Category: General

Alice Marshall has posted a great analyst quote on Microsoft’s decision that it will only fix a security problem with Internet Explorer on Windows XP:

“It’s a problem that people should have to pay for a whole OS upgrade to get a safe browser,” said Michael Cherry, analyst with Directions on Microsoft in Redmond, Wash.

In effect they are saying that if you are one of the millions of users running previous versions of Windows, tough, buy a new computer that will run Windows XP, pay for a new copy of Windows and then we’ll give you a (probably temporary) secure browser.

Now I use Microsoft’s products, I admire the company in many ways but this is an un-wise move on their behalf.

It’s the equivalent of Ford saying that they’re only fixing the braking problems on the latest model… I don’t think so.  If your product is found to be flawed and you have charged people good money for the product then it is your responsibility to fix the problem.

To ignore your customers is poor public relations and could even be mistaken for arrogance.

Jim Horton’s beginners guide to Media Relations which I mentioned earlier in the week includes a quote from Wal-Mart on the folly of their policy of exclusively focusing on communicating with customers directly while not engaging with the media.

So it was with some interest I spotted a story in Silicon Valley Business Journal on Wal-Mart launching a PR offensive.

Only one problem.  The “PR Offensive” is in fact an advertising campaign….

Larry Weber has been a major force in the technology PR business for a long time.  For the past year rumors have been circulating that Weber was considering getting back into building an agency but this time aimed at using the new tools and technologies that are coming onstream.

In July 2003 he was quoted in the Boston Herald:

He (Weber) talked about “viral communication,” or using virtual communities to spread a message. “That’s what blogging is,” Weber added, referring to the Web’s proliferation of open but focused bulletin boards called Web logs, or simply blogs, that anyone can use to post a message. “You really can’t underestimate that,” he said. “I think there’s going to be a consolidation of marketing,” Weber said, as enterprises seek better ways to use technology to reach target audiences.

Well now he has kicked off a new agency called W2 Group Inc. According to the Boston Herald:

Weber says W2 will offer “data-driven, strategy-infused and digitally delivered” PR services targeted at specific groups, along with mobile or wireless marketing, Web marketing and PR for health and life-sciences companies. He calls Boston “the innovation town,” with the necessary technology clusters to make it work.

He has already acquired PR agency Racepoint Group to get the venture underway.

In the modestly titled launch press release (“Marketing Visionary Larry Weber Launches W2 Group, Inc. a Global Marketing Services Company Addressing 21st Century Constituent Management Needs”) he lays out the agency’s vision:

“While founding and building the largest PR firm in the world and leading the formation of Advanced Marketing Services at IPG, I’ve had the opportunity to evaluate and integrate new technologies into the communication process to bring organizations closer to their constituents,” said Mr. Weber. “W2 Group will redefine marketing services by creating an ecosystem of companies offering the most advanced digital research, delivery and measurement technologies to provide analytics and understanding of constituents and market trends and highly targeted message delivery. Clients are demanding the level of measurable, predictable results that traditional marketing services firms are not delivering.”

It’ll be interesting to see how this idea develops. However I thought it was very interesting that they chose the traditional media to break the story.. ahem… as the French say plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose…..

Footnote:

• PR Week has a news story on the launch
• Jeremy Pepper on the news
• Matthew Podboy’s new look blog also comments

 

Dan Forbush, founder of ProfNet has started a new blog called Media Insider.

Footnote:

Thanks to Shel Holtz for the link.

Mike Manuel posted a link to a fantastic, humourous introduction to how to use online forums.

It uses the style of a 1940’s news reel… don’t forget to slip your headphones on…

Another sign that the economic recovery is moving along nicely is the launch of a new marketing journal.  CMO is a IDG publication aimed at senior marketing professionals.

The magazine combines case studies with a lot of opinion and informational pieces.  Initial stories include a case study of Schnieder National and articles on new technologies, metrics, branding, and what’s wrong with marketing.

