Archives for October 2009

Shit is Still Shit No Matter How You Dress It

Charging Bull Okay, that’s a pretty bold title, and it may put some folk off, but sometimes you have no other way of saying something without diluting it.

I was watching a conversation unfold on Twitter the other evening about public relations, and why a lot of the PR industry is in disarray.

While the “bloggers and journalists don’t like us” line was shared a few times, one of the points that came up a lot was that the industry is still seen by many as being one full of shillers.

Heck, the only industry that seems to get less favorable attention is that of social media consultants…

But to be fair, much of PR only has itself to blame (and I say this as someone with a PR background). I’ve come across way too many agency and corporate PR owners who think the sun shines out their arse. If something goes wrong, it’s often a case of blaming the intern or junior account executive. Then there are the senior executives that take the great ideas of the juniors, or interns, and pass it off as their own so they can climb the corporate ladder.

And don’t even get me started on the PR folk that still think spam is a cold meat for sandwiches, and it’s okay to throw regular regurgitated dross into your Inbox and try and pass it off as a pitch or contact. Seriously guys, I’m tempted to gather a month’s worth of junk mail and stuff it through your letterbox – it’s a similar effect.

Of course, not everyone is like this. You have great folks like Dave Fleet, Rachel Kay, Dave Mullen, Heather Whaling, Matt Batt , Arik Hanson and many more doing brilliant stuff for the PR industry. And then you have a generation-in-waiting with Sasha Muradali, Ryan Stephens, Lauren Fernandez, Stuart Foster and others leading the way for Gen Y.

But still the great work that these guys do is being diluted by the craptastic approach of others. So here’s an idea.

The next time you see a crappy PR pitch or email, challenge the sender. Ask why they sent it, and do they really think that passes as good PR. Same goes for a tweet, or blog post – question people. Don’t be aggressive about it; simply ask why they feel that approach works. Have alternative suggestions as well (nothing worse than criticizing and not having some kind of alternative).

Ask if they have any idea why you weren’t taken with the pitch. If they say, “Wrong subject matter” or similar, at least you know they’ve done their job a little bit when it comes to researching the target (you). If they have no idea why you’re disappointed, explain why and see if they can understand why your way might be better.

If it’s a junior or intern that’s sending out the various pieces of communication, find out who’s above them and challenge them – let’s not attach blame to innocent targets.

It might not change the PR industry immediately – heck, it might not change it at all. After all, like the post title mentions, shit is still shit no matter how you dress it up. And some folk just don’t take to new dress codes.

But if we can collectively change just one mindset and then work from there… Well, that’s got to be worth our time, no?

photo credit: Christopher Chan

Be a Child

Children fear nothing. They may be scared of something, but it’s a different kind of fear.

They want to check out everything around them. They look at things differently from us. They see unique and new; we see “been there, done that”.

Children have that innocence that says everything has yet to be discovered. They don’t care about the safe, the boring – they want fresh and exciting. They see the world through the eyes of someone that doesn’t know the meaning of the words, “Too far” or “Some other time”.

Shouldn’t we all be like children? In life; in love; in business? Does our fear of real life stop us from overcoming everything that’s holding back our true success?

I think I’d like to be a child. How about you?

Note: This post originally appeared on my Posterous account. I?m still experimenting there and may remain using it, or move all posts here. In the meantime, I?ll be sharing the odd one here with you.

Reinventing the Wheel

James Dyson looked at the vacuum cleaner and gave people a different way to do things – no bags. Simple.

EasyJet looked at international flights and gave people a different way to fly – no thrills affordability. Simple.

Sony looked at video games and gave people a different way to view gamers – cool mass appeal chic. Simple.

We don’t always have to build something brand new. We don’t always have to spend millions on research when the audience is already there. We don’t always have to create from scratch.

Sometimes just reinventing the wheel is more than enough.

Note: This post originally appeared on my Posterous account. I’m still experimenting there and may remain using it, or move all posts here. In the meantime, I’ll be sharing the odd one here with you.

Do You Want Fries With That?

There’s a fine line between offering pre-project consultancy advice and actually moving into billable hours. Some clients get this; some don’t. Some clients keep moving the goal posts; some are grateful for your advice and experience and will pay for it.

If you’re wondering how to define this line and where it’s safe to instill a cut-off point, take a look at this video and see how much of yourself and your clients you recognize. If you’re nodding your head too much at the client/customer point of view, it may be time to re-evaluate just how you define your business relationship.

Advice and helping set the stage is fine; but it doesn’t pay the bills. You were approached for a reason; don’t be afraid to stand up for that reason and set your stall out from the start. After all, if you’re being paid for your success, surely your client’s enjoying that success with you, no?