Clorox Corporation is looking to hire an attorney to serve as their in-house social media legal specialist. The job title is: Corporate Counsel - Social Media/Talent Rights. You can view the job listing here. Shortly after the posting of this job listing, a number of blogs and websites, picked up the story -- with at least one even referring to the position as a "social media attorney."
It may seem surprising that a company that sells basic household cleaning products would need a dedicated social media lawyer to manage their online presence. Indeed, some might even find it surprising to learn that mass market consumer goods companies like Clorox are finding it beneficial to market their products via social media in the first place. But indeed, these companies are doing just that.
For example, a quick search for "clorox" on FaceBook revealed a fan page for Clorox Bleach with 20,000+ fans, and a page for Clorox Clean-Up with 45,000+ fans. Both fan pages appear to be operated by Clorox. Really, fans of bleach? What about laundry detergent? Absolutely! Tide has 320,000 fans. Seventh Generation has 32,000 fans. Although Cheer and Gain are absent, they probably are not too far behind. However, it seems worth noting that a few thousand fans, or even a few hundred thousand fans, are likely only a drop in the bucket for companies that sell millions of boxes of detergent yearly. That said, these companies are using social media, and Clorox has decided to hire in-house counsel to focus on overseeing their social media presence.
So what is a social media attorney? Reading through Clorox's job description reveals a few interesting points. First, not including the job title, the phrase "social media" only appears in the job description twice. Moreover, in both instances "social media" is used only to modify "advertising":
Second, the only substantive aspect of the job that seems to be uniquely related to online social media activities is the emphasis on consumer privacy and the collection of personally identifiable information. The posting list as one of the required responsibilities:
The rest of the job posting describes tasks related to traditional advertising and media matters, including guild related talent issues, contract negotiation, copyright, and trademark. It seems natural that a consumer products company's primary interest in social media is marketing its products to potential consumers. And for these companies, social media is principally a new channel for direct to consumer marketing and advertising. As such, it seems fair to expect that the legal issues presented to a "social media attorney" might principally be the same species of issues presented to an attorney specializing in more traditional forms of advertising and media.
If this is the case, then is it necessary or even accurate to call this position a "social media attorney"? Does the addition of social media into the catalog of communications technologies already overseen by media attorneys really necessitate Clorox adding the term "social media" to the job title? At least on blogger thinks that this might be going a little too far, even suggesting that Clorox's posting is more about hype and PR than it is about a substantively different type of law job: Clorox Gets a Social Media Attorney: AdAge Gets Misty.
However, putting cynicism aside, Clorox's posting does not seem substantively different from Sony Music looking for a "music licensing attorney" or Universal Pictures seeking a "film finance attorney." Comparatively, social media is just an area of specialization in the same way that music licensing and film finance are. And perhaps since social media is a relatively new phenomenon, presenting many novel legal issues, seeking specialized counsel is a prudent move for companies as they develop their social media presence.
At the very least, Clorox's perceived need for an in-house social media specialist shows that some mainstream corporations are taking social media very seriously. And for lawyers, any technology that has the potential to create new legal jobs in this bleak job market should be welcomed warmly in to our practices.
For an example of an attorney doing just that, take a look at Shear on Social Media Law.
It may seem surprising that a company that sells basic household cleaning products would need a dedicated social media lawyer to manage their online presence. Indeed, some might even find it surprising to learn that mass market consumer goods companies like Clorox are finding it beneficial to market their products via social media in the first place. But indeed, these companies are doing just that.
For example, a quick search for "clorox" on FaceBook revealed a fan page for Clorox Bleach with 20,000+ fans, and a page for Clorox Clean-Up with 45,000+ fans. Both fan pages appear to be operated by Clorox. Really, fans of bleach? What about laundry detergent? Absolutely! Tide has 320,000 fans. Seventh Generation has 32,000 fans. Although Cheer and Gain are absent, they probably are not too far behind. However, it seems worth noting that a few thousand fans, or even a few hundred thousand fans, are likely only a drop in the bucket for companies that sell millions of boxes of detergent yearly. That said, these companies are using social media, and Clorox has decided to hire in-house counsel to focus on overseeing their social media presence.
