A gentle reader has been in touch with an information request. They are looking for resources on awards in the US.
I seem to recall there was a dedicated website (or was that a firm?) that offered awards listings, deadlines etc.
Anyone got any ideas? You can e-mail me directly and I’ll pass the information on or leave your hot leads in the comments section!
Thanks in advance…
PR firm SHIFT Communications has published some interesting research findings on the ability of PR to deliver sales leads… this is a topic I’ll definetely come back to.
The Hobson and Holtz Report have released their second PR podcast dealing with PR blogs, PR blog practices, copyright and blogging, IABC and the New Communications Forum 2005. Get your MP3 player out…
Andrew Smith has some interesting comments on the FT story about PR people moving in-house:
“Certainly in the tech PR sector, things ain’t what they used to be. Gone are the days when agency founders could hope to cash in by selling out for huge sums to a bigger group (and even then, it would be on an earn out basis. The founders would still be expected to stick around for a few years and would only get their pot of gold if they hit tough profit targets). For junior members of staff, long hours and rapid promotion was offset by good salaries and benefits. Maybe even the lure of shares and/or a place on the board at some future point. However, the opportunity to do that now is remote. So with no clear career path and the prospect of being asked to take on ever more resposibility for little further financial gain is leading to many to ask: what’s the point? So no surprise that many are seeking out in-house jobs or changing career altogether.”
Advertising.About.com gives us ten differences between advertising and PR…
Tech PR job musical chairs continues… Tom Foremski reports that in addition to Andy Lark leaving Sun and Oracle’s VP Jennifer Glass jumping ship to Sony, Jim Finn, Oracle’s head of PR has left the company as well… no news on where he’s moved to.
Shel Israel and Robert Scoble are in the process of putting together what look’s like an interesting new book called the Red Couch, which aims to provide business people with a guide to blogging and business.
They have a blog accompanying the project and Shel has posted some interesting content including a look at how PR (read media relations) has changed in the past twenty years.
Shel also recently posted some thoughts on how blogging affects journalism and PR.
It contains some interesting thoughts and some points I find myself disagreeing with.
First and foremost it treats PR as media relations and as we know Public Relations stretches far beyond the confines of the editorial suite. Practitioners working with investors, analysts, staff or the local community are ignored when we define PR as media relations. Its not that simple.
Secondly we are still dancing around the idea that blogging will destroy the media and will become the first and foremost channel for all communication. I disagree. Just as we thought the Internet and e-mail would become the sole outlet of communication, blogs are a new and important channel, but I believe it is wrong to assume they will supercede what has gone before. Instead it will join the phone, instant messaging, the face-to-face meeting etc.
As far as journalism goes, blogs extend journalism. They provide interesting op-eds and can serve as useful media aggregators but do they remove the need for traditional journalism? Not in my opinion.
I agree with Shel that Blogs serve a useful purpose in terms of forcing PR people to think about how they are communicating. There is a definite trend away from corporate speak to a more personal one-to-one style. However, there are instances where the one-to-one style doesn’t fit. For example if you’re looking for detailed technical specifications you probably don’t want some folksy introduction, you want the facts.
Blogs are new and increasingly popular. But in my opinion blogs are an additional tool, an important tool, but not an end in itself.
Public Relations goes far beyond the dissemination of press materials, far beyond the reach of blogs. When we think about how blogs can help us communicate more effectively it is essential that we understand that we live in a complex, fragmented world where one size does not fit all.
The challenge for PR practitioners is to understand all the channels that are available, understand how to use them effectively to communicate with their audience and understand each channel’s inherent limitations.
There is no silver bullet. If there was we could all get by working a couple of hours a day. Blogs are important, interesting and potentially very powerful, but they are not the only answer.
So are you bored with your job?
Not enough challenges in your current position?
Are you looking for a role that will challenge your mental health?
I have just the position for you….
Microsoft’s plans to launch an anti-virus product could be one of the toughest PR jobs around. Just think of the crisis planning around that product…
Whilst I’m sure Microsoft will sell large volumes of the product – in a word association test which word pops into your head when you think of Microsoft: Anti-Virus or Virus?
