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Some thoughts and opinions on the Public Relations profession and industry
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9/30/2002
PR Industry...errr...enjoys robust growth? Amidst the doom and gloom surrounding the PR business in the current downturn, here's some research that bucks the trends. The tenth annual Thomas L. Harris/Impulse Research PR Client Survey which surveyed 1,540 participants across twenty four industries found internal PR budgets up twenty four percent, whilst budget for external agencies grew nineteen percent. Other good news is that internal PR owners satisfaction with their agency is up five percent. A very interesting and IMHO worrying statistic is that spending on Internet communications is down from thirteen percent in 2000 to five percent. Finally the top read industry publications are PRWeek, Advertising Age, ADWEEK, O'Dwyer's Newsletter and PR Strategist. [Comments] The ultimate press release..... Now there are some basic requirements from a press release. I'm sure you know them. The "When, Who, How, What and Where' yardstick is always a useful place to start. But not everyone follows these guidelines. Oh no. For some people keeping the news a mystery is what's important. On Friday I happened upon one of the best examples of "confusion" as news. The press release in question was issued by Corum Group and it's definetely worth a read, in the same way you are tempted to glance at the wreckage of an accident on the other side of the road...and don't forget to check the quote...it's a masterpiece. 9/27/2002
Newly discovered PR & Marketing Blogs.... I've come across some PR and marketing blogs recently, John Mudd has a regularly updated PR blog.... Rick E Bruner's Internet marketing/advertising weblog.... Robert Loch's Internet Marketing Strategy and News... bBlog, "the sales, mktg and business weblog" and of course Anne Holland's SherpaBlog "Are webloggers journalists or just writers?"... That was a question posed as part of a very interesting panel discussion which recently took place at the University of California Graduate School of Journalism. The panel included three journalists, Dan Gillmor, Scott Rosenberg and J.D. Lasica, two long-time bloggers, Rebecca Blood and Meg Hourihan and an audience of over seventy people. A report on the panel is available at the always excellent Online Journalism Review. 9/26/2002
How is your IR and PR mix?... With the ongoing corporate scandals, the focus on governance and communications has never been tighter. So how do you manage your IR? How do you integrate your IR and PR activity? Yesterday I happened upon a study [PDF] conducted earlier this year by Businesswire and Investor Relations Business magazine, which found that 71 percent of companies hadn't consolidated PR and IR. More surprising (to me anyway) 16 percent of companies said that their PR function reports to the head of IR. Have a read of the study, it's clear the need for co-operation between IR and PR has never been greater. 9/24/2002
E-mail isn't dead yet..... The advent of e-mail has changed the professional lives of PR people irrevocably. It's faster, more efficient and easier to manage than phone and fax, but it has also brought additional pressure, information overload and spam. Spam is the big worry, as the volume grows, so E-mail's effectiveness is reduced and it becomes harder to rise above the noise. (By the way Cloudmark continues to impress!) But the spammers haven't won yet. A survey just published by Digital Impact Inc. (excuse their Flash) shows that that 79 percent of respondents have a neutral-to-positive view of e-mail marketing and 71 percent have purchased a product or service based on e-mail marketing. Rather than killing e-mail, spam is benefitting those who utilize permission marketing techniques and target e-mail commuication at people who care. There are lessons there for PR. On a related matter, MarketingSherpa have published "The E-Mail Marketer's Guide: Hard Data for 2002" that looks at the use and success of e-mail marketing. Among the findings, e-mail marketing accounted for 15 percent of online sales last year - an increased of 12 percent year-on-year. 64 percent of Internet users check their e-mail at least twice a day and about one third of all e-mail is spam. You can purchase the report here. 9/23/2002
"The secret to lying is telling people what they want to hear..." Thanks to Dave Winer for a link to a very interesting story from the San Francisco Chronicle on the dot.com craze. Nothing new there you might think, but this one looks at the role the media played in the hype. Very interesting piece. 9/20/2002
