Talking Shop is Natural in PR
A senior account executive for a
maverick firm that's making much waves in PR talked a little shop with me recently. He gave me different pointers on getting and keeping a job, client services and salary negotiation.
I asked about favorite spots where communicators go to unwind. He said that there weren't places like that because PR folks tend to keep a distance from one another due to the competitive nature of the business. "Everyone is after the same segment producer or reporter."
Well, I accepted that until I finally went to a
PRSA monthly social mixer. The admission fee is "the cost of your drink." It was at the
Arctica Bar & Grill. I arrived late but the place was still full of chatty people. Executives from
Burrelles Luce were a few feet from
Cision staffers. People from boutique to major PR firms schmoozed effortlessly. Piled on the pool table were copies of the latest
Bulldog Reporter--the newsletter that tracks the career moves of magazine and newspaper editors . If people thought about hording media contacts, then the ol' Bulldog,
Cision and
Burrelles Luce countered that move.
This event was about networking. It was going past the search firm to know your colleagues and the house they work for. After all, in PR, people tend to be recycled, promoted, and set up shop within the industry. Read the bios and you'll see the trail of agencies someone worked at to get to where she is now--in PR or a complementary industry. Well lest we get left in the shadows,
Planning To Succeed was promoted by yours truly.
I'm very glad I went to the mixer. The Arctica Bar & Grill serves great foreign ales on tap in 20 oz. glasses for six bucks. Of course
the company was cool.
Labels: ale, boutique PR firm, Burrelle Luce, business networking, Cision, media monitoring, media training, Planning To Succeed, public relations
Going Direct
Mike Moran , in his book
Do It Wrong Quickly, explains that
branding and brand recognition originated from the introduction of broadcast media. Before radio and TV, people would travel to Main Street and shop at the local stores. You purchased food, clothes and other staples without thought to who the manufacturers were. You wanted candy? You stuck your hand in a big glass jar and dug for your favorite.
For those who mail ordered because they lived in rural areas or wanted something from Europe, they got acquainted with Sears or another publisher of consumer catalogues. The brand still wasn't in the conscious of the average American. Radio and then, TV made people notice brands because manufacturers paid for advertising time that paid for broadcasting companies' salaries. Those advertisers now had to compete for your attention to buy their kind of soap or cigar.
In 2007, people are too brand conscious. Besides the shoplifting and fighting people do over name brands, folks are travels across oceans to be the first to own a pair of sneakers by Hubda Hubda, Inc. Maybe we need to go back to blind selection of quality merchandise. It's possible with Internet access and language translation tools. It's reality to purchase coffee and seasonings straight from a bazaar vendor in
Turkey,
Jordan or
Ethiopia--if you know her email or Web address. There's no language barriers. You can't read the Web site because it's in Mandarin, French, Yoruba? No problem: get the online language translation tool to switch everything in English.
There so many search engines to make it happen--vertical and horizontal. So, is it really
iPod you want or digital music and video coming from a light weight device.
YouTube?
MySpace? YourWorld!
Labels: boutique PR firm, brand recognition, branding, ecommerce, Ethiopia, iPod, Jordan, media, MySpace, radio, society, technology, translation tools, Turkey, TV ads, YouTube
Advertising Week2007
In its fourth year, Advertising Week2007 ran from September 24 – 28 in various venues in New York City. The splashy event drew advertising and media leaders from the US and Canada. This year’s focus was social impact, talent and diversity. Advertising agencies recognize the Internet’s rise as an important media that supports do-it-yourself programming. More Americans turn from ads that sell but don’t show America’s diversity in race, style and expression. New blood from different veins is needed to maintain the talent bank and address diversity in the media and the agency work place.
During the New York Times CEO Summit I – Media, held September 26, Laura Desmond CEO of StarCom Media Vest Group – The Americas stated that “There was no right or wrong way to get on the superhighway of change…we just have to commit to changing media choices…include digital and mobile channels.” Emilio Estefan shared his thoughts on connecting with Latinos during Univision’s Connect Via the Cultural Beat. Estefan, media genius and Grammy Award winner, believes music is an essential element for ads and programming to cross national boundaries. North American agencies must get off the trap of simply adding a beat and translating an ad to Spanish language. Rather, “the message requires a cultural translation.” While Estefan stressed the many nations that comprise Hispanic America, he fell short by not mentioning the ethnic diversity. Hispanics range from the light tan and slightly wavy-haired people who populate Telemundo and Univision programming to the Asian, the brown indigenous and African types who live there, too.
The highlight for September 26 for this columnist was Chaka Khan and Emily King’s appearance at Tribeca Cinemas, after the Branded Music Entertainment: How Leading Brands Activate Through Music panel. It was as if Chaka Khan was performing in my living room. Chaka Khan sang two cuts from her latest CD Funk This and classic rocking anthem “I’m Every Woman.”
Labels: advertising, Advertising Week2007, boutique PR firm, branded music, Chaka Khan, Emilio Estefan, Emily King, Laura Desmond, media, society, technology
A senior account executive for a maverick firm that's making much waves in PR talked a little shop with me recently. He gave me different pointers on getting and keeping a job, client services and salary negotiation. 
