Murphy's Law

 David Parmet has kicked off his new blog “Marketing Begins at Home”

 Alain Jourdier has re-vamped his blog “Marketing Bytes Man”

 Interactive PR is a relatively new blog looking at how different media affect PR [via Drew]

 

One of the problems with having a blog is the temptation for knee-jerk (that should probably be finger-jerk but that sounds a little rude) reactions to content you read online.  You read something that you either really agree with or irks you and the obvious reaction is to post a strongly worded post. I am fighting my addiction to impulse posting and have starting making a habit of purchasing a nice coffee to give me some time and perspective.

Religon is also something I try and avoid here, but in looking at the Public Relations business, its practitioners and its detractors, its challenges and adopters is there better guidance than:

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

 

Reality Check

Ladies and gentlemen, Public Relations isn’t going anywhere.  Public Relations is not dying, but Public Relations is slowly changing.  When I say slowly, I’d like you to think of the speed with which glaciers around the globe shaped the Earth’s landscape. Yes PR is changing that fast.

The vision of a new, rapidly emerging conversation-based democracy, is in my humble opinion, way overblown. It’s a vision and like all visions it will take a long time to pass – if ever.

PR’s problems continue unabated.

There is no question that the Public Relations industry has a myriad of major challenges. There are a significant number of practitioners (though still a small minority) engaging in unethical pay-for-play activities.  The profession’s image is appalling and it is actually getting worse.  The practice of even the most basic tools of our trade e.g. media relations is often ham fisted and amateur.

The human species evolves faster than the PR industry recognizes and adopts new technologies and techniques.  Its professional bodies, have to date, failed to address the shadier practices of the few – practices which no right thinking PR person could ever condone.

These are fundamental challenges � but that�s all.

The New York Times� article �Spinning Frenzy: P.R.�s Bad Press” does a good job illustrating these difficulties.

One good thing that has arisen from the whole Ketchum-Armstrong Williams affair is that it has forced the PR establishment to come out and take a stand on ethics.  This is a positive step, albeit late and a little self-serving.  However these headlines aren�t slowing down the big profit business of astroturfing.

Big, medium and small sized PR firms continue to leave their ethics at home while �working� for companies and industry organizations.  For many, the call of the PR dollar is far more attractive than the lonely high ground of ethics and good practice. Money talks.

Changing Practices

The other chestnut that continues to roast gently on the open fire, is how the advent of new tools such as blogging will kill, maim or damage Public Relations.  I am unconvinced. Yes these developments will slowly change PR campaigns.  They will add new tactics and demand new thinking on how to best communicate with an audience.  But that�s it folks.  The slowly moving PR machinery will eventually assimilate blogs, RSS and Wikis in the same way the fax, phone and the tabloid have been assimilated.

Even the profile of Robert Scoble in the Economist which includes the potentially incendiary sub-head: “Does Robert Scoble, a celebrity blogger on Microsoft’s payroll, herald the death of traditional public relations?”, acknowledges that:

�(Scoble) thinks that there will always be a place for traditional PR, with its centrally controlled corporate message, alongside the spontaneous cacophony of blogs.�

Of course there will always be a place for �traditional PR�.  Traditional PR is concerned with effective communication with an audience. This transcends the tool and the channel.  PR people will eventually � don�t hold your breath � embrace blogs and they will take their place in the PR armoury alongside press releases (yes press releases), face-to-face briefings, telelconferences etc.

It�s good that some PR practitioners are embracing and demonstrating these techniques ahead of the curve. These practitioners are showing the way, but don�t think your fellow practitioners won�t follow, they will, in their own good time.

Pragmatism

On a personal level I will continue to criticize what I see as shoddy, unethical practices.  I will continue to highlight the potential of new technologies, but with a realization that market forces will decide how Public Relations evolves.

PR isn�t dead or dying.  It�s helping individuals, corporations, non-profit organizations and industries communicate.

It�s big business.

Hopefully the growing community of PR bloggers can continue to provide insightful commentary on the industry, aggressively address unethical practice and encourage faster adoption of new techniques and tools that can radically improve communication.

But at the end, the PR business isn�t going anywhere� well not quickly.

 

Ah it warms the heart to hear a journalist calling for PR people to use my pet project: RSS.