Unspamming yourself... If you put your e-mail address at the end of a press release, or if you are on mailing lists or have your contact details on a web site, you are, no doubt, getting spammed. There's nothing worse than coming into the office and spending half and hour adding another fifty addresses to your junk filter. At the same time you have to be careful, because as a communicator, any legitimate e-mail is important. What are you to do? I've found Cloudmark and although not perfect, I have to say I am impressed by it. It's easy to use, free (so far!), and has already caught all my existing spam and is very good at catching new spams as they arrive. It works by monitoring the spams you are getting and matching those with the spam lists of other users. So without doing anything you are getting an always up-to-date spam net. You can download it for free from the Cloudmark web site. Different strokes for different folks.. If you ever wanted a graphical illustration of the diversity of the PR business, then the latest issue of the New Yorker is just for you. "This is going to be big" is a feature on Hollywood's PR mavens. It's an intriguing insight into a world of PR that doesn't come close to the work and challenges I face every day - but it's all the more interesting because of it, and you might even pick up something useful from it. It's not available online, and it's in the current issue (September 23, 2002). < Recommended > 9/18/2002
Putting news on the wire... How many of us have spent a lot of time evaluating the different newswires. Selection normally comes down to personal preference as the differences on the surface are hard to spot. Jon Boroshok takes a look at the different newswire services and wonders does it matter? Care and feeding instructions.... "Like it or not, we need each other. You need us to cover the products you're responsible for, whether they're your own creations or you work for a public relations firm responsible for getting coverage for your company's products. We need information from you in order to get our stories done." For anyone working with the media who hasn't seen the Internet Press Guild's guide to "The Care and Feeding of the Press" it's definitely worth a read. A time to stop and face the (shower) curtain.... Although far and few between, there are some occasions when a PR professional has to stop and evaluate is there any point fighting what is inevitably a losing battle. After all there are only so many times you can defend the indefensible. I think PR representatives for former Tyco Chairman L. Dennis Kozlowski must feel they are looking down the barrel of a gun. Dennis' personal expenses are no laughing matter - $6,000 for a shower curtain, $2,200 for a wastebasket, $1,650 for a (paper) notebook, a $17,100 traveling toilette box, a $445 pin cushion, $5,960 for sheets and the piece de resistance $1m of company funds for his wife's birthday in Sardinia.... [more] 9/17/2002
Searching for solace... The reality of life online, and something that affects most PR people, is that the greatest source of web traffic (globally) for most web sites comes from Google. Although there are always exceptions, Google reigns the search engine world. Of course we shouldn't lose sight of the reason why Google is #1 - simply it's fast, it's easy and it's accurate. As with all market leaders, not everyone agrees that Google's leadership position is such as good idea and Google has achieved the highest possible compliment - their own NGO! Google Watch's mission is to "look at how Google's monopoly...". They have released their policy document: "PageRank: Google's Original Sin". Doc Searls doesn't buy the argument and IMHO until something better comes along I'd agree with Doc. If you need to find something in a hurry Google is the best means of filtering the Web. And of course you can do it by e-mail :-) 9/16/2002
Come together right now Over the weekend I spent some time re-reading The Cluetrain Manifesto. I am sure that many of you have already read it, for those of you who haven't I recommend you purchase it. The Cluetrain has, in many respects, become a victim of it's own success. For some people it has become part of the dotcom culture, but to dismiss it lightly would be a grave error. The Cluetrain Manifesto has a lot to offer communications professionals across all marketing disciplines. Personally, my only (small) gripe with the book is that it can come across as a little too idealistic. It tends to ignore the realities of heavier workloads, increased pressure and less support. But it excels at challenging you to evaluate how you are communicating, how you are trying to engage your audiences and the effectiveness of your efforts. The Cluetrain encourages you to step back from the usual (and familiar) corporate speak and to instead engage with people one-on-one. If ever there was a theme for PR on the Internet, this is it. As it states in Thesis 26: "Public Relations does not relate to the public. Companies are deeply afraid of the markets." If you don't have it, buy it. If you have it, read it again. Finally I can't finish without mentioning The Gluetrain Manifesto which takes a satirical look at the Cluetrain. In particular their version of the Cluetrain's 95 theses always brings a smile to my face: 1. Markets are conversations. Conversations are markets. Markets are he as you are we and we are all together. - Indeed Read on.... The Internet is dead, long live the Internet It's probably eight years since the Internet really began to infiltrate the mainstream. From