. Part One of this book analyses a wide range of corporate counter-strategies, varying from relatively innocent PR measures to complete intelligence operations. Part Two offers tactical tools to help activists and concerned citizens to recognise manipulative strategies, and shows how they may be countered by a variety of techniques which use the power of creativity and the new media tools available. The keywords are being original, playful, unexpected, small, fast, irresistible, but also decisive, clear—and unstoppable!