The Evolution of PR

by Deirdre Breakenridge

This is one of the most exciting blog posts that I will ever write. I realized with a brand new hard copy of my book, PR 2.0 New Media, New Tools, New Audiences, in hand that nothing would ever be the same (and really hasn’t been the same in the field of public relations for many years). As a PR professional, I know that change is thrust upon us and I say, “Bring it on!” Not everyone is like me. I realize that we are all different and embrace change at varying rates. There’s nothing wrong with this as long as we are all open to new things.

PR 2.0 is a tremendous change and it marks an evolution in PR. But, there’s a great deal of conflict over the moniker. I don’t think we should be hung up on 2.0. The most important part about new communication approaches, such as PR 2.0, is that it leads to great communication and quite frankly, the best PR that you will ever know! The PR industry has been blamed, embarrassed, lost credibility and has been seen as just a necessary evil. I know PR is so much more than this and deserves praise and recognition. PR, when practiced properly, has and will always be the greatest means to reach and capture public attention, and to build strong meaningful, trusting relationships.

With the movement of PR 2.0 or new PR, as communications professionals, we have a chance to reinvent our industry and give it back the credibility it deserves. PR 2.0 puts the “public” back into Public Relations. The ability to reach people directly and have direct conversations and to provide valuable information and help them make informed decisions is a step in the right directions. No longer will our brands be “talking at” the market or their customers. They will experience great conversations and “talk to or with” markets and customers. Big difference!

I urge you to keep an open mind as you witness the change. And, even more importantly, get involved in the change. Together we will create the path to meaningful, trustworthy and credible PR. I think that would be a monumental accomplishment.

When to Color Outside the Lines

by Jason Miletsky

Style guides are the bible that every strong brand is built upon. Within their pages lie all the details that marketing agencies, printers, publishers, web developers, and everyone remotely associated with promoting the brand would need to know.

What is the RGB breakdown of the logo? Look in the style guide.

Do we hyphenate the word “e-mail” in our corporate language? Check out the style guide.

Whether it’s 10 pages or 100 (and I’ve seen both), it would be unheard of for a brand of any real significance to embark on a marketing program without having a style guide at the very center of its efforts.

As a believer in brands, and as a developer of them, I have beaten the brand drum for many years, always emphasizing the importance of maintaining brand integrity. Consistency, after all, is one of the strongest devices in a marketing arsenal for building immediate recognition over time, and consistency is one of the biggest benefits that comes with the style guide.

But for all their value, and all the time, thought and effort that goes into their development, style guides are often treated with contempt by marketing professionals on both the client and the agency side who struggle to break free from their constraints. That’s because as marketers we’re a creative species, and our imaginations seek out open canvases. The style guide puts limits that canvas by providing strict guidelines for us to follow - and limits are the Kryptonite to creativity.

This creates a chasm between the “brand police,” whose job it is to ensure that the style guide is followed, and creative marketers who want to break free. The important thing for all parties to remember is that the style guide is exactly that - a guide. It provides information and direction, details when needed and a answers when questions arise. Brand managers need to remember that the marketing department can’t function as a police-state, and while people on the production end of the food chain may need to follow the guide by the letter, creative directors and key strategists should be provided certain lee-way with look, feel and voice. The guide provide what the brand should be conceptually and in certain media, such as advertising, going outside the lines to promote the message can be a benefit.

At the same time, creatives need to work within the general umbrella of the brand, and absorb the guide on a conceptual level. The guide does more than break down colors and fonts - it defines the personality and promise of a brand. Creatives need to work within those boundaries and remember that everything they do is reflection of the brand to the public - not an isolated canvas for them to paint upon.

The Millennials

by Deirdre Breakenridge

What a fascinating age group to observe.  I’ve been thinking a lot about this age category as I watch my daughter grow up; the way she interacts with her friends and how she absorbs information.  As a marketer, it’s exciting to see that she’s social networking, sharing videos on YouTube, using Photobucket and constantly attached to her iPod.

The other day I answered a question on LinkedIn that asked, “What interesting behavior have you seen from the Millennials?” That was an easy one for me to answer.  At Christmas, they were either surfing the web on their wireless laptops or laughing over a YouTube video.   They didn’t talk to one another, but would text one another even if they were in the next room (less than 10 feet way).

When I think about marketing and some of the traditional methods including, TV, print advertising or direct mail, none of these would entice my daughter to “call for more information” or “purchase a product.”  Maybe on rare occasion, when she’s watching a reality TV show (because that’s pretty much all she watches), she gets excited about a product.  She definitely took notice of the iPhone and the Verizon Voyager.

