Consolidation In Analyst Land
Mike Rothman points to continuing consolidation in analyst land as Yankee starts to flex its muscles on the back of activity from Ovum. This also reflects the continued bifurcation of the analyst market – “Big Gorillas” offering packaged insight and events vs. “Nimble Nats” offering strategic insight, commentary and thinking. Given that the “Nimble Nats” are very content and market centric I also wonder if they wont be targeted by the media companies (CMP, CNET) for acquisition or at least strategic partnerships.
Webcast Plug
Steve Rubel, (MicroPersuasion, Edelman) and I are doing a web cast at the invitation of PR Week on Thursday, September 28. Details below. Nonsubscribers can register, by the way.
Everyone is talking about new media channels such as blogs and podcasts. But what does this reality mean for the future of PR and communications? PRWeek is convening a Web cast to discuss critical issues in the ever-changing new media landscape. Moderated by Keith O’Brien, PRWeek news editor and editor of prweek.com.
Not Getting Coverage? You Might Try Sueing Someone…
Adfreak covers what is one of the weirdest law suits in recent weeks?
Kitson, a Hollywood fashion boutique… claims that Us Weekly has caused the store harm by refusing to give it any publicity lately. Kitson is “favored by young celebs such as Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Denise Richards,” so it’s the sort of place the celeb-centric press tends to publicize endlessly. Indeed, Us Weekly used to do so, notes the article in the Los Angeles Times. But now, says Kitson’s owner, a falling out with the boutique has prompted the magazine to avoid any mention of it. And this systematic shunning “is costing the store $10,000 per week,” the suit alleges. If the boutique’s legal action is successful, will it establish a right for places like Kitson to get tons of ink in venues like Us Weekly? Stranger things have happened, though not many.
“Systematic shunning”? Isn’t that something PR people deal with every day?
The Cascade Of Influence
Tom highlights how the cascade of influence is changing – using the LonelyGirl15 (LG15) story. Turns out that LonelyGirl15 (LG15) is in fact and aspiring NZ actress – and – that the videos were anything but amateur.
The first parts of the story were published in online sites, then came the major newspapers: New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times with their coverage. Their stories then helped spark the interest of TV and radio news crews.
The LG15 story is not an important story in itself, but it is an important news story. This is not a contradiction, it is a description of its place in our culture.
The LG15 story shows how the media functions, how they influence each other. It shows how the media networks: blogger, citizen, mainstream, and anything in-between — push/pull news stories up into the broader mediasphere.
To get into the broader mediasphere, it seems news stories often have to make it into flagship publications of journalist rigor, such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Times (London.)
Tom says it well in an earlier post.
Yes, the subject matter of this story was not about anything that matters that much. But imagine this same type of cooperation on really important stories–that’s what excites me.
There is always intense competition to be first with a story–but that is good. And it is complimentary competition rather than adversarial. There is no such thing as bloggers versus mainstream media.
This is the media model for the future: a mediasphere that uses the best qualities of professional media combined with relentless pursuit of information by citizen journalists. That’s a potent formula that bodes well for our society, IMHO
"Green" Resonates As A Message
Just in case you thought Sun and Dell were smoking something with all their Green messaging, take a read of this piece in Computerworld. In fact, Green is the new black when it comes to messaging. Take a look at the messaging leadership that GE is demonstrating.
In fact, GE is one of the few to extend it across to a brand play (“ecoimagination“) while maintaining a degree of authenticity. Sun on the other hand is really doing a great job of attaching the product to tangible benefits – like energy rebates – and product branding – “cool threads“.
What is going on here is interesting. Recognizing the very tangible commercial advantage of messaging green, companies like Sun, GE and Dell are moving beyond messaging as hyperbole and into making the message very real. The stand to gain from the mantra of “live the message and prosper”.
