You are a major telco, you are passionate about partnering, you are if your PR is to be believed -and why shouldn't it PR only tells it like it is- the creme of the crop. You are in fact Vodafone (and no, I will not be linking to them. Linkage is currency on the web and these fuckers do not deserve a digital dinar).
Here are the PR steps to be followed (if my recent experience is anything to go by):
Step 1: Find a major newspaper organization to help. Make sure that these people can seriously damage your reputation.
Step 2: Promise them things they need to facilitate a week long training course for their senior staff
Step 3: Keep them waiting till the last minute before delivering, and only then because one of your "passionate partners" has had to tear strips off some poor shit whose fault it probably wasn't (this has the added bonus of creating two streams of bad-will, one internal, one external).
Step 4: Deliver the kit so late that there is no possibility of them being able to check it before the course starts.
Step 5 Positively no support.
Step 6: Give them less kit than promised and make sure there will not be enough to go round. This covers you bad-will wise in case any of the kit actually works (see next step).
Step 7: Be absolutely sure the kit does not work. (Bonus points here if each item has a different fault - keeps the freeloading bastards on their toes).
Step 8: Repeat step 5
Step 9: On the off chance that they get lucky and manage to get a support person, make sure they have no idea what the project is about, who authorized it or who the contact person within the company is. Be rude if possible.
Step 10: Wait for that hard earned good publicity to roll in and be offended if and when it does not.
Why do they bother? Why not just say no - not interested.
Their global branding manager should look into seppuku, but they would probably just supply her/him with a blunt sword.
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