Charles Arthur, who writes for the UK Independent claims that e-mail isn’t the future for PR

“Perhaps then I�ll find out who�s really got something interesting to say, and who was just emailing me on autopilot. I still think the future lies in RSS feeds – which resemble, in concept, the wire services that national journalists get on their desks, and to which they pay much more attention than any press release, in whatever form. Interestingly, I spoke to the PR person I mentioned earlier – who told me that there are now RSS feeds for one of their clients, as a result of our conversation. Bonus points to the company for moving quick. Let�s hope many follow.”

As any regular readers (and there are a few of you) know, I am a well established RSS fan.

But I temper my enthusiasm with pragmatism.

RSS is a very valuable addition to our existing armory of telephones, web sites and e-mail clients but it’s not enough on its own.  Like everything in life, choosing the best tools for the job is the secret to success.  RSS saves time, provides timely alerts to your audience and can ensure that your story cuts through the spam clutter, but it should always be used in conjunction with other tools.

 

 

Everywhere I turn online these days I seem to read yet another story about someone who has been fired for blogging, or more accurately they have been fired for something they have written about their employer in their blog.

A quick search on Google (one of the most recent organizations to fire a blogger interestingly) reveals any number of these events.

I’m sure that in some of these cases the blog posting has only been an excuse for some manager who has been waiting to remove someone. However, even allowing for that, these recent spate of blog-related sackings raise some in interesting questions regarding how employers and employees can happily co-exist in the era of the public private diary.

Like everything else to do with good blog relations we should start with some good old common sense.

For the employee:

1) Think before you post…. you can discuss first amendment rights till the early hours of the morning but the reality is that what you write about on your blog is in the public domain from the minute you click on the publish button. Just because you’re participating in the “free love” world of blogging doesn’t mean that criticisms of your boss or employer will be less damaging – to you AND your boss.

2) Understand your working enviroment…. Some employers are less controlling than others. Some enjoy public debate and enjoy your independent critiques of their business and management style…. some won’t. Be sure you have a clear understanding of your employer’s position on these matters.

3) Use your common sense…. No employer will be happy with you broadcasting confidential commercial information over the “Interweb”, whether it’s future product plans, unannounced customers or the rumors you heard about how the company will probably miss the quarter from a friend in the finance department. These may sound far fetched but you’d be surprised. If you are unsure about something then ask your manager and document it. The best rule of thumb is that if you are unsure then err on the side of caution.

For the employer:

1) King Canute got wet…. As the number of bloggers continues to grow, there is a growing probability that some of your staff will or are already blogging. Acknowledge that fact and put in place a plan to deal with it.

2) Embrace blogs….. Employee blogs, either inside or outside the firewall, have the potential to make a positive contribution to your business. Find out who is blogging and why. Find out how you can support them.

3) Help your staff blog…. Most companies have clear implemented policies on employee usage of e-mail and the Internet. Consider having a similar policy for blogging – not for the purpose of censorship – but to help staff clearly understand what behavior and content is acceptable. The last thing you want to do is drive employee blogs underground.

A number of people have already published suggested corporate and personal guidelines for blogging, here are a few examples:

• Ray Ozzie @ Groove Networks
• Tim Bray at Sun and their Policy for Public Discourse
• George Dafermos on Corporate blog policy
• Rebecca Blood’s Weblog Ethics
• Microsoft’s Jorgen Thelin’s personal guidelines

Personal blogs, when written with good old fashioned common sense, can benefit the individual and the employer.  However, straying from that path into confidential information, personal criticism or other related areas will damage both parties… to use an Irish phrase… a bit of ‘cop on’ goes a long way.

Addendum:

On a closely related topic, Jeremy Pepper today has a post on “Blogs and Libel” which includes interviews with  David E. McCraw, Counsel for the New York Times and a local Arizona attorney.

“It’s (a blogger being sued for libel) going to happen that someone will blog, and the response will be a lawsuit. Look at all the high school journals with compromising photos of friends. It’s going to be something that willl be sued over – an intra-high schol suit that won’t get major coverage.

With blogs now being published under the writer’s name, and easily identifiable and writing on public topics, there’s no reason why blogs are not being sued for libel.”

