Category: General

Thanks to everyone for the fantastic feedback both through comments and e-mail following my posts on blog relations, and the need for PR people to stand up for their profession.

Blog Relations

Probably the largest response I received to the call for ‘PR blog case studies’ were e-mails from practitioners who are relatively new to blogs.  The common theme in their e-mails was that they are desperately trying to understand the tool, how to use it, how to monitor it productively, and how to incorporate it in ongoing communications programs. 

I believe that that is a good, albeit statistically insignificant, measure of the current maturity of blogs.

We’re still at the early stages of blog relations. That was my belief and I called for blog case studies to see if maybe I was wrong.  For once I wasn’t.

Hopefully I’ll tackle the questions raised in those e-mails in the near future.

PR’s Image Problem

Jim Horton commented:

“Give up notions of regulating PR. It won’t happen in the US because of the First Amendment. It is doubtful that it will happen anytime soon in other countries.”

I completely agree.  These efforts have failed in the past so it’s unlikely they will suceed in the future.

However, I don’t think that means we should ignore the problem of PR’s image.

What’s clear is that the only way to change the misperception of PR is that individuals must take responsibility — collective responsibility.

I think Piaras Kelly has a point regarding the international code of ethics as a starting point for establishing acceptable behavior.

However, if you as a PR professional are interested in improving the profile of your profession, it is up to you to do something about it.

Only when individual practitioners take a stand, can we turn the tide of negative publicity. At the very least it might force people to re-examine their perceptions.

Footnote:

• Richard Bailey rightly points out that Gerry McCusker has a book to promote, but that doesn’t mean the message is wrong 🙂

Probably the single issue that unites (or should unite) Public Relations practitioners, regardless of your industry or discipline is the profession’s image.

PR suffers more than any single profession, possibly with the exception of the law, from misperceptions, sterotypes and ignorance.

Of course the irony of this situation isn’t lost on anyone.

It is time that right minded practitioners stood up to these issues.  Industry bodies have in the past, with the best of intentions, tried to tackle these issues but for a variety of reasons they’ve had little success.

What is required is for PR people to stand up, address issues, highlight poor practice, respond to ill-informed criticism and stop accepting untruths.

The profession’s image isn’t helped by the unethical practices of high profile “practitioners” or the never ending list of shoddy and unprofessional people purporting to implement PR campaigns when it’s clear they don’t understand the very basics of good communications.

What is required is Passion.  If you enjoy your job, if you believe that PR provides a positive, useful and important service in helping individuals and organizations communicate, then stand up and fight.  Surely it’s time to damn malpractice and protect what PR stands for.

Maybe I am living in a world of my own, but I am passionate about this. I don’t accept that PR should by synonomous with spin, dishonesty or stupidity. 

PR is a fantastic career. It is challenging. It provides an important service not just to global multinationals but to non-profit organizations and individuals.

The only way to tackle these negative perceptions is for every right-minded practitioner to be counted on this issue. You must take responsibility for your own profession.

Gerry McCusker has made a start in the UK Edition of PR Week:

“In fact, after I added too much salt when cooking risotto for friends the other night, that was, in its own small way, a PR disaster: my reputation as a convivial host lay in shreds……. If you believe everything that you read, watch and hear in the media, a PR disaster is anything that causes embarrassing or negative publicity for any given organisation or entity. And I’m sick of it – sick of PR getting it in the neck. More than that, though, I’m really cheesed off that the profession I’ve studied, practised then studied and practised again over the past 20 years is becoming almost synonymous with the word ‘disaster’ – and no one in our industry seems ready to combat these ongoing and damaging slurs against our reputation.”

Too right..

Footnote:

Thanks for JC for the link!

When I first saw this news feature from the UK’s Sunday Herald I immediately dismissed it as rubbish.  However, maybe I was a little too hasty.

But others argue that this only applies to media relations, and that there are plenty of lower-end jobs that could grow legs. Anne Gregory, the president of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), says: �I think some of the elements of practical PR are becoming commoditised and therefore price sensitive. I could certainly see online research going out to India. Press releases could be written there if they were the sort that just required people to put words on paper � technical press releases like product updates.�

As services such as media monitoring are outsourced, what will be next?

I personally don’t agree with this idea. PR in all its forms (this article in common with 95% of articles on PR, focuses on media relations) requires local knowledge and expertise. While some of the more mundane operational activities may be outsourced, I think anyone considering it should be very very careful.

It reminds me of the “media list” argument. Agency A will build a media list for their client at a rate of $50 per hour (using relatively inexperienced staff) while Agency B will build a media list at $90 per hour (using senior staff).

The likelihood is that Agency A’s actual list may come in cheaper, but is it as good as Agency B’s list? Probably not.

Cost is a factor in every business planning decision, but return on investment is how we are all primarily measured.

I would take a lot convincing that outsourcing is the best alternative.  I would also expect that agencies were completely transparent.  If they’re saving lots of cost and I have agreed with the process, those savings had better be passed on. I would have no hesitation is reviewing the account should they attempt to hide this practice….

 MediaInsider has an interesting case study on a crisis communications planning exercise which used new technology to alert and bring together participants at a “test” crisis.

 Marc Snyder, who is back blogging again, points to the ZDNET UK’s ever vengeful Rupert Goodwins and his latest PR run-in, this time a press release on a T-Shirt. I kid you not. No wonder he’s angry…

 As showcased by the “press release on a T-Shirt” episode, there’s a thin line between innovation and disaster.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide which particular category this  Flash CV fits into….