its discovery by the masses to the hype and subsequent failure of the dotcom entrepreneurs, the Internet has rarely been out of the news. But now it no longer demands the airtime or column inches it once did. This is probably the strongest single indicator that the Internet has successfully taken its place alongside our traditional media outlets. An air of realism has taken hold. It's now clear that unlike the more outlandish visions of the pre-bust dotcoms, we won't be spending all day in our bedrooms working and playing online. In fact we kind of like meeting people in person. The early expectations for the Internet have been tempered by human behaviour. The Internet has revolutionized communications and as communicators we now have a whole new set of challenges and opportunities. But guess what, traditional face-to-face contact continues to be the most effective means of communication. People still buy newspapers, listen to the radio and watch TV. Just as in the past, the advent of radio didn't kill print, the Internet has changed the balance of the media landscape but not removed the incumbents. That said the Internet does have one other unique characteristic that makes it different to the incumbents. And this characteristic will continue to challenge Public Relations practitioners long after webvan, sock puppets and the Industry Standard fade from the memory. Innovation. Working with TV, radio and print the major challenge is keeping on top of new contacts and programs or titles - particularly in the current media climate. But the Internet as a media hasn't stopped evolving. There are continual new developments that affect how we reach audiences. And while we must remain cogniscant of new websites and online writers, the innovation I am talking about is more fundamental than that. The popularity of the Weblog is a good example of Internet innovation that can positively or adversely affect our clients - and it won't be the last. All PR professionals will need to keep on top of new technologies, channels and means of reaching audiences. Adding further complexity to the mix, every industry is different, every vertical market is different. And these differences are not necessarily as simple as different web sites, because automotive suppliers may use the Internet differently to software developers. Different tools, channels and web sites. Do you measure the success of your different tactics online? Do you know how people find your client's site? More than any other media before it, the Internet demands we track, measure and evaluate activities closely. Not just in terms of PR's performance and ROI - though that's essential - but in terms of how and what your clients' audiences are doing online. The Internet has provided Public Relations with a dynamic media outlet, that offers more accurate data on the success (and failure) of PR campaigns than ever before. But it also presents challenges. Get a head start and understand how your clients' audiences are interacting online. Finding out and testing new techniques could be one of the most valuable exercises you ever undertake. [Comments?] 9/12/2002
New Business not getting any easier... The Holmes Report have done a nice job redesigning their web site - have a look. They have an interesting (if a little depressing) piece on how business development for PR agencies isn't getting any easier, and in many cases is getting even more difficult (and costly). Why are they Dell-aying the job search? One of the more intriguing corporate PR stories of the week has been reported in O'Dwyer's PR Daily. In an official statement from Dell, Tom Green, senior vice president of law and administration states that Dell have ceased their search for a global head of marketing and communications and that their existing VP, Elizabeth Allen is actually OK after all. I hope Ms. Allen is taking full advantage of this situation with her senior management team. On one hand it is obviously very pleasing for her that they at last recognize her abilities, but it must be truly annoying that they initiated this in the first place. Green's statement reads: "At Dell, we periodically explore the outside market for strong senior talent that could potentially strengthen and enhance our internal capabilities. We recently initiated this process for a global marketing and communications leader. After completing an exhaustive review, we are convinced that our Vice President of Corporate Communications, Elizabeth Allen, provides Dell with the most effective and strategic communications leadership for the company. We know that to achieve our ambitious goals for the future, we need the experience, customer-focused leadership and passion that Elizabeth has brought to our senior team. Therefore, we have ended our external search." Well done Elizabeth Allen, now drive home your advantage! 9/11/2002
