Shel Israel offers a great analysis of how he sees the PR profession coming full circle, back to the days when he was learning from Regis McKenna in his latest post, The new PR practitioner. Shel writes:
At Regis we were taught to be trusted sources of information for the press and analysts who could most influence our clients relationships with customers and prospects. The press loved speaking to us, because were industry insiders. We knew what was going on in this new place called Silicon Valley. We were active particpants in conversations. We were facilitators for our clients. We knew which editor wanted what story and we helped them get it, sometimes pointing them to companies that were not agency clients.
Ah, those were the days, my friend, as the song goes. I think Shel is right - we are coming full circle. Although I would suggest that the tools have changed. Folks like Andy Abramson are going about this the right way -- he has established himself as a domain expert through his blog, which enormously benefits his clients. He has made himself into someone that is a "trusted source of information" because he is (a) smart; (b) knowledgable; and (c) discloses his conflicts.
Does Andy use the hated press release as a tool? Sure! But he doesn't spam people with it. He builds relationships with people and he uses those relationships sparingly so that you know when Andy contacts you, it is worth paying attention.
Here are Andy's thoughts (albeit from awhile ago) on what is wrong with the relationship between PR and the media -- Ted's Right And I Have The Answer... OK so it is always nice when people tell you that you are right... and I don't know that the answer Andy proposes is going to win anyone over... but it is another great data point and description of what is wrong right now that needs fixing. And the press release is just one symptom...
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