 

In my previous post I referenced Phil Gomes‘ view on why he doesn’t feel the need to rush to the defence of the PR profession. I also referenced Andy Lark‘s thoughts on transparency. When I was writing the post, I didn’t think the two would come together quite as quickly as they have.  Let me explain.

Two incidents I read about this morning brought both issues into focus.

News that Burson-Marsteller’s astroturfing on behalf of the bromine industry has been called out by the Center for Media and Democracy isn’t a surprise to anyone.  These ridiclous industry-backed “think tanks” staffed by PR flacks (I hate that term, but it’s appropriate in this context) bring this business and profession into disrepute.  This isn’t about communication ladies and gentlemen, this is about subterfurge and at best grey propoganda.

I won’t speak on behalf of others, but it says nothing to me about Public Relations, as I practice and understand it.  Furthermore, as a consumer, I find it distasteful and dishonest. Unfortunately no one cares.  As long as there’s money to be made, there will be organizations and individuals interested in grabbing it regardless of the consequences. This is where I begin to agree with Phil’s thoughts.  There is no blood on my hands so to speak, I am happy to criticize these practices, but I also accept that my criticism will do nothing to change the practice.

The problem with Andy’s PROTS idea is that you’ll find the only people willing to sign up will be the people who have nothing to hide.  Those operating in the murky underworld will stay there, happily counting the unmarked bills that are passed their way (I’m imagining the retainer being handed over in a dark car park).

So deception is reality to destroy an old PR adage.

But deception happens in many ways. Another incident I read today served to show just how stupid some marketing and PR people are in trying to create these deceptions.

If you’re planning some online marketing programs there’s something you should be aware of.  It’s really quite easy to track your identity.  It’s important to know that, particularly if you’re planning some really “clever” viral marketing ploy.  Ah yes, following some fantastic ground coffee and a nice danish pastry, you came up with a great viral campaign for your client.

“Let’s pretend we’re students, then we can target bloggers and get a whole viral marketing thing going.”

“What a great and unique idea! Let’s do it!”

One word: Stop.

Stop before you do more damage than good.  In the first place what you are suggesting is unethical – and if I’m expected to call unethical practice in PR, I’ll do the same for the rest of the marketing function.  Your mediocre attempts at hiding your real identity will, in all probability, fail.  The result of your actions will be, best-case, that you make your organization look like buffoons and worst-case you do serious damage to your client and your employer’s reputation.

Unfortunately this post is too late for the big brains over at Ogilvy. Oh yes.  Following the well beaten track of  “students” who are actually married, overweight marketers, Ogilvy have kicked out a blog outreach campaign posing as students.  I kid you not.  And what brand you may ask is all this sneaking around designed to promote?  Why American Express obviously. Obviously.

What a stupid stunt…. oh the vagaries of rhyming slang.

Bjoern Ognibeni, a freelance marketing consultant in Germany, was the recipient of one of these incredibly intelligent pitches.  Unfortunately for the clever agency folks, Bjoern was able to track their IP address all the way back to their danish pastry filled modern offices.

Read the post, heed the lesson.

I’m off for a danish.

Morning,

Things have been, and continue to be, a little crazy work wise, which is a limp excuse for a significant lack of posting recently.  Hopefully things will return to normal later in the week, in the meantime I can relax in the knowledge that there’s loads of interesting PR/Marketing posting going on elsewhere.  Here’s just a taster…..

 In the aftermath of various people and organizations failing to disclose their vested interests, Andy Lark wonders aloud about transparency for communicators.  There’s no doubt this is a growing issue, particularly in the ever changing web of content, links and opinions, but is there a way forward?  Andy, building on David Berlind’s idea of a Journalist’s Online Transparency System (JOTS), suggests a Public Relations Online Transparency System (PROTS).

“PROTS would cover a whole range of ground. It might include protocols for using third party spokespeople. And the use of anonymous spokespeople. In this instance, transparency is greater than anonymity. In other words, say who you are, what your title is and what you are saying. Don’t hide behind the veil of “spokesperson”.”

(David has some additional thinking on JOTS here.)

 

 Trevor Cook reports that, following his acceptance of an invitation to participate in a panel session at a Hill & Knowlton briefing on blogging, the invitation was rescinded because:

“….management didn’t feel ‘comfortable with presenting someone from a competitive agency as a speaker at one of our own events’.”

