Panera Pulls SheKnows.com Ads After Damning Memo Revealed

Rogue writers for the site encouraged disingenuous ad clicking and cost it a key sponsor

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Panera Bread has pulled its SheKnows.com ads in connection to a click fraud-styled controversy that’s badgered the women’s content site in recent days, Adweek has learned. The move comes after blogger Jim Romenesko published leaked memos last week that revealed SheKnows.com editors Joanie Segall and Alicia French encouraging the site’s writers to repeatedly click on sponsors’ ads. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based website said the editors had wildly misinterpreted a company performance mandate and then acted in a rogue fashion. 

In an email sent to as many as 19 staff writers on June 7, Segall wrote that the site wanted to improve clickthrough rates for its ads.

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