Posts Tagged ‘P.R.’

Who owns social media? PR or Marketing?

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

There have been some good discussions on the Social Media Club Seattle LinkedIn Group recently.

My response to a “who owns social media” question was a bit longish and self-contained, so I thought I’d share it here:

Social Media should be treated as just another marketing channel. Each channel has it’s rules, it’s purpose, it’s strengths and weaknesses. Social Media is good at shaping opinion, so it seems like it should be part of PR.

But doing so is a mistake because it restricts messaging and it can lose its authenticitity. What about the voice of the other constituencies in the organization? What about promotions? PR can’t and shouldn’t try to manage the voice of every facet of an organization.

Should Marketing own it? Social Media channels are contact points that impact an organization’s (or individual’s) brand, after all. I say “no” for the same reasons. An organization isn’t simply made up of the peeps in Marketing and PR.

Social Media needs to owned, directed and managed by an integrated team of people that represent the organization as a whole. If you’d like to see an organization that “gets it,” take a look at the Verity Credit Union Blog, and check out the list of writers on the right.

Verity Credit Union Blog

Oh, they are pretty good at it — the Verity blog was the first credit union blog ever.

So, who do you think owns social media?

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Posted in social media, social networking | 4 Comments »

BP combating bad press with paid search

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Search for “oil spill” on Google and you’ll get this:

Click here to enlarge

On Bing you’ll get:

British Petroleum · www.BP.com/GulfOfMexicoResponse
Get Info about the Gulf of Mexico Response Today

Yahoo:

BP – Info about the Gulf of Mexico Spill Learn More about How BP is Helping. www.bp.com/gulfofmexicoresponse

Normally, I’d say this is Responsible Marketing: Use paid search to share the positive and combat the negative. Bully for BP.

But where’s the competence? Where’s the character? I see neither and BP has lost my trust.

They’ve stumbled so badly, so often and on so many fronts this feels like a desperate ploy to manipulate public opinion. Actions speak louder than words and I’m no longer listening.

In fact, I’ve boycotted BP.

So what do you think? Does this feel like smart marketing or slimy spin?

And what will it take for BP to regain your trust?

Comment below to weigh in.

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Posted in advertising, corporate responsibility, digital marketing, no trust, responsible or not?, search | 1 Comment »

Marketing, advertising and PR are not equals

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

I love and hate this:

The difference between marketing, pr, advertising and branding

I love it because of it’s simple, it’s funny and it’s true.

But I hate it because it perpetuates the myth that marketing, advertising and PR are all in some way equals. They aren’t.

Let me explain:

You meet two people at a holiday party: Beth works in the marketing department of a mid-sized business focusing mostly on public relations, and John is sales rep at the same company.

Here’s how they introduce themselves:

John: “I’m in marketing at ABC Widget.”
Beth: “I’m in marketing and PR at ABC Widget.”

One of introductions above is technically incorrect. Can you guess which one?

Did you guess John?

Sorry. Wrong answer, and here’s why:

The Promotion Mix diagram

Marketing is the interdisciplinary umbrella advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotion and direct selling—the five elements of the promotion mix—all reside under.

So the fact is, John is technically right—Beth isn’t.

John is in sales, and personal selling is one of the elements of the promotion mix. It’s the equivalent of saying “I’m in law,” when someone is an attorney specializing in estate planning. That works.

But when Beth says, “I’m in marketing and PR…” it’s like saying “I’m in law and estate planning,” “I’m in medicine and cardiology,” or “I’m in accounting and auditing.” That doesn’t work.

This is a common practice. When I instructed the IMC course at the UW, I was surprised how many marketing practitioners cobbled together discipline and sub-discipline.

Perhaps from the standpoint of explaining what you do, it’s not that important.

But each element of the promotional mix plays a different role in making marketing work. Without an appreciation of the differences or promotional cost effectiveness of each element, your marketing won’t work—no matter what you call it.

Thoughts on this? Share them below.

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Image courtesy of Neutron, LLC via Ads of the World.

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Posted in branding, broken marketing, strategically responsible | 6 Comments »

Advertising and PR work better together

Friday, September 5th, 2008

I’ve often found myself explaining the difference between Advertising and Public Relations—primarily, what to use and when.

I also find myself defending Advertising far too often.

It’s an easy target, and its benefits are deeply misunderstood and under appreciated.

I’ve had a small tome on this subject cooking for the book and was going to distill it down into something a little more ‘bloggy’ and digestible.

Now I don’t have to.

Freddy Nager at The Cool Rules Pronto Blog wrote a post comparing the two quite nicely, then building a strong argument for discipline integration in Public Relations vs. Advertising: No Contest.

Here’s an excerpt:

So what’s my recommended approach? Integrate both publicity and advertising into your marketing campaign. They complement each others’ strengths and mitigate weaknesses, with the publicity providing the credibility while the advertising creates the buzz.

Let’s look at the case of Jack In The Box, a west-coast fast-food chain. In 1993, Jack In The Box suffered a major e. coli crisis, wherein some customers actually died. Since the chain was already struggling before this happened, the crisis could have led to bankruptcy. But a brilliant new campaign by advertising genius Dick Sittig — featuring the return of the Jack mascot with an attitude — signaled a bold renewal of the company and won over legions of new fans who happily stuck tiny Jack heads on their car antennas.

At the same time, Jack In The Box implemented an industry-leading food safety program that it actively promoted through the media. Note the separation of church and state here: Food safety? PR, since safety commercials are rarely entertaining enough to get noticed. Funny mascot? Advertising, since it’s hard to convey humor through the press. Together? A revived brand that’s now expanding nationwide… with — I must mention — some pretty good ice cream shakes.

I couldn’t agree more, and when considering the Advertising and PR academically, they are often combined anyway:

The point is, this is not an “or” statement, but an “and” statement. It’s not Advertising or PR, it’s Advertising and PR.

On their own, these disciplines suffer weaknesses difficult to overcome. But together, your Advertising can get people talking, then your P.R. can get people believing.

So, what’s the best integrated Advertising/P.R. effort you’ve seen?

Comment below to weigh in.

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Posted in casting responsible, strategically responsible | 1 Comment »