The Ethical Optimist

I must be getting old.  The pundits are trying to make something old sound like its new again.  If I read one more article on how to deal with bloggers and the blogosphere like it’s the latest, newest communications tool for clients I think I’m going to vomit.

Let us review. Blogs are websites. Correct me if I’m wrong, but websites have been around since the mid-nineties.  Oh…so what’s new? The websites are authored by someone called a blogger, who has a point of view.  Hmmm….again, this is new?  Communicating with bloggers requires a special skill set? Only if you’ve been living under a rock for the last thirty years.

So Ms. Optimist, what brings on this particular rant you ask? Well, it all started with an article I read in yesterday’s AdvertisingAge.  Just the headline floored me:

It’s Not Just What Bloggers Are Saying, It’s Who They Are. PR Becomes Part of Social Media as Marketers Such as PBS Kids Sprout Analyze, Interact With Consumers.

Apparently, the folks at AdAge have discovered that the source of the information is valued based upon its influence.  You’re kidding right? Why would this be different for ANY medium? Source = Relevance.  That’s news?

PR is becoming part of social media? Golly, where have I BEEN!?

Forward-thinking marketers such as PBS Kids Sprout are going beyond just what’s being said, and are hitting reply. They’re asking not just what people are saying about their products and services, but also who’s saying it and how important that individual or group is to their brand.

Gee, when I went to school (back in the stone age) that was called a two-way, asymetrical model of communications and was considered one of the most effective methods of persuasion.  However, I guess this is news to some.  The article quotes a number of marketing experts with insightful comments such as:

“Increasingly clients are really starting to take notice of individuals,” said Pete Blackshaw, exec VP of Nielsen Online Digital Strategic Services. “With our clients, the influencers — identifying, analyzing and interacting [with them] — are at the top of the priority list.”

Okaaaayyy.  Guess I have super smart clients because they’ve been doing that for many years now. The article notes that brand marketers are now learning from the PR Playbook.  Guess what guys, that’s been an open book for some time now.

As a public relations professional, it has never failed to amaze me at how little those in advertising and marketing understand our profession.  For all the talk about integrated marketing, few companies and professionals get it.  I believe the writer of this article missed the boat entirely.  None of this is news. What IS news is how companies need to better integrate their marketing silos if they are to effectively establish a dialog (a fancy word for two-way, asymetrical communications) with their customers and other relevant publics.

Once again, it’s not about the medium; it’s about the message.