I feel fairly comfortable claiming that this is the first PR blog in Hungary. It’s not updated terribly often but it’s notable nonetheless.
Update:
The ever vigilant Constantin Basturea has thankfully been in touch to let me know that the blog is written by Damjanovich Nebojsa and he covered the Global PR Blog Week in his weblog last year. Thanks Constantin!
The Fleishman-Hillard crisis in LA continues apace with news that a former executive has been indicted on 11 felony counts of wire fraud. The firm gave this formal response in December.
Matthew Podboy highlights BusinessWeek’s excellent new technology blog. He also has some interesting comments related to my previous post:
“Online communications is a new tool, not a new tool-shed. If you think it’s a whole new tool-shed that can’t share space with the other tools available to PR consultants – then good luck to you. You’re going to need eyes in the back of your head to deposition the PR consultants who learn this stuff and incorporate it into their on-going programs.”
Jeremy Pepper points out that the PRSA and the Council for PR Firms aren’t criticizing Ketchum for the VNR snafu. Just as well some of the PR blogging community are. It’s nothing personal just poor practice and decision making. Ben Silverman has some additional comments and it looks like the drama is set to run.
PR’s profile is bad enough already without us all being mistaken for advertising executives :-).
A first for PR Opinions a look at Public Relations in Boxing…
“A few years ago I was working a club fight in the Boston area, sitting at ringside near one of the fighter’s corner. At the end of a round the ref looked down at me and said, ‘Get in here and look at him’ I didn’t know what he was talking about. They he yelled at me, ‘For Christ sakes, Doc, get in here and look at him.’ With a somewhat puzzled look on my face, I looked up and said, ‘I’m just the publicist.'”
The UK’s Brand Republic has an article on “Why advertising, marketing and PR pros should blog” written by blogger Bob Cargill.
The media business is facing a challenging competitive market, but instead of the traditional competition from a small number of long-established competitors, the competitive landscape is changing.
As Peggy Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal:
“American journalism is no longer a castle, and you are no longer the serf who cannot breach its walls. The castle doors have been forced open. Other voices have access. Bloggers for instance don’t just walk in and out, they have offices in the castle walls.”
If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you’ll know that I am a passionate believer in incremental change. It’s rare for a new development to completely change or displace an incumbent – regardless of the hyperbole. Instead the new entrant normally takes its place alongside the establishment. Blogs are no different in this regard. Blogs won’t remove the need for traditional media but they are extending the spectrum. I’ve been writing this blog for three years and I still consume newspapers, magazines, radio and TV (as well as innumerous other blogs).
Blogs have created an innovator’s dilemma for the media business. They (and other technologies such as RSS, podcasting etc.) have emerged because first and foremost they have lowered the barriers to entry. Secondly mainstream media have for the most part, become staid and homogenous, reporting broadly the same news and events. Blogs on the other hand tackle far more diverse issues and topics and of course provide a wider spectrum of opinion – though this may or may not be good depending on your point of view.
The major challenge for the media business is that as blogs become widely adopted there will be a change in the media mix. If a consumer reads blogs then they are likely to still read newspapers and magazines, watch TV and listen to the radio – but it’s also likely that the proportionate mix will change. Perhaps the consumer will reduce TV time or read a smaller number of magazines. That’s the challenge.
For Public Relations practitioners the challenge is about understanding that mix. You need to understand where your audience is and how they are finding information. Once you have that valuable information, you need to use it wisely and communicate using the tools your audience prefer. This is why it is so important that this profession steps up and embraces the changes taking place online.
For the media business it’s time to innovate. It’s time to understand your audience, what parts of your business are meeting your customers’ needs and what elements need to evolve and adapt to the changes happening around you.
There’s no reason why the large media incumbents can’t continue to be successful and prosperous, however one thing is for sure, the competitive environment is extending far beyond the simple measures of ratings and circulation. It’s time to embrace change and meet the market. Ignoring these changes will create a whole new generation of extinct companies.
Footnote:
Thanks to Dee Rambeau for the link to Peggy Noonan’s column.
This is a PR blog, though given I am a gadget fiend, I make no apologies for the incursion of technology products from time to time.
At this stage there are few people in the developed world who haven’t seen the Apple’s latest innovation, the Mac mini.
Following the recent company-saving innovations of the iMac and the iPod/iTunes combination, the Mac mini looks like yet another step forward and another graphic demonstration of why we need alternatives to the PC clone makers. The Mac mini starts at $499, though you’d definetely want to increase the memory and hard drive on the basic model. If there’s any justice it will prove a huge success.
In a vain attempt at linking this post to Public Relations… emmm didn’t they get a lot of coverage? OK I admit it’s pure technology envy…
Ketchum would want to re-evaluate their VNR business. Is the revenue worth all the grief they are getting?
The fact they’ve been using Karen Ryan in the past is worrying to say the least, given the uproar that followed previous VNRs. As a result the response to the Armstrong Williams appearance can’t have been a surprise.
Tell me they can’t have been surprised.
Did they even remember the furore around VNRs last year?
This article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has the most daming quote of all:
Meanwhile, at least one descendant of the original founders would rather not hear the Ketchum name again associated with this sort of situation.
Carlton Ketchum, a great-nephew of the two founders, works at an insurance agency in town and has never been a part of the agency business. But the distinctive moniker means people he meets frequently ask if he is related to the firm.
He admits it could be much worse. “I’m glad my last name isn’t Enron.”
As I’ve said before, VNRs do have a role to play. It can provide useful visual background material, but it is not editorial and any parties trying to present it as such have crossed the line between PR and propoganda.
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:
Murphy's Law 