Posts Tagged ‘PR’
May 21st, 2008
At Liberate Media we’ve been tackling one of the biggest issues facing the PR industry today, the skills crisis.
We thought it might be helpful to overview our thoughts on the subject in a podcast, which we’ve used to identify a few of the problems and share some insight into how we’re dealing with the matter.
Let us know your thoughts on the subject.
To Listen or to down load the podcast click here
Digital vs print coverage - which would you prefer?
May 1st, 2008
Rainier PR has launched its Tech PR 2008 report today and it makes for interesting reading, see Stephen Waddington’s post for a brief overview.
The report surveyed 300 senior in-house PR and marketing personnel in the UK’s technology sector, which is pretty much spot-on in terms of our focus.
The most interesting stat for me was this: ‘New media channels are set to overtake traditional print and broadcast as the priority targets for PR professionals.’
Now admittedly the margin was not particularly huge, ‘49 per cent of respondents still cited traditional print media as their main target for PR’…but this is interesting: ‘For 32 per cent it was their last choice.’
This subject is particularly irritating for me, as i know from personal experience that far too often hardcopy coverage is still valued above coverage online. The unfathomable part is that this preference for print coverage seems to be for no reason other than being able to tell the boss, your friends, your mum, your clients, whoever that ‘i’m in the FT/Times/Guardian etc today’.
Ignoring the positive aspects of having your coverage online, such as driving links back to your site, reaching a wider audience and the longevity of the coverage, is quite simply beyond me.
It’s great to see that the balance is being redressed and digital coverage is taking its rightful place.
Top work Rainier! I’ll be referring to this report the next time the topic comes up.
Should PR fight its corner? Or just evolve…
April 18th, 2008
Danny Rogers’ leader article in PR Week raised a common and often debated subject this week. In Danny’s words: ‘Since the beginning of the year there have been several diatribes against the PR industry in the national media, equating it to a malevolent force’.
Nothing new there then eh!
Two quotes from the piece stand out in particular:
Exhibit A: Nick Davies’ book: Flat Earth News, argues PR’s raison d’etre is ‘… that the masses are a political threat whose thinking must be controlled by the techniques of PR’.
and
Exhibit B: A quote from this week’s Independent: ‘The aim (of PR) is to undermine or marginalise independent journalism, control decision-making, and lastly, mystify and misinform the public.’
PR gets a rough ride from the media as it is the media on the receiving end of much of what is wrong with the industry. To be fair their experiences have probably led them to these assumptions/conclusions, and after more than 10 years in the industry i can see why. I have met an assortment of PR professionals over this time, some that i am proud to say are the most intelligent, creative and real people I’ve met, and others well, are not.
So am i here to defend PR? No. Am i here to slate it? Nah. Do i have a point? I hope so…
The point is that as with all industries and stages of evolution, the strongest, or in fact the most suited to their environment, survive. PR’s evolution is based on moving away from the controlling instincts that the quotes accuse us of. Those that persist in employing these outdated models in a new environment will be found out and go the way of the famous flightless bird from Mauritius (featured above).
I think many of us, especially in the digital space, have already moved away from controlling the message/audience/issue. I feel a great many agencies and individuals have changed inline with their environment and as a result they are flourishing.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think PR needs another slagging match, or even defend itself to these allegations. What PR needs to do is understand how communications has changed, not just on the web but in all walks of life.
So, should PR fight its corner as Danny says? Or just get on with it, shed this archaic image and prove the doubters wrong.
Crisis management storm brewing for O2
April 17th, 2008
O2 is not faring well in the press or public eye at the moment with its blunders over 3G speeds, and PR gaffe where it called readers of The Register “techie nerds”… and I’m about to make matters worse for them!
I’m unfortunate enough to be an O2 customer. My Blackberry is my lifeline. So when my data connection went dead yesterday morning, I phoned O2 up to see what was going on.
The customer service person I spoke to knew “exactly what was going on” before I’d described the problem, which was enough to get the alarm bells ringing.
I was then informed that O2 had moved to a new billing system over the past couple of days, and that all my tariff details had been lost. There was no record of the fact that I was a Blackberry user, had a data tariff, or the number of minutes or texts I received each month. Hence the reason for my Blackberry saying “data connection refused” for the past couple of days.
I was asked to describe my tariff so that the problem could be manually corrected! I’ve been promised that my data bolt-on will be reconnected tomorrow.
In true O2 style there was no apology, no offer of compensation for the impact this might have had on my business, and no explanation.
So in true social media style, I’m breaking the story here!
The new billing system has been implemented across O2’s entire customer base, so I’m guessing if you haven’t picked up on a problem yet, you will when your next bill arrives! I’d love to hear how O2 iPhone customers have been affected.
The final irony in the tale is that when the post arrived later today, I had a letter from O2 about the new billing system, entitled “a change for the better”!
Would you work in-house with your clients?
April 10th, 2008
Today’s question focuses on a nightmare scenario for many PRs; working in-house with your clients. Traditionally this hasn’t always been the most welcoming invitation, but at Liberate Media we’re trialling the idea of placing consultants with our clients.
Let me make it clear, we’re not outsourcing our consultants over a significant period, it’s more along the lines of a weekly secondment to assist both parties in communication, news gathering and simply being on the ground to action activity immediately.
We’ve found this practice to be extremely useful so far, and would welcome feedback from others that have tried similar ideas, either agency-side or in-house. Did it work? Is it a long term solution? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Having done it myself, i think it certainly can and does work. However, i’m not sure it would work in every case. To make it workable, i think the client needs to have the volume and quality of news opportunities and/or opinion-focused response opportunities to justify having a member of the team in the office, and in our case that has been a defining factor.
We’ve also realised that in-house working has many other benefits, such as helping the client to understand PR processes and also to get to grips with the demands of the media. Beyond tactical issues, it also allows us as PRs to truly appreciate the client’s vision and react to breaking news in real-time, as well of course as cementing those all-important client relationships.
Let me paint a picture for you. You’ve set up a brilliant interview, but the client isn’t answering the phone - problem solved, you just walk over to them and tell them how important it is, they’re on the phone in five minutes. Need a document approving? No problem, forget email just carry your laptop to them and let them read it there and then - beautiful!