 Elizabeth Albrycht has discovered the Social Customer Manifesto. Great idea, but I wouldn’t be waiting for companies to sign up…

 I see that one of the world’s most interesting PR accounts is up for review. Amazon is one of the brands most firms would die for.

 While this is quite anti-PR, I have to admit that this Washington Post piece by Gene Weingarten raised a smile this morning.  After all ANYONE who refers to themselves as “Mr. PR” deserves everything they get….

 

 

Iain Frazer-Halpin from Pleon, takes a detailed look at how a story becomes news. I have to admit it’s a bit of work to get into the article but it’s an interesting concept and worth the effort. 

“The insight that news is a disruption in the intuitive narrative and that this sets in motion a train of events in which we try to grasp �what comes next� reinforces a strongly held belief: information alone is not news. Giving information to journalists who are deluged with press releases and who have access to the biggest repository the world has ever known – the Web – is akin to pouring water on a drowning man. What is of value to a journalist is information in context; and that context is given by the narrative flow of the audiences for whom the journalist is writing.”

When you go away for a couple of days, trying to catch up with blog reading is a major task even using RSS.  I have always wondered when does a blog move from being useful to providing too much content? Does it ever?

Mike Manuel has done some interesting, albeit non-scientific research on the volume of PR blogging.

I’m not sure volume is the best indicator.  There are a wide range of different posting habits among the PR blogs. For example, Jim Horton only posts once a day, but his posts are insightful and valuable. At the other end of the spectrum you have Trevor, Neville, Robb and Steve who have fantastic multiple posts every day and then a group in the middle.

I read and enjoy them all, but I’m not sure there’s one formula that’s better than the other. 

I started the PR Misc postings some time ago as a means of providing a lot of links to relevant information without putting in individual posts. I wonder is that the best approach or should every link have its own posting?

Who knows? Do you care? Probably not…..

Footnote:

By the way I had a staggering response to my call for PR blog case studies. Yes indeed we had one response. So there are three scenarios:

1. No one is pitching blogs
2. No one wants to share their experiences
3. No one reads this blog

All three are strong possibilities at this point.

Andy Lark links to a fantastic modern day competitive stunt.  Ogilvy & Mather in the UK let their domain registration lapse and Viral marketing agency Asa Bailey jumped right in. Doh!

 

Well you may have noticed that PR Opinions was a little quiet last week.  I was on the road and it was difficult to find any time so usual service should be resumed this week.

During the week I was reading Advertising Age and there was an interesting opinion piece from Randall Rothenberg:

“Having reflected on blogs for the better part of two years, and having participated in the sport for a short two months, I am prepared to report that blogging is little more than hype dished out largely by the unemployable to the aimless.”

Now regular readers will know that I don’t subscribe to the counter theory that blogs will change the world as we know it.  However, to discount them completely is inadvisable in the extreme.

Rothenberg does grudingly admit there are a tiny number of influential blogs:

“Do some bloggers have sway? About as much as your average op-ed columnist.  A few even have meager, self sustaining ad-support… but a million monkeys filing second-by-second observations on Web sites would undoubtedly stumble on the real author of Shakespeare’s plays.”

You see, in my mind this opinion is just as valid as the blog bigots who tell us blogging will change the world completely. It’s not realistic and as usual the truth is somewhere between the two poles.

You can’t just discount blogs because they aren’t delivering large amounts of currency at this point.  How many web sites were making actual profitable revenue during the 1990’s? Did that mean websites were a fad? Nope.

Blogs have a role to play in the marketing mix.  At the very least, blogs provide strong search engine optimization capabilities and a well written corporate blog adds interesting, regular content to corporate websites.  Both of these factors alone mean that blogs are something all marketing folks should be aware of.

When you factor in a small but growing number of influential blogs in certain industries – their importance continues to grow.  Blogs will become another tool in the marketing/PR toolbox. Reading some blogs and posting your own blog for two months doesn’t really mean you are an expert… not when you seem to miss the overriding trend that blogs are creating… the emergence of the human voice. I have been writing a blog for quite some time, I have been working with bloggers for quite some time.  It does work.

I provide the same guidance that I always provide.

Evaluate blogs (both blogs you create and blogs that write about your industry) and find out if they have something to offer your business.  If they do, then use them, if they don’t then continue evaluating them. Discounting something because you don’t like it or because it doesn’t fit into a handy category isn’t smart. If you are a marketing professional understanding how your audience is communicating, how they are finding and using information is the very lifeblood of your daily job.  If your audience uses blogs then whether you like it or not, you need to engage them.

CyberAlert, an online clipping firm has announced BlogSquirrel, a new service specifically designed to monitor over 100,000 blogs.

According to the press release:

“By searching and reporting on a comprehensive cross-section of blogs, BlogSquirrel (http://www.cyberalert.com/blogmonitoring.html) offers an effective �early warning system� to identify problems and issues that may threaten corporate or brand reputation, or that present new opportunities for product development or business growth.”

The growing number of “blog monitoring” services is probably a good (if early) indication of the interest around blogs. 

An interesting new blog…

Leslie Bunder has created journalistic.co.uk.  It’s a blog that aimes to provide a:

“…dedicated site for journalists to help them understand the benefits of digital media and technology and how they can make the most of it to improve reporting, writing and publishing.

From how to make the most of mobile communications through to understanding word processing, Journalistic.co.uk aims to cover those areas and more including reviews of software, hardware and other services.”