There were two basic concepts that were tackled in the discussion - Purpose of PR Agencies and the evolving existence of social networking sites. Which one does the work of public relations better? Is the latter a threat to the business of PR Companies? Are they each other’s enemy or a companion that could further endeavors?
As the name implies, Public Relations (PR) needs a good relationship with the public to fulfill image enhancement of a brand/entity. During the course of the discussion, advertising was distinguished from PR by defining the former as something that entails conscious effort from the brand or advertiser to promote while the latter lets the others – the consumers or public – do the talking (Shankman 2009). This is why the panelists suggest that PR practitioners find mediums where everyone, including the PUBLIC, could be a player (Shankman 2009). The language, as they have pointed out, should be simple enough for everyone to relate to (Solis 2009). The audience being able to say what they want and serve as jurors of products. The PR experts would act as listeners instead of the traditional controller of information (Solis 2009). The PR pros, instead of spoon feeding information to the public, would now sit down and listen, be spoon fed by the public with their opinions. This is precisely what Social Networking provides - an arena to which a community could talk about anything, including your product.
The likes of tweeter, face book and my space, are getting more popular these days. Brian Solis, one of the panelists, in his blog dated October 17, 2008 cited that Twitter.com had a significant increase of about 440% visits from about the same time the previous year (Solis 2008). Evidently, a critical audience online has been assembled. The communities are already there, available to any advertiser who wants to reach their market directly (Shankman 2009). Why wait for a magazine or newspaper to be picked up, when the market are sitting right in front of their computers.
At the start of the forum, two basic principles – PURPOSE OF PR AGENCIES and EXISTENCE OF SOCIAL NETWORK SITES seem to clash – one might die due to another’s emergence. But at this point, there is a need to distinguish dying from changing trends. The above discussion implies that social network sites are good avenues to do PR. Who will do it and how it shall be done would still best come from the experts – the PR Agencies. When Shankman (2009) said, “In 24-36 months PR, Press Releases, as we know them, will be dead”, he could be referring to the PR instrument – press releases, but not the entity (PR Agencies) behind the article. The panelists suggest that PR is now taking another step - from the primitive one way manipulation to a two way communication. There is always an option for the company to not outsource an agency for this purpose as suggested by Shankman. But again, if you think that the company does not have enough resources, knowledge and talent to push for PR efforts, it would be better to get third party agencies (Portman 2009).
Press Releases as mentioned by Shankman, maybe dead soon but PR Agencies could thrive. This could happen if they rise up to the challenge and learn to adjust to the new game being offered. Solis (2009) couldn’t have said it any better, “we (referring to the PR practitioners) thought we had control, what we really had was the ability to stir or shape perception, that doesn’t change, and we have a greater opportunity now…a greater ability…offered directly by the community”. Two ideas which was at the start of the discussion proves to be opposing, could after all be married. PR Agencies are still essential. They know the rules of PR game. They just have to jive with the changing trend to avoid extinction. And one urgent-interesting medium to explore are social network sites.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Blog #2
http://blog.ogilvypr.com/
As the name goes, this is undoubtedly the smartest advertising blog that addresses public relations and a good job at communicative journalism. The choice of colors and font used is visually appealing. The purpose and objective as detailed in the "ABOUT" section is very informative, well explained features in a simplistic tone, and I am particularly impressed with their knowledge sharing strategy of how they custom plan their programs for clients what they term as 'Digital Influence Strategy' which comprises of four fundamental parts i.e., listening, planning, engagement and measurement. Not to forget the displayed pictures speak volumes about the photographic skills employed on the blog. They are very sharp and some of them are a real treat to have them in a picture album. What I do not like about the content is that since it is an advertising blog, there is no real need for advertisement banners to be displayed; otherwise it is spoiling the fun.
The information presented is quite valuable, as views and comments invited from readers and blogger contribute to a critical insight into advertising as a subject and as a profession. There are case studies that I particularly like in the 'PORTFOLIO' section. With a lot of enriching and educative features, it is reader's delight and I can certainly recommend this blog to students of advertising and mass communications and professionals in the advertising and media related professions. There are several experienced authors on the blog who are a treat to interact with. Ogilvy as a human being is an advertising visionary who set trends ahead of his time. And the culture lives on. This is definitely my favorite advertising blog.
http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/
This blog has simplicity in its visual appeal. The blog site is devoid of any visual clutter. One does not have to spend too much time searching the entire blog. Information content is neat and in a definite order. The font used does make you want to read ahead. There are advertising clips to view the description and comments.
What the reader might not like about the blog site is that there is hardly any information on Tim Nudd( editor). All we can get to see is Tim Nudd giving his analysis on advertisements. One cannot get to view Tim Nudd's professional background and achievements which is also an important credible selling feature. The information is valuable in terms of learning how to interpret advertisements and the various themes. Another nagging thought is that as a reader scrolls down, there is empty blank space to the right which could have been well utilized with some meaningful content or pictures.The USP of this site is 'simplicity'. The author is definitely knowledgeable, but there is no information about his achievement as a practicing professional or as a subject matter expert. This site is worth recommending to friends and students as the advertisement clips are quite engrossing and appealing.
As the name goes, this is undoubtedly the smartest advertising blog that addresses public relations and a good job at communicative journalism. The choice of colors and font used is visually appealing. The purpose and objective as detailed in the "ABOUT" section is very informative, well explained features in a simplistic tone, and I am particularly impressed with their knowledge sharing strategy of how they custom plan their programs for clients what they term as 'Digital Influence Strategy' which comprises of four fundamental parts i.e., listening, planning, engagement and measurement. Not to forget the displayed pictures speak volumes about the photographic skills employed on the blog. They are very sharp and some of them are a real treat to have them in a picture album. What I do not like about the content is that since it is an advertising blog, there is no real need for advertisement banners to be displayed; otherwise it is spoiling the fun.
The information presented is quite valuable, as views and comments invited from readers and blogger contribute to a critical insight into advertising as a subject and as a profession. There are case studies that I particularly like in the 'PORTFOLIO' section. With a lot of enriching and educative features, it is reader's delight and I can certainly recommend this blog to students of advertising and mass communications and professionals in the advertising and media related professions. There are several experienced authors on the blog who are a treat to interact with. Ogilvy as a human being is an advertising visionary who set trends ahead of his time. And the culture lives on. This is definitely my favorite advertising blog.
http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/
This blog has simplicity in its visual appeal. The blog site is devoid of any visual clutter. One does not have to spend too much time searching the entire blog. Information content is neat and in a definite order. The font used does make you want to read ahead. There are advertising clips to view the description and comments.
What the reader might not like about the blog site is that there is hardly any information on Tim Nudd( editor). All we can get to see is Tim Nudd giving his analysis on advertisements. One cannot get to view Tim Nudd's professional background and achievements which is also an important credible selling feature. The information is valuable in terms of learning how to interpret advertisements and the various themes. Another nagging thought is that as a reader scrolls down, there is empty blank space to the right which could have been well utilized with some meaningful content or pictures.The USP of this site is 'simplicity'. The author is definitely knowledgeable, but there is no information about his achievement as a practicing professional or as a subject matter expert. This site is worth recommending to friends and students as the advertisement clips are quite engrossing and appealing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