Petty, and ridiculous are words that jump to mind.  Why invite him in the first place? Is it any wonder PR practitioners aren’t taken seriously….

 

 Trevor also has posted an interview with Gerry McCusker, author of Talespin, a book on PR disasters.

“Talespin came to me after a non-PR pal got enmeshed in a PR disaster and when he relayed his plight, I wondered how many other people had had similar brushes with PR gaffes. Research showed there were numerous cases. And as someone who’s proud of my PR career, I wanted to show the complexity and perils of the PR arena so that people realised the skillset involved in executing good PR and the pitfalls we face. And if the book strikes people as an informative and enjoyable read, then that’s great, too.”

 

 Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson have released their sixth PR podcast (you should really be listening to these). This week’s installment includes discussion on the Superbowl, Armstrong Williams, Steven Phenix’s call for PR people to stand up and be counted and an interview with Noah Acres.

 

 Phil Gomes has a very interesting post on why he’s not prepared to defend PR – because it doesn’t need it…

“So, I’m answering this blogosphere-wide question by not answering it: I have absolutely nothing to apologize for, or defend, by working in public relations. There is a very high probability that you don’t either. Is PR “necessary?” Well, I have a role in business and the mediasphere and I do my best within that role. Like I said earlier, on most days I even enjoy it. That’s good enough for me. I have engaged in my profession honestly, holding the needs of my clients and a resolute respect for the mediasphere in the absolute highest regard. Likely, so have you.”

 

 Personally I never know how to handle these things on this blog, but I think it’s worth noting that David Parmet, a PR practitioner, contributor to Gaping Void and someone who often adds a lot of value by way of comments to my regular ramblings has been let go. If anyone needs some PR brain power they should look his direction. Proof that every cloud has a silver lining, David plans to kick off a specific PR-Marketing blog in the near future.

“I�ve been in and out of the PR agency world since 1997. I�ve seen the boom, the bust and the alleged recovery. I�ve worked with some folks who �get it� and some who think that controlling the message is what we are supposed to do…. There�s a lot of fear in the air. The agencies fear the clients, the media and the real possibility of missing the Next Big Thing�.”

 

Well, I am snowed under at the moment, so my planned disertation on the wonders of Public Relations and why PR is necessary will have to wait.

But in a vain effort to remain true to the spirit of Steven’s initiative here’s something:

“I love PR because your friends don’t understand what you do and your mother always wants to know why your name isn’t in the paper.”

And here’s some Technorati tags to confuse everyone… PR, Advertising, Marketing

Steven Phenix, a PR practitioner in Austin Texas, who is the owner of another new PR blog has been in touch regarding an idea he’s had in kick starting a grass roots campaign to “help raise the perception of the public relations industry?”.

He says:

“I’m growing tired of defending my avocation and I’m concerned that the actions of one agency might ultimately affect the fortunes of us all.  I’m also concerned that as Congress goes forward with its investigation that the reputation of the industry will further decline.”

 

His plan is as follows:

“So this Friday I’m proposing that all of us in the PR blogging community devote a post-or two-to why we are necessary, how we make an impact or to simply what we respect and love about this industry.  My hope is that our contributions will create somewhat of a buffer zone of online goodwill that will hold up no matter what befalls us next.”

<!– D(["mb","

rn

I’m not telling you what to write. rnNor am I asking you to even link this campaign back to me or my blog rn(though I wouldn’t fight you if you did). rnHowever, for the online unity of this campaign, please include the phrase rn"PR is necessary…" and the following tags:

rn

rn

href="http://technorati.com/tag/Public+relations" rel="tag">Public rnrelations</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/PR" rnrel="tag">PR</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Advertising" rnrel="tag">Advertising</a>, <a rnhref="http://technorati.com/tag/Marketing" rnrel="tag">Marketing</a><p></p>

rn

rn

Additionally, if you have suggestions on how to improve on this campaign, rnplease don’t hesitate to contact me.

rn

rn

Regards,

rn

“,1] ); //–>

Now from reading his blog,  I suspect Steven has a dual purpose here, however, it’s all in a good cause. So I’m in.

 

If anyone wants to post their opinions, but they don’t have a blog, I’m happy to post them here on your behalf.

 

Lemme know….

 

Footnote:

• For more information go to Steven’s blog.