Recently, as written by Justin Estes on this blog, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola got into a little bit of a corporate espionage fun.

But, there is even more to the story. Because of the corporate theft, many companies are now re-evaluating how they are handling confidential corporate information - such as new products. The Associated Press went into it a bit more in this article - read it, as it is a good primer for this post.

Here’s the lesson to think about. As you begin your public relations career, you are going to be privy to a lot of confidential client information. While you will occasionally be reminded during brainstorm meetings that what you are about to talk about is under extreme confidentiality, and to not talk about such issues outside the office.

As entry-level PR persons, you get information that is not for public knowledge. It’s not just at brainstorms, but it is during morning meetings, during conversations in the hallway, etc. You do not necessarily get told “hey, this is confidential information,” but you have to be careful about what you are doing wth the information, where you talk about clients, and who you speak to (at times).

It goes back to the old WWII adage: loose lips sink ships. Be careful what you are talking about, as you might inadvertently be talking about confidential information. That includes talking to family, even.

So, it is not about paranoia … but about good work practices. Be careful out there, as it’s a war.

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Stealing secrets and selling them to the highest bidder; informants giving information to the rival company; money transfers and arrests…sounds like a movie right? Wrong! This was the foiled plan involving Coca-Cola Company secrets being sold to Pepsi.

In May, a letter appeared at Pepsi Co’s headquarters offering “very detailed and confidential information.” The letter claimed to be from a high-level executive named “Dirk.” Now, in case you don’t know, Coke has been soundly beating Pepsi for the last who-knows-how-long. In light of this, Pepsi could have agreed to take the information, and obtained a leg-up on Coke. Instead, Pepsi contacted Coke, told them about the letter, and Coke called the FBI to set up the sting. Said Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco: “We only did what any responsible company would do. Competition can sometimes be fierce, but it also must be fair and legal.” So out of this, Pepsi get a big boost for its image by proving that it is a very ethical company.

Coke now has some employee relations ends to tie up. A memo was sent to all employees by Chairman and CEO Neville Isdell promising “a thorough review of our information protection policies, procedures and practices to ensure that we continue to rigorously safeguard our intellectual capital.” This is a good start, as the employees will look to their executives for how to respond to this situation. Coke also needs to send out a plan for reporting this type of activity if an employee catches another involved with it.

What else do you think Coke, or Pepsi, should do in response to this situation?

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