"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." Mark Twain
Those of us who run or work for public relations agencies can definitely relate to Mark Twain's famous comment to a reporter. I actually thought the rumors that PR is going the way of the Ark had subsided for a while, but they seem to be surfacing again.
One of my clients, Ed Brice of Lumension, was kind enough to ask me to do a guest blog post about PR and social media and the first question he asked me to answer was about this topic. Then this week Tom Foremski's Silicon Valley Watcher Blog talks about "The New Rules in PR -- The Old Model is Dead." Foremski describes us PR agency types as Wile E. Coyote running out of road as we chase the elusive Road Runner (our clients?). It's not an image that warms my heart. Nor do I think it's accurate, although I agree with some of Foremski's assertions. He ends his post by saying he's going to check us out and states that he'd be open to guest blog posts. This is my own attempt to respond to his post, which really was a series of rumblings he's hearing from other sources wrapped with the doomsday Wile E. Coyote opening image.
In the spirit of Road Runner, let's cut right to the chase. PR agencies are not going away -- at least the smart ones aren't. It's called evolution and survival of the fittest. It got the best agencies in the tech industry through our horrific industry meltdown in the early part of this decade and it's going to help the best of all of us to bridge through the huge changes that are going on in communications, media and marketing in general. Are the survivors all going to be large agencies? I don't believe so. Size does help as it gives you the wherewithal to invest in technology and build new practices. It also helps you weather an economic storm a bit better than the tiniest of firms. I agree with Foremski and his sources that some existing agencies who cannot radically change their offerings in this brave new world of helping companies engage directly with their customers will not survive. But when the music stops, I firmly believe there will be smart, large, mid-size and smaller agencies and boutiques grabbing the chairs -- not just the giants.
He references that the economic model of agencies -- the retainer model and hourly rates -- is going to go away, replaced by a project model and payment based on outcomes rather than activities. Any good agency knows that they are only as good as the results they delivered today -- make that in the last hour. Our whole existence is predicated on us delivering a multiple of what we are paid to every client every day. But the entire consulting model is based on establishing a value for the time of the individuals who are retained. That is true for lawyers, management consultants and anyone who has expertise that is in demand. I think most agencies, large and small, are willing to work on a project basis for the right clients. But since PR is most effective when it is consistent and cumulative, an ongoing retained program provides the most value to any client. PR is also most effective when the agency team becomes an extension of the company itself and this is facilitated by an ongoing relationship of trust, rather than project-by-project or contingency-level PR.
I definitely agree with the sentiments that social media -- the catch-all phrase we're all using for this evolution in media and communications -- is now part and parcel of public relations and, indeed, marketing and is not something you bolt on or sprinkle on top of everything else. Just last week I was telling one of our clients who is still testing the social media waters that these programs are now table stakes for any company, whether they are consumer-facing or business-to-business. Although many companies in the latter category still feel this is not affecting them yet, customers are increasingly expecting anyone they buy from, large or small, to have a way to engage with them directly online and through channels like blogs, Facebook or Twitter. They want to know their vendors are willing to listen to them and talk with them directly, as well as through more traditional channels. The good agency partners for these companies are helping them navigate these changes in their programs.
All of us -- PR agencies, internal PR and marketing people, bloggers, journalists and brand-owners -- need to fundamentally adjust our models to address this new reality. It is not just the PR agencies who are nipping and tucking their programs and expanding their expertise to best serve clients and their clients' clients as the sands continue to shift. So please stop planning our funerals. We intend to be around doing good work for a very long time.
