Why Big PR Lacks Online Leadership/Expertise
It was less than two years ago that Marsha Silverman, CEO of Ogilvy PR, said publicly during the 2007 Bulldog Reporter Summit that she didn’t know much about the online world, and even email was a nuisance to her. My intent now is certainly not to pick on Marsha but to try to get at why big PR agencies are so incredibly slow to learn and develop expertise in today’s fast-paced online world of new media, social media, and even, blogs.
The root of the problem can usually be found at the top. The execs who run big PR agencies are for the most part woefully unsavvy – individually and as a group – about what’s happening online.
Sure, the agencies all have their own branded digital components. Ogilvy has “360° Digital Influence,” of which Marsha is the head; Burson-Marsteller has its “Digital Perspective;” Fleishman has its new digital affairs team; Ketchum its technology practice; Edelman has “Micropersuasion;” and, Hill & Knowlton has a lifeless-sounding, “Digital Communication.” And, so on. But a clever title must be backed-up by smarts.
In most cases, these are recently cobbled-together teams within agencies that are playing catch-up and/or using a worn-out bag of tricks in response to an increasing avalanche of client online needs. As is the norm, these teams have been created primarily for the purpose of jacking up billable hours to feed the insatiable money appetite of holding companies (with the sole exception of Edelman).
While their sales raps all sound impressive, few have deep credentials in blogging, social media, and the tidal wave shift from mainstream/traditional to online media.
Why am I blogging about this? Because this is what I hear constantly through conversations with CEOs and top executives who, in some cases, are hobbled by a big, old-fashioned PR agency that’s often just faking it when it comes to the online world.
Big PR is not moving forward fast enough, certainly has not invested in learning, and remains too locked-in with the old ways of generating billable hours, and “making numbers.” And, each day, the dynamic world of online media speeds farther and farther from their grasp of true comprehension.
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- PR at Cross Purposes | David Henderson - consultant, author, journalist | October 27, 2009
Even more frustrating i think, is when you have younger individuals in these organizations that want to utilize online tools, and their suggestions and ideas go unanswered. I’ve found myself in that same position. I’ve overheard Director level individuals say things like ” oh…myspace and facebook are okay… i guess for some things, i don’t personally use them though” The other executive answered with “uh, yeah they’re okay”. It blew my mind how senoir yet clueless they seemed to be.
Hi David, I agree with your post. Another important thing is how open these organizations are to changes led mostly by their junior or mid-level team members. I believe that in a more flat organization changes can happen more quickly and organizations can adapt to the changing environment. The senior people must not be afraid to ask their junior staff for advice.
One example of a big organization listening, learning and acting on the advice of their junior people is General Motors. When I was a student studying public relations, GM sponsored a student competition that I participated in. They asked students to come up with ideas for a campaign for the new Chevy Aveo. GM executives took notes and also invited four of us to speak to the most senior people in Detroit. After hearing our presentation, they decided to use a lot of our ideas in the new campaign. It was a great experience for us and GM executives learned a lot from ideas of about 80 students that competed in the competition.
Vojtech,
We are in the era of PR agencies, like yours, that see the whole challenge and devise fresh and intelligent solutions that deliver results. It is the New Communications as opposed to the old PR that I write about.
Appreciate your comment, and love your home country.
dh
David – clearly you do not know much about my team at Ogilvy. 360 Digital Influence is Ogilvy’s global social media-based word of mouth marketing discipline. I have almost 90 people worldwide about half of which come from social media and longer digital backgrounds and the other half from public relations. We not only walk the walk – many of us are highly active bloggers – but we are probably the most sophisticated strategic group on the market. Yeah, I know that’s a lofty claim but I could easily back it up in discussion.
Marcia Silverman is my CEO. It’s been her leadership that has made all this possible. Not because she lives and dies on Twitter but because she recognizes the business importance of digital to us and our clients. She supported the growth of Digital Influence from the beginning. I am guessing that your conversation was brief with her. Given time, she would have bent your ear about our digital team – I know her to be a proud supporter and someone who understands digital far deeper than her casual comments may reveal.
Check us out at http://www.360digitalinfluence.com or check out the Ogilvy tab on http://www.thedailyinfluence.com. Or better yet, still, reach out and I would be happy to tell you about our killer work with Lenovo, Unilever, Louis Vuitton, Lance Armstrong and others.
I know it’s convenient and easy to bash big agancies. Some deserve it and some don’t. For that matter there are plenty of small agencies without a strategic bone in their body. And then, of course, are the legion of pundits. The market is due for a shakeout and teams like Ogilvy’s 360 Digital Influence will remain a leader.
