We spend a tremendous amount of time at GolinHarris talking about the importance of being authentic, so when you read about something that's about as far away from authentic as possible, you have to point it out.

Recently a local advertising agency in Miami got snagged. Here's what happened:

The Miami Herald decided to host an online poll of its readers to see which new "Downtown Miami" logo they liked best. After the contest was over, The Herald analyzed their computer network and noted that someone at the ad agency who had created several of the logos, voted more than 1,500 times for one particular image (the "winning" logo). Unfortunately for them, when all was said and done, the real winner was a design created by the City's in-house design team. (See article: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/246669.html)

How embarrassing for the agency. They obviously had little confidence in their work - and in the end, have soiled their reputation. What was the worst that could have happened? Their logo didn't win?

Let's face it, everyone who works in creative industries has a great deal of pride in their work. But if something created isn't right, and won't get the desired results, isn't it better to find out the right way than to try and create a new reality? In the end that's a loosing proposition.

This company has gone down the wrong road and is forgetting that it's a new, transparent world in which we live. The new WikiScanner, a tool that tracks anonymous edits to Wikipedia sites, is a great example of how important it is for PR professionals to practice an authentic approach to every aspect of client communications.

When all is said and done, I hope the Miami ad agency that created the logo campaign uses better judgment when it comes to billing the client and doesn't charge for the time they spent voting!