LouHoffman
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Enjoyed your post Cameron.
Great to see HootSuite have the storytelling religion.
Your point about how we talk about our children is a keeper (I might "borrow" this one).
And you're right Red Bull is a poster child for the power of owned media. Actually, wrote a post on Red Bull a couple years ago www.ishmaelscorner.com/2011/06/16/revisiting-the-debate-on-paid-media-versus-owned-media/
Appreciate the pragmatic advice.
And somewhat encouraged to see the average time on my own blog is similar to Spin Sucks (I thought readers were just "fast" with me).
@Howie Goldfarb That's a fair point though I think it's fair to say people gravitate towards people they like ... which brings us back to the chemistry variable.
I agree that chemistry should be part of the decision-making process. But figuring out chemistry through a few interactions can be a challenge. Everyone tends to be on their best behavior during a review process.
It still surprises me how few companies make onsite visits to their short listed agencies. Just through "sheer osmosis," you gain so many cues that play to the chemistry question.
Of course, sometimes this isn't practical, particularly when you're based in a different city that the agency. Still, I bet not even 10% of the companies kicking our tires build in an onsite component.
I think Laura hit the nail on the face with the "J" word.
It's easy to fall into the "jealous" trap. More than a cultural thing, seems like a human thing.
Good reminder to take a big breath and smell the coffee.You had me at "start drinking at 10 am."
Seriously, I enjoyed your post and appreciate the reminder to "love thy client."
Frank,
Thinking on your last point, it is rather odd that properties like Mashable, TechCrunch, etc. haven't reported on Triberr.
But I'm not sure there's anything nefarious going on.
Packaging the Triberr story for mass consumption is not for the squeamish. As they say in the movies, "it's complicated." I like and use the platform, but am still figuring out the functionality myself.
Also, while I can appreciate getting the product right is all consuming for any new venture, the company might benefit from PR help (internal or external). We did a study a couple years ago that showed one if the first moves by any journalist considering a story is to search on [name of company + press room]. Doing this for Triberr doesn't lead to the company's press room. Perhaps the company doesn't have a press room.
It's possible that Triberr has made a conscious decision to depend grass-roots communications. After-all, the people using it are writers ... right? It just could be that underpinning such an approach with basic building blocks like a press room would amplify the grass-roots effort.
@yvettepistorio That's true although the short cut of asking the person to answer via email does save time. Then, the writing is akin to shaping clay. On the other hand, this approach doesn't allow you to probe a question on-the-fly which can lead to content gold.
Unmana,
This is a dynamite post. I'm not sure why more bloggers (even of the corporate variety) don't use this technique.
You're right that the blog as a platform opens doors that otherwise would be shut.
A perfect example is I reached out to Jonathon Green, a lexicographer. With his dictionary just hitting bookstores, I thought he would make an interesting interview on language. He was kind enough to agree to the interview but if I had asked him for the same access for "the company's website," I'm sure the answer would have been no,.
@ginidietrich I heard a little "Jack Black" in your first line. Seriously (yes I'm capable), I agree with your point ... which is where his communications team could have helped.
After watching the NYT/Tesla debacle, I was reminded that the very traits that cause CEOs like Musk be successful are the same ones that cause them to be hoisted on their own petard.
They have incredible strength of conviction, particularly when it comes to taking on "The Man."
The New York Times represented "The Man."
So when a crisis arrives at their door step, they automatically default to "I know best," relegating the communication professionals to a secondary role.
@Sean McGinnis @ginidietrich Thanks Sean. I hadn't considered that point.
@ginidietrich And I think the same dynamic takes place with news releases. Otherwise, why would books like the Journal and NYT stockpile news releases. Now, some of them will whitewash the links before storing the content which makes the discussion moot.
Here's a subset to the question--
Take a heavyweight media product like Reuters. Does the Google search algorithm have a way to distinguish between syndicated content and real journalism? Both hang off of www.Reuters.com.
This ends up being a big deal because Reuters isn't the only major media property to stockpile news releases.
My own read -- with the caveat that I do not have SEO guru status -- is these links end up being incredibly valuable because of the "juice" from the property.
@ginidietrich I was afraid you might ask that question. We did secure 40+ interviews. One month later, we resigned the account, a happy ending from my perspective.
Oh, and happy birthday Lindsay!
Love the "Rules of Pitching."
One more variable to throw into the mix is called the client.
I think David Ogilvy had a line to the effect that "clients get the advertising they deserve," meaning if they micro manage process they get mediocre ads and if they let the pros do their job they get great stuff.
You could apply the same concept to PR.
Don't get me wrong. Nothing excuses the damning anecdotes you shared in your post.
But an ignorant client can definitely cause the wrong gravitational pull. We just went through a situation at CES in which the client only cared about one thing, 40 interviews. That's what he promised the Board and that's what the Agency needed to deliver. Crazy. Not one word about generating coverage and cultivating relationships with the right influencers.
@ginidietrich @LouHoffman Just follow the yellow brick road (sorry, couldn't resist)
The one quality I would add to your list is courage.
By definition, creativity means thinking of something outside the norm which can be scary, even for senior folks. It takes a certain amount of bravery to put yourself "out there." I also think agencies should be considering how they build an environment that makes it as easy as possible to people to be brave.
P.S. You ever notice not only are there sitcoms about advertising agencies, but they always work in cool buildings.
P.S.S. I'm now ready to watch the Wizard of Oz