Alright, the need to integrate marketing and comms work these days makes a world of sense, trust me, I get it, but you know, when that need requires competitors to come together and work directly with each other, perhaps in ways they might not otherwise, it really forces you to rethink what were once comfortable business boundaries. Case in point, I’m spearheading a social media program and working with an ad firm (that offers social media services), a PR agency (that offers social media services) and a web shop (that, yes, offers social media services). It’s unique for sure, and yeah, at times, it tests an already unhealthy paranoia most service folks have over their IP, but it’s also becoming more common, especially in this market, so maybe in an odd sort of way it’s just slowly turning into the new normal?
Updates from April, 2009
-
Integrated Programs Are The “New Normal”
mike manuel
-
Social Media Will Lead Interactive Spending
mike manuel
So an upcoming Forrester report (for release, I’m told, later this spring) indicates growth in social media budgets will outpace all other forms of interactive marketing — they even have this colorful chart, so shit, this *must* be true. Now don’t get me wrong, these numbers are all fine and good, but here’s the problem with the data: the dollars for social media programs are coming from *all sorts of pockets* within companies — PR, HR, IT, Web, customer support, etc. — social media programs are by no means the exclusive line item for corporate branding budgets. And you know, generally speaking, I think that’s a healthy thing because we’re still seeing a lot of interesting applications that cross organizational boundaries. -
The Web Divides: PR vs. Advertising
mike manuel
Alright, I guess it’s inevitable that amidst this economic shake up, we would return to the age-old argument of Public Relations vs Advertising, and debating where your business dollars are better spent, and you know, whatever, that’s fine, it’s not without good reason.
In fact, I’ll admit, this was a hot topic at last week’s SMC meetup, and again at this week’s PRSA International conference, but here’s the thing: if we (the PR industry) are going to collectively make the business case for a shift in corporate spending, we need better leverage, and man, if there was *one thing* we should be leveraging to our advantage in this argument, you’d think it’d be all the benefits and potential of the social web for business, right?
Sadly, the PR industry, for being inextricably tangled with the web, continues to oddly struggle with how best to use it for communications — and therefor, articulate its value and return in this larger argument we’re all trying to make.
And yeah, to be fair, the ad industry is really struggling with this too, so in a big way, the challenge is just seeing which industry can get past its own tired modes and models of business and acclimate the fastest to new attention, usage habits and trending patterns on the web.
For what it’s worth, I think the PR industry, for better or worse, can actually win this race by doing two things:
First, by each of us assuming personal responsibility for where the industry sits today and how we’ll each move it forward. Seriously, to win this bigger argument, we have to become smarter practitioners through professional education, personal learning (through adoption?) and, well, by having a curiosity and a willingness to experiment and try on different approaches to communications on the web; and
Second, by realizing that once separate or ancillary business disciplines are now a much, much bigger part of the communications charter. Things like web development, search engine marketing, media production, data analytics, etc., have all become increasingly valuable for communications purposes, and because of that, PR departments (and PR businesses) can no longer afford to draw dotted lines into these disciplines. Something I’ll be blogging about separately, soon-ish.
Net-net, I think a lot of this argument for PR comes down to how diligent and creative we as professionals and as an industry can be about rethinking and reshaping a role that’s been otherwise comfortable, and largely misunderstood the past few decades. If we make the stretch, then right on, we get to reset the terms for determining PR’s business value, hopefully its perception too.
And if we don’t, well, I guess we remain neatly (and reluctantly) relegated to a few bullets in the next business plan. Either way, it rests on us.
-
RFPs, RIP
mike manuel
A friend sent me this AdWeek article, it’s a contributed piece from an agency exec on the fleeting utility of RFPs. It’s one of those write-ups you read, nodding your head in agreement throughout, only to conclude, sadly, that things will never change….
“The fact of the matter is that the pitch process no longer works, for clients or agencies. As with so many other vestiges of our rapidly changing industry, it is time to abandon the RFP.”
This is something I want to dig into more, especially in the context of social media business pitches and projects. More to come once I can clear out all the post-vacation muck.
Technorati Tags: adweek, marketing business, RFP
-
‘Real’ Brand Engagement
mike manuel
“People want to engage with brands!”
Huh? I’m as guilty as anyone for propagating new media rhetoric, but can we please put this expression to bed?
People don’t want to engage with brands, they want to engage with the people behind the brands.
Maybe I’m splitting hairs, I’ll admit that the difference as I’m stating it here is mostly how a communicator defines new media trends verses an advertiser, but I think all the indicators seem to point to a shift, a belief, that brands are no longer a fabricated shell of products, experiences and contrived corporate messaging.
The people inside a company are its brand and the people outside the company already know this, so I’d like to see a move away from cute little brand experiments and their associated idioms, and a concerted focus on real brand engagement.
Discuss.
Technorati Tags: brands, Marketing, PR, advertising
-
Blogging for Bucks
mike manuel
Blogkits is pushing a new advertising service for small publishers:
"Bloggers finally have a new way to make a buck with their weblogs. The BlogKits BlogMatch Network is an opportunity for anyone who owns a blog to be matched with businesses, marketers and/or advertisers looking to partner with niche-filled, content specific, quality blogs."
-
Google Seeking Ad Firm, PR Firm Next?
mike manuel
Advertising Age reports that Google’s considering departing from its all-in-house marketing strategy and is in talks now with a few large ad firms. If this is true, I suppose it’s not that big of a stretch to think they might be considering PR firms too. The guys at SiliconBeat posted this excerpt from the November issue today:
"Just three months after going public, Google has been talking with a
few large general advertising agencies, several industry executives
have confirmed. A Google representative declined to comment on whether
the company is conducting a review. Hiring a traditional ad firm would
indicate a major break with Google’s past methods of brand development.
In lieu of advertising, the company relied on word-of-mouth brand
development and the strengths of its search engine. But bringing in
either a hot creative shop or a large network with global reach would
likely lead to bigger media buys."Update: John Battelle puts the rumors to bed: "I lobbed a call into some folks I know over at Google, and they
confirm, this report is off base. Yes, Google talks to agencies now and
again, and yes they use them for relatively minor stuff like placing
B2B stuff in support of AdSense and the like, but no, there is no major
review for a branding campaign."[More via Andy Beal, Church Marketing Sucks]