But, if you think about it, it’s not just the Millennials.  Today, every age category is moving toward gathering, organizing and sharing more information online.  What does that tell me as a marketer?  It’s time to help my clients get into web communities and to be in remote places.  Now, that’s not to say that print and TV advertising are going away anytime soon. But, as a marketer, I do feel a big push toward helping brands to have direct conversations with their customers by using social media tools.

At this point, social media may be the only way to reach the Millennials as they experiment on the Web and have conversations with their friends.  The Millennials may be setting the stage for your future marketing focus.

Does Your Brand Need to Be Social?

by Deirdre Breakenridge

If I were to place a percentage on the number of people in a B2C company who answered “yes” to the question, “Does your brand need to be social (through the use of social media applications including blogs, podcasts, social networking, RSS, etc.)?” I would get a percentage pretty close to 100%.  However, if you were to ask professionals in the B2B space the same question, the answers are surprising and the percentage of people who say “yes” is much lower.

When I was researching my book, PR 2.0, I remember speaking to one very intelligent marketing director at a large B2B organization.  He asked me, “Why would we want to be social?”  When I discussed with him that the Internet is one big conversation and social media applications allow you to talk directly to your customers (as if you were holding one big focus panel), he understood.

There are conversations on the Internet daily and today’s consumers want to gather, organize and share content.  The question, “Why would we want to be social?” should no longer exist, instead we have a new statement that’s going to be reinforced by PR and marketing professionals – We need to be social!

Campaign Review #1: Bad Creative? DUH!

by Jason

One of the most frustrating parts about being a creative director is coming up with a great creative concept after weeks of brainstorming, only to have the idea shut down by a client. Every creative director goes through that. But what makes it even more frustrating is that as good ideas lay dormant, an absolutely horrible concept like Hyundai’s recent “Duh” campaign (see video clip below) somehow manages to see the light of day.

WATCH THE SPOT

What’s amazing to me is that at some point in the creative process, a group of people over at Goodby, (the agency newly charged with trying to change Hyundai’s image as a car that anyone earning over $50,000 wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen in), collectively decided that this was the idea that they wanted to present to the client. And then, in an even more obvious sign that armageddon is approaching, a group of people at Hyundai agreed with them.

Each of the TV spots features beautifully shot Hyundais driving in a soundstage against a sleek black backdrop, with camera angles and lighting worthy of a Lexus ad. In fact, the footage and choreography might even be TOO good - so, to remind the viewer that they are not actually watching poetry in motion, they drown out any semblance of elegance with an off-camera a cappella group singing a different, easily recognizable song (the theme to Mission Impossible, the theme to the Pink Panther, etc.), replacing each note with the word “Duh.”

Mercifully, the only soundtracks in advertising that are possibly more irritating than the Vonage song gets interrupted after about 10 seconds. That’s when a narrator - so pompous that he makes me want to reach through the screen and smack him - comes on to explain to us the meaning of the word ‘duh’:

“The word ‘Duh.’ It means it’s obvious. It’s a total no-brainer. Like getting a great deal. On a great car. Like at the Hyundai Big Duh Sales Event.”

Most recently, with Christmas right around the corner, he’s taken to wishing the audience “Happy Holi-Duh.”

If ever there was a reason to turn off the tube and pick up a good book.

Rather than showing that their vehicles are the smart choice, Hyundai talks down to their audience, treating us like we’re idiots. First of all, it assumes that we need not one, but two definitions of a word that anybody over the age of seven is more than familiar with. But since nobody over the age of seven seriously uses the word “duh” in their everyday vocabulary, the campaign immediately brings us down to the playground level, letting us know that it not only doesn’t take us seriously, but confirming that Hyundai doesn’t really expect to be taken seriously as a choice for intelligent adults. Even the tone of the voice over is obnoxious, speaking down to the audience like they’re children.

I’m a firm believer that advertising does not have to be annoying or condescending to be effective. There are some truly excellent examples of brilliant advertising campaigns that make their point and generate sales and awareness without making you want to lunge for the “mute” button as soon at the first sight of the commercial. The “Duh” campaign falls far from that category.

Welcome to PFS Blog

Welcome to the first ever PFS blog.  We truly intend for this to be an agency outlet, where all of our employees can have a voice and feel free to express their opinions on branding, marketing, communication, advertising, design, video and related topics.

We want this blog to be informative as well as fun.  We look forward to building it and starting a community based on your comments.