The Disruption Of PR
Tom speaks to the disruption of PR by blogging and search. He couldn’t be more right. I speak to many PR people on the impact of blogging on communications. Most view it as an overlay to traditional communications. It isn’t.
While there is a clear case for viewing blogging as complementary to PR, you can really only hold that point of view from the shoes of a PR person. When standing in the shoes of a CMO, it is a very different view. As you look to optimize spend for awareness and lead flow – and juggle priorities such as shortening the sales cycle – you become acutely aware that PR is yet another budget area that should be cut in favor of new communications tools.
Tom focuses heavily on the economics of the new mediums: “You can get a company message out to your potential customers far more cheaply and far more effectively through the blogging medium.” While these are significant factors – especially the fact that your message is unfiltered – others to consider include the utility of the medium. If I want to reach my audience, I just blog. It takes about a tenth of the time to blog as it does to craft a release, liaise with an agency, pitch media…. Other factors include the ability to quickly repurpose content (our eZine at LogLogic is essentially a packaging of blog content – we get lots of positive feedback); and, the ability to quickly activate a dialog.
Blogging represents a dramatic shift in the method and economics of reaching audiences. Similarly, Search has an equally dramatic impact on audience reach and awareness. Combined, they are very disruptive forces to traditional media and analyst relations.
Predicting the Oscars Using Search…
SLI used search to make some predictions as to the winners of this years Oscars. Interesting ideaand nice little PR stunt…
- Best Picture – “Brokeback Mountain”
- Best Director – Paul Haggis, “Crash”
- Best Actor – Terence Howard, “Hustle & Flow”
- Best Actress – Reese Witherspoon, “Walk the Line”
Here is a little about the “magic” they used to get there:
We found that rather than looking at the total number of searches for each nominee, it was necessary to look at how the search traffic had increased. This stopped George Clooney from automatically winning the best director – there are more searches for him than any of the other directors. This approach had it’s own flaws – but I don’t think it really matters. I’m looking forward to seeing how our predictions pan out.
A Blog Isn’t A Press Release…
You guessed it, it’s a blog. When you blog it is certainly content for the media to use – but it ain’t a release. Although some blogs are increasingly reading like press releases… :-).
Blogs make news. Press releases make news. Things can result in a similar outcome, but be different.
Where Steve and I do agree is enough is enough on the old “die press release die” debate. So, rather than fuel the flames on this one all I’m going to say is scour through my blog for multiple entries on this.
A press release performs a technical communications function that is necessary to delineate official and non official communications. That it is sadly abused and often ill executed is a different issue.
I also agree with Tom – it’s time for a rethink of the mainstream release – I like his ideas. But maybe where we diverge is that I like the idea of reinventing the release, not killing it. It remains an important communications tool.
Kevin has some good thoughts on this as well.
WSJ On Reputation
WSJ has a piece on corporate reputation focusing on Microsoft. It also flags the reputation conundrum – great reputation doesn’t equate to great stock performance.
“A good reputation doesn’t guarantee results. Microsoft’s share price has been stagnant even as its reputation has been on the mend. But reputation can be especially important in recruiting and keeping employees, executives say.”
Richard Edelman is quoted:
“Moreover, Mr. Edelman believes, Microsoft benefits from a “halo effect” of the independent Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is hard to appear evil when you give $6 billion of your own money to combat disease — even if the money was earned in part from anticompetitive practices.”
Sisomo | The Future On The Screen
Kevin Roberts has a new book on the future of the screen.
We are living in “The Screen Age.” Screens for informing, entertaining, communicating, connecting, transacting and controlling. Screens for every purpose… Where consumers were once passive in the face of the mass market, they are now savvy individuals wired into the greatest information network the world has ever known.
Enter sisomo – Sight, Sound, and Motion, the combination that made television the most powerful selling tool ever invented.
