Greenpeace tactics are pointless, says Lexis PR

Protest: outside Unilever

Kate Magee 01-May-08

Lexis PR has called Greenpeace tactics 'pointless' after it became one of three agencies targeted in an anti-Unilever campaign last week (PRWeek, 25 April).

The agency criticised the NGO's tactics, saying it should have made an appointment to discuss concerns, rather than arriving unannounced.

Lexis was one of three agencies that were targeted by Greenpeace because they work on Unilever's Dove brand.

Greenpeace asked the agencies to put pressure on Unilever to stop using unsustainable palm oil, as part of a wider campaign against the FMCG giant.

But Lexis CEO Margot Raggett said that turning up unannounced did not win them a sympathetic ear.

'I said at the time that if the protesters had made an appointment I would have happily heard their concerns,' she said. 'They were, in fact, fortunate to find me in. Arriving unannounced does not aid Greenpeace in getting a sympathetic and receptive ear. Ambushing Unilever's agencies is therefore inappropriate and, to a large degree, pointless.

'We would always advise our clients that using intimidating or overbearing tactics are not the best or most effective way to get your point across. I suspect people will now be talking more about its tactics than the issue it was trying to raise,' she added.

But Greenpeace's forest campaigner Mariana Paoli said that she did not think a meeting was initially relevant. 'We want the agencies to read the report and the letter first, because then they'll be in a better position to take action,' she said, adding she hoped to set up a meeting with the agencies soon.

- Leader, p19.