"No legacy is so rich as honesty" Mr. Shakespeare was never as accurate when it came to Public Relations. In a world that throws up an increasing number of anomalies, a world where the Internet has created a new democracy, where information (both true and false) flows faster and easier, with less control, than ever before, never has Public Relations had a more important role. I'm not talking about spinning, lying or any of the other dark arts of our profession. Rather I am talking about the sensible, adult management of communications, good counsel to those who face difficulty from actual or percieved missteps. O'Dwyer PR has an excellent piece by Fraser Seitel (you have to love his understated e-mail address: fraser@publicrelationsguru.com :-) on the benefits of being up front and honest about an issue. It's a good read. What worries me is that people still believe keeping their head down - or worse lying - will solve their problems. When you dust off your old copy of PR 101, you'll find it has always told us that you have to get the bad news out. (Unless there is some very good reason why you shouldn't). As Phil Gomes points out, PR isn't rocket science. Be honest, be accessible and show you regret the mistake(s) and that you are striving to fix the problem. Keeping your mouth shut normally encourages a trivial problem to escalate out of control. Seitel's piece does a good job of illustrating best and worst practice. Jack Welch's legacy is shrinking with every column inch - a good benchmark for silence - and an illustration that money isn't the only measure of wealth. Some more reading... Yesterday, I received Ketchum's Technology Practice's newsletter, TechEdgenews into my inbox. It's well put together and there's some interesting stuff in there. 9/10/2002
Catching up on some reading material..... Instant Messaging (IM) has taken over as the technology de jour this week and there seems little doubt that IM has implications for anyone in the communications business. It's permission marketing at it's best. There are two articles I came across, one from the Wall Street Journal (published on MSNBC) entitled "IM takes off in the corporate world" and there's also a piece from the Internet Advertising Report at Internet.com on Using Instant Messaging for Marketing. Network World covers a round-table from the Seybold Publishing Conference that looked at the impact of Weblogs on the publishing industry. Update on Publicis Dialog...(Proud Member of the Flash Hall of Shame) Thanks to Anthony Parcero who pointed out that Publicis site doesn't recognize Mozilla... Also in case you haven't already visited Skip Intro (shame on you) click here. 9/09/2002
Flash Hall of Shame #20... Greenough Communications If anyone who happens upon this posting,can tell me, exactly what this Flash intro is supposed to represent or achieve, I'd really like to know. Answers to me via e-mail - oh and turn off your speakers. Flash Hall of Shame #19.... PR21 They should know better :-) [Not for people sensitive to flashing lights] Auction Update So the Rose, Stein & Associates eBay auction has ended. The last bid was for $3,551 but it didn't reach the company's (hidden) reserve. Anyone smell a rat? Cheap publicity stunt? Well it was always a stunt but if they set the reserve artificailly high, knowing that no one would bid that high then it becomes a cheap and nasty stunt. Anyone have any comments? 9/06/2002
A new twist on the wire.... There have been a number of high profile cases where press release wire services have been used by third parties to distribute false information which has materially affected a company's stock price. Now a new case has emerged and this time there's a twist. In the previous cases the releases, which were sent across Internet Wire, were hoaxes designed to engineer stock price fluctuations. However this time, the company in question, eConnect, allegedly sent out false press releases themselves! According to PR Week, eConnect's CEO, Thomas Hughes, was indicted last month for attempting to increase eConnect's stock price by issuing false releases. David Armon, president of the Americas for PR Newswire, who Hughes used for distribution, is quoted as commenting: "Just as we sent out releases for Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco, this one went out because our job is to verify the company issuing the release is really the company issuing it. We are just a distributor." I think that's a fair comment, but if it's true it's another blot on the corporate landscape. 9/04/2002
Flash Hall of Shame #17...Finex Communications Group Finex Communications Group...probably the worst navigation in the world. [Warning: if you have your bullsh*t bingo filter on, please disable prior to entering this website as you'll get a headache from all the hits] 9/03/2002
PR people staying put in troubled times.... The results of a recent poll at the League of American Communications Professionals website found that over thirty three per cent of visitors were remaining at their current job because of the slow economy. Fourteen percent were staying on because of good pay (I thought that was a startling statistic for our business!), twenty eight percent because they enjoy their jobs, twenty two percent felt their team was worth staying on for, and THREE percent because of the potential of future advancement! The survey is online here. |