I don't believe that data never lies - it can be configured to mean one thing to one group and another thing to another group. However, the fear of data or the answer of "it depends" can be the undoing of a client relationship for any marketing or advertising agency.
Over the last 20 years, I have sat through so many meetings where the creative execution was only based on the ability of the creative team to produce an incredible presentation - Wow factor! The exercise to find out if it reasonates - is often discounted, or overridden.
It's hard -- in this economy and any other economy -- to realize that the value of WHAT you do is NOT in HOW you do it, but WHY you do it. And once you've done it, can we measure how close the tactic got us to the end goal?
Companies need to articulate the end goal of why. If they can't, then they won't be in business very long.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
Adapt or die...Part 2 the PR story
Too many PR people thought issuing press releases, talking on the phone, sending emails and never executing a program with measurable objectives was enough. Too bad. lots of people will lose their "jobs" but it's about time.
Wow that made people upset.
I'm sorry, but there's no excuse for not providing value to your work. The tools to assess the value delivered by an effective public relations program are widely available and inexpensive to cheap. I'm sorry but the excuses don't apply anymore.
Early in my career, I worked for a PR firm that was owned by a multinational advertising firm. The CEO of the ad firm told us young execs to spend time with our clients -- go to games, go to dinner, invite them to our house -- the president of the PR "side of the house" reinterated later that "PR doesn't have the kind of margins that the advertising teams have" - subtext: don't try to do the same things. The Internet changes all that.
So, I apologize, but don't shoot the messenger.
Wow that made people upset.
I'm sorry, but there's no excuse for not providing value to your work. The tools to assess the value delivered by an effective public relations program are widely available and inexpensive to cheap. I'm sorry but the excuses don't apply anymore.
Early in my career, I worked for a PR firm that was owned by a multinational advertising firm. The CEO of the ad firm told us young execs to spend time with our clients -- go to games, go to dinner, invite them to our house -- the president of the PR "side of the house" reinterated later that "PR doesn't have the kind of margins that the advertising teams have" - subtext: don't try to do the same things. The Internet changes all that.
So, I apologize, but don't shoot the messenger.
Sensitivity at all time high!
Too many PR people thought issuing press releases, talking on the phone, sending emails and never executing a program with measurable objectives was enough. Too bad. lots of people will lose their "jobs" but it's about time. I don't mean to sound cruel, but the days of PR being this ethereal, cloud of mystery must be die and remain dead - even when the good times return.
Good PR is about building relationships - with customers, shareholders, regulators, community, etc. Too often, PR people got wrapped up in the tactic and lost the strategy of why the tactic mattered. I often hear the short-sighted say "issue the PR (meaning press release)" and the questions will go away. And when the PR, crafted by the legal team, fans the flames - the public relations team has to put out the fire or be fired.
It's hard -- in this economy and any other economy -- to realize that the value of WHAT you do is NOT in HOW you do it, but WHY you do it. And once you've done it, can we measure how close the tactic got us to the end goal?
Good PR is about building relationships - with customers, shareholders, regulators, community, etc. Too often, PR people got wrapped up in the tactic and lost the strategy of why the tactic mattered. I often hear the short-sighted say "issue the PR (meaning press release)" and the questions will go away. And when the PR, crafted by the legal team, fans the flames - the public relations team has to put out the fire or be fired.
It's hard -- in this economy and any other economy -- to realize that the value of WHAT you do is NOT in HOW you do it, but WHY you do it. And once you've done it, can we measure how close the tactic got us to the end goal?
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