Richard, I agree with your last statement but also believe that clients need to be more educated about new emerging communication channels.

Some clients (possibly the majority) still believe that newspapers and TV are the only way to gain exposure or put a message across. It's up to PR pros to advise and educate to ensure a consistent message goes across all platforms.

To add a little extra to what you've already said, I believe we have to start incorporating content into mp3 players, video iPods and video games (if possible). Start using new online social media as tools to create customer evangelists and co-promoters similar to what Warner Music are doing with pop act The Veronicas. Creating moblogs and asking for customer participation.

There's no doubt that the media is fragmenting and will only continue to do so and it's no secret that newspaper circulations and TV views are decreasing while online continues to grow. Broadband levels are at an all time high and consumers are more tech savvy than ever. We’ve got to look at the past to predict the future. Ask ourselves, “what was the PR profession like before the Internet?” and then “what will it be like in 10 years time?”.

Richard,

It sounds like you’re thinking the future is micro-broadcast. You are chasing a very very long tail. By the time you catch it, it will be “minutia broadcast.” The bad news is, there’s no money in minutia. The good news is that if you make that mistake, no one will notice.

Better think in, not out.

Regards,

Brian Connolly
President
Furthermore, Inc.
http://wepublishing.com

Richard,

Interesting post as usual. It's good to see that you're thinking about these things.

Let me ask you a question.

What role does PR play in a world where the corporation is turned inside out by thousands of corporate employees are blogging and communicating directly to the customers?

Your post above talks about the need to deal with different shifting "media" channels (PC, mobile, newspaper, TV). But many of these channels are "controllable" because as PR professionals you can strongly influence how they present your clients' messages.

How do you control the message of the hydra of a multinational company with hundreds or thousands of bloggers writing in multiple languages?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,
Eric Mattson

Methodology must be shared in the online social arena where advertising, marketing and PR converge. The same measurement techniques used in online advertising and marketing to track and quantify user behavior online is of use to the practitioner in demonstrating bottom-line impact. However, the qualitative information produced by capturing the reaction to a message in a "blogad" or related feedback channel is an area where PR can be aggressive in shaping. If we are to maintain the essence of PR strategy -- in one respect, helping the bottom line without focusing on generating product/service lust, but trust and reputation instead -- then we must be clear on what we want to measure with these shared tools. Change in disposition toward Wal-Mart from a new blogad? Changed Web surfing behavior which favors a corporate blog, driven by a word-of-mouth (word-of-post?) initiative? Or perhaps measuring the increase in knowledge among aging Internet users about a new Medicare drug plan? All of the previous are measurable factors by using the same tools online ad/marketing professionals employ. Sticking to our guns will entail creating our own applications and desired measurement objectives, once the message has been crafted and adapted for new media.

Eric Hansen, Student:
Newhouse,
Syracuse University

It occurs to me that one response to the ongoing frationalization of media markets and the collapsing of the lines between media types (and devices, formats etc) is that many companies (likely in consultation with and perhaps in partnership with their pr firms) will start actively generating their own content that gets inserted into this flow of content to end users.

In many cases replacing other content from third parties.

In a small way, Honda has already been achieving this with a number of their very successful online ads - ads which were so compelling that people linked to them as content and referred others to them.

As the organizer of a conference on Networks (MeshForum - May 7-9 2006 in Chicago) I'm especially interested in how these emerging converations and dialogues, and the mixing/remixing of current networks will continue to evolve and change. At this year's MeshForum we'll hear from Robert Scoble and Shel Israel and we welcome other voices and perspectives.

Shannon

Richard,

after "mobile era" started, media and other channels for spreading information are and will be changed faster than we could emeaging.
I agree with You that PR need to consider this and prepare methods to use new channels as new tools.
But for PR is also very important to know that more tools we have more people need personal communication. That is why we need to think about how to reach web- or blog- communities but also other groups which will use diferent ways of communication.

Linas

It's important to remember the basics when considering new media technology. Getting the message through to the right people is important; knowing how to get it there (be it via cell phone, internet, intranet, sky writing, letter or the press)- well that IS also PR.

SD I absolutely share your commitment to rapid deployment of alternative tactics in PR to reach these emerging media formats. We need to allow co creation of content, using the Warner Music model on videos. You should watch me watching my 14 year old, using stupidvideos.com or my 10 year old sending me monkey mail with web content from Career Builders. I get it but wake up in the middle of the night thinking about what to do

What I am trying to say without eloquence
We need to provide video content that bloggers and others can customize and repurpose
We cannot just do, in effect, video press kits with prepackaged material that is just reused without creativity
We should cede control and gain credibility

My view on employee blogs
What a great way to get customer feedback
And to generate real connection to the corporation
Look at Robert Scoble at Microsoft
He has humanized that company, particularly in the developer community and in his opposition to certain corporate decisions, he has given himself a very credible platform

Eric thanks for taking the time to write back
At edelman there are now probably six frequent bloggers including Rubel Krempansky Gomes
We have employees blogging to our internal web site called infusion
I want to migrate this to our public site very soon
I believe in companies talking to their employees all of the time to allow employees to be informed advocates
More later I need to go to my daughter,s bball game

If people trust their peers most -- as you revealed in a recent episode of EARshot -- then the turf between classic advertising and classic pr is CORPORATE GENERATED MEDIA. It involves thinking beyond the press release, and beyond the blog.