So what is a social media attorney? Reading through Clorox's job description reveals a few interesting points. First, not including the job title, the phrase "social media" only appears in the job description twice. Moreover, in both instances "social media" is used only to modify "advertising":
- Provide legal counsel to business partners on managing and securing advertising content, especially as it relates to social media and other Web 2.0 executions, TV and radio . . .
- . . . negotiating, securing and clearing intellectual property rights for advertising (including all forms of social media.
Second, the only substantive aspect of the job that seems to be uniquely related to online social media activities is the emphasis on consumer privacy and the collection of personally identifiable information. The posting list as one of the required responsibilities:
- Provide legal counsel regarding consumer privacy laws and issues, including those arising from collection and maintenance of personally identifiable information.
The rest of the job posting describes tasks related to traditional advertising and media matters, including guild related talent issues, contract negotiation, copyright, and trademark. It seems natural that a consumer products company's primary interest in social media is marketing its products to potential consumers. And for these companies, social media is principally a new channel for direct to consumer marketing and advertising. As such, it seems fair to expect that the legal issues presented to a "social media attorney" might principally be the same species of issues presented to an attorney specializing in more traditional forms of advertising and media.
If this is the case, then is it necessary or even accurate to call this position a "social media attorney"? Does the addition of social media into the catalog of communications technologies already overseen by media attorneys really necessitate Clorox adding the term "social media" to the job title? At least on blogger thinks that this might be going a little too far, even suggesting that Clorox's posting is more about hype and PR than it is about a substantively different type of law job: Clorox Gets a Social Media Attorney: AdAge Gets Misty.
However, putting cynicism aside, Clorox's posting does not seem substantively different from Sony Music looking for a "music licensing attorney" or Universal Pictures seeking a "film finance attorney." Comparatively, social media is just an area of specialization in the same way that music licensing and film finance are. And perhaps since social media is a relatively new phenomenon, presenting many novel legal issues, seeking specialized counsel is a prudent move for companies as they develop their social media presence.
At the very least, Clorox's perceived need for an in-house social media specialist shows that some mainstream corporations are taking social media very seriously. And for lawyers, any technology that has the potential to create new legal jobs in this bleak job market should be welcomed warmly in to our practices.
For an example of an attorney doing just that, take a look at Shear on Social Media Law.
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2 comments:
A terrific post. It does appear that there is something to gain from hiring a lawyer with experience with social media websites, rather than a general corporate practitioner. As you note, knowledge of privacy law is essential. For example, a social media attorney, one would expect, would be familiar with the disparate array of privacy laws offered by the states and the federal government, and should even have a passing familiarity with the laws of the European Union. While the attorney could not be expected to "practice" the laws of all these jurisdictions, it seems unreasonable to expect that a corporation would hire attorneys licensed in every jurisdiction in which the social media site will operate.
One wonders if there are other areas of law where the "social media attorney" would be expected to have specialized expertise.
Again, a provocative and nice post!
AC
This is a well done post raising an important new issue -- a whole new line of work for lawyers ready to grapple with the legal issues raised by social media. My question is what areas of law does this course cover that the Chlorox job ad misses? This is a good question to revisit at the end of the course, exploring in greater detail the legal areas such a lawyer would know well. Consider IP, for instance. How does one regulate a brand on sites such as Facebook? Sure, companies want everyone talking about their products--but what about gripe groups? A new paper by Deven Desai compares management school literature on brands, which acknowledges how customers play a key role in "building" and making a brand, with legal doctrine, which still largely fears customer involvement in making brand image. These are also issues a social media lawyer would need to confront.
Nicely done, and I hope to see a return to this theme!
MS
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