This article first appeared on Bub.blicio.us on August 13th, 2008. Since that time I’ve heard a tremendous amount of feedback from fellow PR and Marketing professionals who struggle with this very thing- gaining acceptance of PR’s expanding role into the realm of marketing and branding.
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This article has been brewing in my mind for five years but it just kind of sat there, not taking shape, only growing larger in substance. Two blog posts this week have kicked my ass in to gear to finally get initial thoughts down on (e)paper.
Steve Rubel, prominent blogger and, dare I say, PR person, started it off with this. Then Arrington followed up with this.
Both completely reinforce what I’ve long believed:
PR has a branding crisis.
I’ve been in Tech PR for 10 years. I studied PR and communications in college after finding a natural affinity towards the field. The first 6 ½ years of my career was at PR agencies in Silicon Valley, beginning in 1998 right during the hay day. The only thing that mattered was getting press coverage. Everything moved so quickly that the way you proved immediate results for that boat load of money they were throwing at you was by the thud factor, or clip book, as it’s more commonly known.
There was no patience for PR strategy that involved developing deep relationships with customers to turn them into advocates for your brand. The Internet was pretty nascent to most of America so there was no reaching customers directly or being in engaged in blogging and social media. It was all press all the time. With some analysts thrown in for endorsement.
After only four years into my PR career I saw how narrow the definition of “PR” was. Clients would come to us to promote their companies but it was always through the media and rarely through non-traditional “PR” avenues. I witnessed time after time the demand from my clients for creativity in campaigns and promoting the company but some of the best ideas generated to directly connect with the audience were shot down if it didn’t guarantee press coverage. This, to me, missed the point of what PR should ultimately be used for.