Happy to discuss.
DH, you’re right! And how long can big PR fake it? Day by day, there are fewer and fewer Traditional Media to reach! And those that are still pitching to their clients about getting ‘ink’ in trades and major dailies are either completely delusional or the best con artists on the planet! Oh yes, the Traditional Media haven’t and likely won’t disappear forever, and there are many great opportunities out there still. But irrespective of Global economic conditions, consumer behavior has changed irrevocably because of Social Media – there’s no denying it and there’s no hiding from it. I have a PR student that works with me part time (graduating in a few months), and she informs me that her 2 year program at a local college has been a “complete joke” when the time came to learning about Social Media. Colleges are pumping out new graduates in PR that know very little, if anything, about Social Media and its use in PR. Are the colleges just hoping that these young people (the Facebook and MySpace users) will just know how to use these tools for clients when they graduate and try to enter a professional environment? Something tells me that’s the rule and not the exception. But that could just be only what’s going on here. Maybe other institutions are on top of this?!
Hi David – I think that big PR firms are definitely trying, but there’s a huge learning curve. It is true that more entry-level employees are embracing social media and want to integrate it, but the problem there that I see is that they don’t have the overall knowledge and experience to make it successful. In order to produce a smart social media campaign, you have to understand the overall goal and audience you’re working with. It may not make sense for every company to have a Twitter stream, Facebook page, etc. That is where the disconnect between senior and junior staff needs to close.
~ Larissa
@LYF108
Like many industries – publishing and broadcasting jump to mind – agencies only invest in how innovations improve their existing “product” margins, not to innovate a new “product” or reinvent their industry. If the press release, staged events, executive interviews and speeches, or product placement are the PR firms products – then that’s what they keep producing. The holding companies have long hired senior managers, not innovators. Edelman has been an exception, albeit one riddled by embarrassing false starts.
The industry barrier has as much to do with agency leadership as it does client leadership. While clients may test new agency products, the inherent “expense” mentality leaves marketers risk averse to innovations.
David, this article nails the problem right on the head. Your insight is always impeccable.
There are a handful of inhibitors that PR agencies, big or small, face. My experience says that public relations will never master the new skills. Here are a few reasons why:
1) Risk averse culture. Agencies do not encourage or reward risk taking. Evolving a new practice requires confronting risk and failure.
2) Rampant Luddism. Since the mid-90s my definition of literacy has included being able to maintain a website, edit different media types and generally exercise the wonderful set of media tools the Internet has spawned. Most agencies consider knowing the AP Style Guide to be literate enough.
3) Conversational attunement. Most agencies are tone deaf to the conversations taking place about their clients. They are clueless when it comes to meaningful engagement. They have neither the time or ability to engage in dialog with customers.
4) Fail to connect to key business goals. Getting column inches of ink isn’t a business goal. Capturing 1000 new leads is a business goal. Often the dots are not connected between the mechanics of PR (press releases) and supporting what’s important to a client.
5) Confidentiality and obfuscation. Learning how to implement successful social media strategies requires sharing case studies, anecdotes and results. Public relations is far to tight lipped to freely share best practices. That inhibits knowledge growth.
6) Wrong business model. Retainers encourage sloth and hourly billings don’t reflect the value a well executed campaign can deliver. With clients still exploring social media, a project based approach is more suitable. Projects, deliverables, and payment milestones may be a better model for now.
7) Relationships. A few years ago having relationships with relevant analysts and journalists was enough to keep you in business. Agencies have failed to build adequate relationships with online influencers.
I’m sure I could go on, but the bottom line is that a new kind of agency is called for. Just as web shops blossomed when ad agencies were too slow to learn new tricks, social media agencies are blossoming as older forms of marcomm remain stuck in the mud. That’s a huge opportunity and it’s knocking right now.
John,
Thanks. You might want to check the typo on your firm’s Web site – “Notable Campaigns & Assignements” – at http://www.ogilvypr.com/en/about/company_history.
I found the error while trying to find how many people work at Ogilvy PR. I am guessing about 1,500. If so, then a mere 6% of the staff is devoted to helping clients with online challenges. If it is anywhere near that amount, it’s more than a little embarrassing and tokenism, and I would support you in demanding that at least 60% of the staff get smart about online because that’s where the world of communications is headed.
Actually, I was chairing a presentation, and Marsha sat next to me. It was more than a passing comment.
David