Social marketing campaign ruffles feathers on Twitter

Maria Bello in Prime Suspect.

PopGoesTheNews.com A campaign to promote the new Global TV series Prime Suspect via Twitter created some mystery of its own today when several people who thought they had been hired by a marketing firm to spread the word complained they were left hanging.

"@Global_TV Next time try hiring a marketing agency that isn't itself a #PrimeSuspect in unethical business practices. #gearwerxsucks" reads a Twitter message from Jeff Robson (@zapata_36). His partner Lesley Steeve (@steeve_wonder) tweeted: "@Global_TV Did you know @gearwerx takes your customers' personal information by promising them a one-day job and money?"

Robson and 14 others responded to a call earlier this month from Montreal-based Gearwerx for people to participate in a Twitter campaign about a street-level promotion of Prime Suspect in Toronto. It promised $300 for one day of work.

On Sept. 13, Robson received an email from the company's human resources director Erika Puckering that read: "You have been selected to be one of our 8 tweeters candidates for our campaign for Global TV." Steeve also received an email from Puckering asking if she was available for "a quick training" prior to today's campaign. "Also, if you know anyone else, can you please pass on this info? I still have 5 spots available."

In both emails, Puckering indicated the hours were 6am to 7pm with three two-hour breaks.

But as today's date got closer, Robson and Steeve heard nothing further from Gearwerx. Robson emailed Puckering on Sunday and received a response that read: "My apologies but you were not one of the selected tweeters."

Robson angrily replied to Puckering: "Does the company usually tell people they have been chosen for something, collect personally-identifying information, and then fail to even contact them to inform them that they've been 'deselected'?" 

Global publicity manager Grace Park declined to say if the network was aware of Gearwerx recruitment practices and, like Puckering, referred inquiries to the company's president Adam Starr.

"The words that we used to reply to individuals were 'you have been selected as a candidate.' That was a very poor choice of words on our part," Starr admitted to PopGoesTheNews.com. "It should have said 'you have been selected as a potential candidate' or 'you are still under review.' We did not articulate that properly."

Starr says he accepts responsibility for the emails and understands that the seven people who thought they had been hired may have kept the day open in anticipation of working. So, like any good mystery, this one has a happy ending. "We will be paying them for a day's labor," says Starr.

Prime Suspect debuts on Global this Thursday at 10pm.

Update (09/21): Lesley Steeve thanked Starr on Twitter today for "genuinely good business practices."