Comments on: How the Economy and Social Media Are Ruining PR

By: Regg

Regg — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:18:36 +0000

Good comments. We are seeing a melding of the two and advise clients who want DIY model, to keep social media comment in line w/marketing strategy, all communicated via Mon a.m. meetings. Sometime it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

By: Bukola Ekundayo

Bukola Ekundayo — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:48:51 +0000

I agree with Erik, clearly articulating your value (with metrics) to clients is becoming more important. If you’re able to show how maintaining relationships with PR agencies aids the client’s topline then they will be more likely to continue working with their pr agencies.

By: joel

joel — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:38:58 +0000

Great comments, thank you. Michael I agree with you the account management model has to changes.

By: Michael Tangeman

Michael Tangeman — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:02:00 +0000

You may not have all the answers, but your analysis is spot on. Within the context you outlined, I’d also argue for the need of a rethinking of the traditional “account executive” role within agencies, particularly larger ones.

As the long tail of media expands and with the traditional-digital media mix in near-constant flux, the traditional PR agency approach of EVP/SVP pitching new business and then handing the account off to less-senior account execs, who in turn are expected to develop on behalf of the client a broad range of media relations across multiple traditional & digital media platforms …. well, it just goes without saying that that’s no longer a tenable model.

Not in an economy where the client is keeping an eye on costs and always examining ROI and less so in an evolving long-tail media economy, where the media landscape is changing so rapidly.

I would argue instead of a vertical “account executive” structure for a horizontal “team” structure, where PR execs who specialize in social media, print media, broadcast media work together on behalf of multiple clients. I’m sure this is occurring in smaller agencies, but if the PR industry is to survive the current economy, the larger agencies would do well to examine a restructuring along those lines, as well.

By: Erik

Erik — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:50:23 +0000

This looks like the same old problem of clearly articulating the value you can bring to a client. I think one of the answers for PR professionals is metrics. When you can put verifiable numbers behind your claims, customers are able to see your value more clearly.

This is true for PR, software development, or any other consulting business where the barrier to entry is low, but mastery of the skills involved takes years. Ultimately the onus is on you, the service provider, to demonstrate your value in concrete terms that customers can understand.