The death of a blogger and other interesting topics.

Starting tomorrow, I'm off to seek a little bit of sunshine and a lot of rest. To launch into the 2-week radio silence, I thought I'd leave you with some interesting things I discovered in cyberspace this week.


Death of a Blogger.
There's a PR stunt targeting some of America's top bloggers with a rather heart-stopping message: their own death announcement. This blogger received a mysterious "message in a bottle", which leads to a site called "Frenzied Waters", which isn't any less spooky.

The answer as to "Who did it" (this PR stunt), still has not been revealed. Bloggers receive progressive clues until they solve the mystery. To be continued...

The Generation M Manifesto.
A "food for thought" manifesto that starts "Dear Old People" posted on Harvard Business Online.

Girl Geek Go Green
A blogpost on Girl Geek Chic about a nifty little device that helps you save energy on your PC. I wonder if this is available in Belgium.
Note to companies: isn't this a great little gadget to hand out to prospects & customers at your next exhibition?

That's it for now folks!

We'll be back on August 3rd! In the mean time I wish you a summer of safe travels, lots of belly-aching laughter, peaceful sleep and healthy thoughts!

Sabine

PR as we know it is dead.

It's not a nice title, I know, it makes many people veeeeeeeery uncomfortable. But it had to be said.

I've kept it inside for so long, I just had to get it out: traditional PR is dead.
Actually, it's been dead for quite a while, it's just that we don't really want to face it. Many of us are still in denial, and for those I suggest reading this post called "Sorry PR people, you're blocked" by the editor of Wired magazine. (Do note the major PR firms black listed here...)

PR = press relations.
...And it's with that definition, which is still held as THE correct definition by many agencies and clients alike, that the problems start.

PR is NOT just about press relations (and it never has been).
PR is (and I beg your forgiveness for going back to PR 101 here, but it is necessary) about "the profession of promoting goodwill between an organization or an individual and it's publics, its employees and its customers".

As far as I'm concerned, 'the press' is just one channel we can utilize to help build relationships with our various audiences/publics.

I've never liked doing 'traditional' PR, even though many people - employers and clients alike - have tried to push me in that role. Mass email blasts of a press release which contains really nothing news worthy insults not only my intelligence to write it, but the client's intelligence and most of all, the journalist's intelligence when we dare sell it to them as news worthy. No wonder we're being blocked (even when we send it to the right journalist/editor)!

I firmly believe PR is about informing people, facilitating conversations between a company and it's publics, helping audiences understand what the company stands for, convincing consumers that it's products/services help solve a real, concrete need in their lives. I'm sorry: but are we really still expecting the humble press release to achieve all these goals?

I am often challenged by more 'traditional' PR firms about the recommendations I make to my clients. "You're suggesting a 'Motivate Me' section on their website? A team blog? A pro-active social media plan??? That's not PR!"

Wake up guys! The traditional media (women's mags / daily newspapers / prime time television) are no longer the "endorsers/influencers" the consumer turns to for believable advice. They're listening to recommendations by friends on FaceBook or reading reviews from fellow travellers on TripAdvisor. They're reading the CEO's blog or visiting user forums. They don't have time or attention or energy to waste and the little they have they are dividing very consciously between the topics, activities and people that really interest them. So you still think a press release is going to do the trick?

In the 'new' PR (and I still shudder to use the term 'PR') it's about 3 key things:
- Show them you are real (don't be scared to show you're not perfect!)
- Show them you care (tell them you'll fix what's wrong - and then do!)
- Show them your company is about more than just making money, getting them to 'buy'.

Don't underestimate the intelligence of your consumer - it's the biggest mistake you can make (also see my post '2008 - the year of banishing bullshit).

PR as we knew it is dead. And it's for the best.

PS Incase you're still doubting the view above, also read 'The new PR'
and 'What PR people should know about social media' - a wealth of information on both sites!

Nolita 'No Anorexia' Campaign dominates the media

This has to rate as one of THE most controversial (and succesfull) PR campaigns of the past few years...Ok, I consider myself to be fairly up-to-date on my Fendis, Pradas, Guccis, Manolos and the like, so when I saw the schocking image of this ad campaign the first question I asked myself was 'who in the hell is Nolita?' (Communication objective: raise awareness - tick; objective: position the brand as socially responsible, daring, outspoken - tick; PR objective: generate media coverage - tick).

This campaign is a brilliant example of two communication objectives companies so often set themselves, yet so seldomly achieve:

1."integrated" communication efforts. We all know the drill...."all communication efforts - ("through-the-line" in industry jargon), should be complimentary and strengthen the message". But how often have you really seen this in reality? Thought so....

This campaign is a great example of how advertising and PR can and should work together. I'd love to do an AVE calculation and ROI analysis on this one for the client....talk about being a good news bearer!

2. This campaign is just great marketing to women! Anorexia and an acceptable body weight for models have been THE topics of discussion the past 2 years. Nolita has taken a high-profile current-afffairs topic and used it to promote its own brand in a positive manner, putting it in direct opposition to the other fashion brands vying for attention around the time of the world's foremost fashionweek happenings.

99% of the world's women are not affected by anorexia directly or indirectly - most of us don't suffer from the disease nor know women who do, yet the pressure all women feel to look great has made many of us irrationally wish at some point in our lives that we did suffer from anorexia, just so we could be a little thinner, a little less 'in love' with food. Of course for 99% of us this is a fleeting, irrational thought that stays just that: a thought. But as this campaign so graphically shows, the reality of anorexia is devastating. And for the first time in history, 'the enemy' (read: the high fashion brands we deem partly responsible for the trend of thin, thinner, thinnest) takes a stand against all its cohorts and says: NO MORE.

So how did this campaign affect women across the world?

- suddenly we all know the brand Nolita

- we automatically link it to the 'No anorexia' campaign

- we see the brand as a vanguard leader, a socially responsible brand that dares speak its mind in the face of an industry that we all know in effect does nothing to reverse this trend, simply denying the problem or turning a blind eye.

Kudoz to Nolita for having the proverbial balls to launch this campaign.

Now what would be really great is if they kept the momentum of the campaign going by extending it to include other communication efforts: a section on their website that educates consumers about eating disorders and anorexia, a blog of the model in the campaign linked to their website, one year from now another campaign featuring the same model hopefully further along the road to recovery,....I can think of a million ways to continue promoting the cause (and the brand) in the coming months...