Ned Lundquist’s excellent JOTW newsletter has a “Pimp My Job” blog, which provides an outlet for PR people to vent their unhappiness at their current place of employment.

It makes for interesting reading….

 Jim Horton is the original purveyor of online aggregated PR content. Along with his blog, he maintains the ever-popular Online Public Relations directory and regularly shares his knowledge on a whole host of PR areas. He’s recently penned a six-page introduction to media relations (PDF). As always, it’s worth a read regardless of your experience or area of practice.

“Any PR practitioner who has worked with reporters knows how difficult it is reach them. Some reporters never come to a phone or answer e-mail. So, why contact reporters at all? Increasingly, practitioners aren�t. They employ an amorphous group of  communications skills and techniques in areas such as corporate communications or marketing communications or investor relations or employee communications. Handling reporters is often consigned to media relations specialists. But failure to work with reporters can hurt a company, as Wal-Mart learned.”

 USA Today re-publishes an article on how PR can provide marketing support for entrepreneurial firms.

 The Globe and Mail looks at how the NHL is beating the players with PR…

“The players also are competing against a formidable public-relations machine. In addition to using the league’s staff, commissioner Gary Bettman has retained New York powerhouse Howard Rubenstein.”

 Robert A. Kelly has an article on how PR is still a mystery to some people. I’d estimate it’s a mystery to most…

 Askmen.com has an article on a career in Public Relations. They summarize as follows:

Upside:

• Not a routine
• You get exposure
• Adrenaline Rush

Downside:

• Long hourse
• No social life

 Alice Marshall tackles a story from Infocom on how to avoid being seen as a flack. She points out that she is a flack 🙂

Corporate blogging or employee blogging is an emerging area of Public Relations.

It offers many benefits to the employer, from providing your audience with a human face to your organization to offering a valuable R&D outlet where in political parlance, you can “fly a kite” and see how people react to a new product or service idea.

Of course there’s a flipside. When you provide a more informal access point to your audience there’s the potential for issues a-la Friendster.

There’s a fine line here.  If you insist that corporate blogs go through a rigid approval process, then the likelihood is that they will lose the very quality that makes them valuable – namely their individuality.

Steve Rubel notes that Robert Scoble, Microsoft’s highest profile blogger has instigated a media policy, where media interviews must be passed through the company’s PR firm Waggener Edstrom. Furthermore he’s posted an FAQ on the matter. 

I see this as a very positive move.

Obviously the nature of business is that employees must be aware of the sensitivity of what they write.  It’s a similar issue to what emerged when e-mail and web access became common place.  Many people were concerned about the risks.  In response most firms have an formal policy on the acceptable use of work e-mail.

Similarly, every organization should have guidelines in place for employees who wish to blog (Examples: Groove Networks, Sun Microsystems, George DaFermos).

Microsoft have clearly noticed that Scoble is a high profile blogger, who has a lot of interaction with the media. As a public company they have to make efforts to manage that element – as they would with ANY employee.

As long as Waggener Edstrom don’t become a bottleneck then I think this move is a good thing – and a further sign that blogs can provide an ideal platform for promoting your organization and your ideas. You don’t have to be a maverick to blog….

It seems unlikely that writing, hosting or contributing to a blog will make you rich. There are some limited revenue opportunities from advertising and no doubt we’ll eventually see a new generation of professional bloggers, but it’s not going to generate another gold rush.

However, there seem to be a growing number of indirect revenue opportunities, even for PR.

Steve Rubel’s firm Cooper Katz has picked up a new client as a direct result of his blogging efforts.

In a story in PR Week, it appears that PubSub were impressed with Rubel through his blog and a subsequent meeting with him at the BlogOn conference.

So congratulations to Steve.  A good news story, that illustrates that while the potential of direct cash for blogging is limited, there are definitely indirect business opportunities.

Footnote:

• Thanks to Keith O’Brien over at PR Week for the PubSub news.
• I see a new Blog awards competition has been launched. The BOBs (Best of Blogs) are being run by Deutsche Welle, a German broadcaster. (Thanks to Neville Hobson for the link)