As the success rate of new television programs proves, it not like the networks have a lock on creativity. And as the Jayson Blair and Rathergate scandals demonstrated, it's not like the mainstream media has a lock on integrity or authenticity.

Thinking beyond the press release means we need to stop thinking about how to pitch stories to reporters, and start thinking about how to tell interesting, compelling stories ourselves.

I'm no PR historian, but it sems to me PR was originally about public relations, not media relations. As the media grew in authority, it became about media relations. As the media wanes in power, and with a revolution in personal publishing making it just as easy for people to turn to others like themselves for information and opinions, the real opportunity as I see it is about using new media channels to empower and amplify the voices of brand evangelists.

Thinking beyond the blog means recognizing that while blogs are excellent tools for indivuals, they lack the flexibility and scope to handle interactive marketing programs that require a more complete web publishing platform.

Beyond blogs is the live web, where corporate communicators and marketers have the ability to oversee and program content online, as actively and agressively as CNN.com or nytimes.com, by transforming the static web presences into dynamic, digital conversations.

A podcast can be a program designed to promote a brand, product or service by empowering advocates to share their experiences with like minded consumers in a compelling, entertaining way, kind of like the podcast I do called On the Record...Online, which has been a more successful lead generation program for iPressroom than any other marketing initiative we've undertaken.

Good corporate gernated media will not be about products or services. It will about the people who use them and their shared experiences. Corporate generated media will be about leveraging the web, new media, email, RSS, search optimization, blogs, podcasts, measurement and reporting in coordination with offline tactics, but very differently.

Corporate generated media, the turf between classic advertising and classic PR, will about developing, producing and syndicating marketer driven programming that is every bit as compelling as American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, but only to the right audience, which will be qualified by the nature of the content itself. That is to say, it will be only be compelling to an audience that is also a prospective consumer to the organization that produces it.

I recently read Mr. Edelman's commentary on the unethical media relations conducted before and during the trial of Richard Scrushy. Since Scrushy's public relations person, Charlie Russell, claims to be an award-winning, accedited member of PRSA and its Counselor's Academy, are you considering any action? I am currently under contract with Preger, writing a book about public realtions for the accused and accusers.

Richard,

I believe you are spot on in your observations. The cellular industry is quickly traversing time and space to bring as much multi-media content as possible. Whether it is HBO or ESPN even the major record levels are moving fast to "get in". The caveat in all of this is generation Y, the prize. This generation is larger than the baby boomers with 190 billion dollars of spending power. By sheer numbers alone they can influence markets, they can resurrect companies and in turn obsolete companies by their purchasing decisions. Therefore companies are trying to "get in" with this generation because they are the barometer for everyone else. A great leveraging position would be getting into the multimedia mix via cellular technology. Generation Y is the biggest consumer and end user of these new products (according to mintel market research studies). This is one of the best ways to reach them and influence them in the market place. From a public relations standpoint if you can shape a positive image of your clients to this generation then you have the prospective of creating long-term loyal customers. I say move quickly if not you could end up like Kodak when digital film technology emerged and they could not transition their marketing strategy from film (the benchmark at the time) to digital (the clear & present future).

Djuan Smith

Project Manager,
Student: Executive MBA Emory University

Working in the Edelman affiliate company I am excited, that we're in the leading group of communication specialists. Blogs, virtual communities, changing target audiences and similar trends are realy the main issue nowadays. Nevertheless it is always a question of penetration. For example, as far we have approx. 30% internet penetration ratio in Lithuania. Such level decreeses the effectiveness of new tools and methodologies. Therefore I would add one important issue to the general excitement - we still need to look carefully at our target audiences and they should be the final criteria in our measurements

Liutauras Ulevičius,
Vilnius,
Lithuania

Hi Richard,

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I agree, it's an exciting time to be in the PR profession but at the
same time it's a little unsettling also.

I've been tracking Warner's online efforts for a few months now and
have to say they're embracing the Internet and Web2.0 like no other.
Take for example, the pop act, The Veronicas they're promoting at the
moment. Prior to their album launch they've been using a whole host
of online social media and user-generated media to build up hype for
the release of their album which was launched this month.

First of all setting up a website with branded content pushed down by
the label and social media created by the artists and their fans.
They created:

A Myspace page which has had a truly phenomenal amount of hits, links
and plays to of their songs.

A photo blog on TextAmerica where the artists were moblogging photos
up to the site and fans could comment and interact on each photo.

A 'Street Team' where fans can sign up and promote the artists in their area.

A Flickr page where fans can upload photos of the girls and tag them
under the name 'veronicas'.

A mobile phone site created by WINKsite which "glue together branded
content, ring tone partners, and audience generated social media into
a single portal and make it available to fans on their mobile phone."