Every hacker in the planet will be waiting for Microsoft’s product. If you’re looking for a challenge I’d send your resume in right now. There won’t be a dull moment.
Melody over at Mark Borkowski’s blog has posted a link to a story from the New York Times that appeared back in the December that I missed at the time (enjoying turkey sandwiches probably).
It examines the rise of “Determined Detractors”. People and groups online (and offline) who focus on attacking individuals or organizations. It’s a very interesting read. It reports work being undertaken to categories these detractors. For example the “hear me” group have real issues, but those issues can be dealt with through acknowledging an issue and dealing with the problem.
As we know the Internet provides the perfect medium for connecting like-minded individuals, (for example PR or Marketing people reading my forlorn meanderings) as a result these online groups will continue to grow and proliferate. Finding them, understanding their issues and communicating them will become more important for PR people everywhere.
“One determined detractor can do as much damage as 100,000 positive mentions can do good,” said Paul Rand, managing director at Ketchum Midwest in Chicago, part of the Omnicom Group. “In the same way that we need to understand who the positive influencers are, it is becoming even more critical to identify and manage determined detractors.”
Footnote:
In response to my post yesterday regarding the need for blogs to be adopted by all practitioners and not placed in a “special” group as the Internet was in the past, Niall Cook informs me that Hill & Knowlton’s “interactive” division is still alive and kicking and indeed is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year:
“The main reason for this is exactly as you say – because PR is about communications. We have somehow managed to be the “ivory tower” and the internal awareness raiser. As a result, more of our practitioners have the basic knowledge needed to create programmes that work across both traditional and online channels.”
I agree with Niall’s sentiments, though I still maintain that many of these divisions were established in the past as part of a desperate attempt by agencies to latch onto something they didn’t (and didn’t want to) understand. I have no problems with specialist groups within PR firms, as long as it doesn’t hamper other practitioners gaining a strong understanding of techniques and tools that are important to the success of their clients.
Blogs are one of those tools (oops I used the tool word).
I recently came across another PR blog, this time from high tech PR firm New Venture Marketing.
They have a two really interesting posts on Cisco’s newsroom which has been leading the way for online press rooms for a long long time.
These posts are definetely worth a read for anyone interested in building compelling online press rooms: Part 1, Part 2.
“The company also uses the RSS feeds to provide security alerts. While RSS syndication is passive (customers must sign up for your feed), it is a robust technology, highly granular and customizable.
Moreover, the company gets triple the value from its content: First, when the material is released as news. Second, when it is archived as part of a rich resource of searchable information, and the third, in the form of links to the site which help drive search engine rankings.”
PR Pro Catherine Helzerman has put together a “Communications Wiki” to provide a place for people to share information, advice, knowledge and of course opinions on PR, communications and all associated subject areas.
Catherine points out there’s no commerical angle here, just an online place where anyone can read and share their experiences and knowledge.
An online survey on media monitoring from Slipstream Group has some interesting findings:
You can read an executive summary of the report here.
The full report costs $195.
First and foremost, congratulations to Interpublic’s MWW Group* who have announced the formation of a new “specialty” practice called Blog 360 which will “work with clients to develop proprietary blogging strategies, from creation and marketing to sponsorships and advertising, geared to increasing relevance among target audiences”.
Kudos to one of the larger PR firms who have recognized the value of blogs and blog expertise. From a marketing perspective the news has already been widely covered across the PR blog community – which while not necessarily the most read Internet segment – reaches a relevant audience.
However, if the creation of this group is anything more than a marketing ploy it does raise a concern. This is the same tactic that saw the creation of many “interactive” divisions back in the boom days. Groovy offshoots and departments of people solely focused on online tactics, measurement and influence. How many of those “divisions” are still around? The majority have disapeared or been folded back into the mothership.
The reason is this. Public Relations is about communications. Therefore all your practitioners should have knowledge of the channels, techniques and approaches to those channels. It’s no good having an ivory tower in the corner of one of your offices, this knowledge must leak across your entire firm.
So let’s give MWW Group their (in my opinion) deserved moment in the sun and then let’s get back to the more important business of raising awareness and understanding of blogging, podcasting, search engine optimization etc to all practitioners.
*Notes:
Murphy's Law 