A launch party where the artists video blogged the day of their album
release using the mobile photo uploader, Shozu and posted the video
directly from their phones to TextAmerica.

And finally, their fans took it upon themselves to create a dedicated
fan site which has various links to user generated media including a
'Vernonicas' style blog. I was a little suspicious in the beginning
regarding its authenticity but was quickly corrected by the fan who
created it when I made a post about it on my blog.

It seems Warner has really took the lead on this one. And it's not
only with these particular artists - they've recently done a deal with
Skype to sell popular music artists' songs as ring tones for Skype
phones.

On a side note, I've briefly chatted with the WINKsite founder, David
Harper about the plans he has in store for their mobile community, and
they're currently trying to incorporate audio and video into their
mobile sites. Very interesting! So-much-so, I've been toying with it
myself and created a mobile version of my blog. Pointing a phone's
browser at wap.prblogger.com takes you there.

To end this (rather long-winded email) I've included the sites at the
bottom of this page I referred to earlier. How this is relevant to
more 'mainstream' PR campaigns I'm not sure, but interesting
non-the-less.

Thanks again and kind regards,

Stephen

Richard,

Thanks for the prompt reply and your thoughts.

I agree with your take on Scoble's effect among the developer community.

But I think the more interesting effect on Microsoft's business will come from the thousands of other bloggers within the company.

Scoble (though still more approachable than Bill Gates) has almost become "mass media" whereas each of the more "niche" bloggers at the company may actually create stronger (more personal) bonds with smaller groups of customers and stakeholders. In addition, blogs make phenomenal learning tools for exploring an industry, writing better, and/or defining a software/product/design/company/marketing/etc. philosophy.

The challenge of having thousands of employees blogging is that corporate PR and management gives up a major element of control over their message. It would seem to demand a new level of education for all employees about customer service, sales, marketing and company strategy. It may also require new approaches to PR (policies, strategies, technologies, etc.) which is something I'd love your thoughts on.

Also, since you clearly believe in the value of blogging, I'm curious about something else. What percentage of Edelman's employees actively blog? I've run across a handful plus you've obviously just added Steve Rubel. But to truly understand the nature of the blogging and how it is changing communications, I feel one must participate. Does Edelman actively encourage all its employees to blog?

Thanks again for the reply.

Take care,
Eric Mattson

Mr. Edelman,

This is my first participation in your Blog, so I start by congratulating you for the quality of your blogging and for the mobilisation of so many intresting bloggers.

It seems that mass media are in fact declining and that we're shifting (as some have already wrote about) from e-pr to m-pr. But if we agree with McLuhan that "the medium is the message", then perhaps you agree with me that mobile means mostly on-time short information, quick response, not in-depth thinking about problems and simplification of opinions.

I'm inclined to think that the effects of these new media are altering the very nature of our publics. But while they immensely increase publics' mobilisation capabilities they also might be changing the nature of the social will that they produce: the opinion of the public.

Would love to hear your comments.
Thanks,
Joao Duarte
Lisbon's Superior School of Mass Communication and Media Arts

Shannon
Andrew Heyward of CBS News had an excellent concept Every company should consider itself a media company. Each company has stories that need to be told. If the company does not get out there, then others will tell the story--NGOs, dissident employees etc.
Without being pushy, could Rick Murray, head of WOM practice, be a speaker at your event?

ok at first blush your point is correct--McLuhan would argue that mobile phone dictates quick snapshot type of impression
but i am concerned that this superficial type of information overwhelms more substantive, significant coverage
and that the younger generation makes decisions based on emotion not fact
we need to make the cell phone also able to take substantive coverage in tolerable way thanks for reading my blog
obrigado!

Eric you are right on. Andrew Heyward, former president of CBS News said it well. Every corporation can be a media company because there are stories...about products, employees, social responsibility. You can self publish by empowering employees to blog etc etc.

I have asked the PRSA board to look at this case. Here is our problem. We are not licensed in same way as accountants or lawyers. I would like there to be at minimum a code of behavior that PR company CEOs will attest to...thereby opening up enforcement possibility. What do you think?

DS
We are all over the mobility platform as a business opportunity for PR. We had senior Qualcomm executive into our offices on Monday and he blew us all away with the incredible picture quality. The vision of the company about moving from big screen (TV) or medium screen (PC) toward mobile phone.is stunning. We have to get on this as an industry.

Note the high rate of acceptance of blogosphere in Scandinavia. We just ran a promotion for J&J's Acuvue contact lens business. A phenomenal success by pairing the Swedish Women's Curling Team with a heavy metal rock band--this is all over the world by now. Keep pushing.

You are right LS
The IT side of this is critical

I am intrigued by your comment. Tell me more

Dear Richard,

You menton high rate of acceptance of blogosphere in Scandinavia. I am very curious and would love to hear more about your experiences and your view on the state of blogosphere in Scandinavia.
I am living in Denmark and blog myself. I am very interested in blogging, the new media and social media as the challanges to the traditional communication.