Behind the Boomer & Web 2.0 Curve
By DH on Feb 28, 2008 in Personal notes, Public Relations
It’s interesting to watch how many major public relations respond to trends … usually becoming engaged after a trend is already well-established. Couple of examples –
My old friend, Greg Dobbs, and I launched a creative writing online magazine for baby boomers, called BoomerCafé, in the summer of 1999 in response to all of our boomer friends who complained they didn’t have a voice online. Neither AARP nor anyone else has ever provided an online voice of boomers like BoomerCafé over the last nine years. In fact, AARP tried for a short time to connect with baby boomers and gave up.
More than that, it was only last year that Fleishman-Hillard discovered baby boomers. Edelman announced a baby boomer team of “experts” last month. It’s odd that anyone would trumpet the fact that they are coming to the competitive table so late.
Then, there is online — Web 2.0 and the digital revolution. Most of the major agencies have only recently formed Web communications teams to address a trend that was charging forward at light speed five years ago! Other agencies, like Burson, Porter-Novelli and Ketchum, have yet to discover the Internet.
I’m not sure what to make of the slow response … it’s like a fire department that shows up a couple of months late to a four-alarm fire. Is it today’s overwhelming internal focus on making money for the big holding companies, such as Omnicom and WPP, that is preventing agencies from doing great work?
As I observe, consult and write books and articles about reputation and brand leadership in today's highly competitive world, I will share thoughts and perspective on this blog.
On Feb 28, 2008, Chuck Nyren said:
Yes, everybody’s late to the ballgame. AARP hasn’t given up – they’re just clumsy at it:
Music for Grownups
I see a difference between FH and Edelman. FH showed up a bit under the radar, had and hired some good people, is low-key and not pretentious about their jump into the Boomer pond. One executive with FH Boom co-wrote a book about marketing to Boomer women, and it’s good. She’s intelligent, quirky, interesting - and acknowledges other books and other experts on the subject in the FH BOOM blog.
Edelman dropped in like a bomb – with what they touted as a revolutionary survey that, they said, would destroy myths and blow everybody out of the water. This tepid survey revealed nothing even remotely new or relevant – the same stuff I and a bunch of others have been saying and writing about for years.
That is, of course, the world of PR. One firm is down-to-earth, transparent, helpful – another bombastic, crude, and full of B.S.
In my book, published in 2005, I predicted that the ‘revolution’ - if it happens, would be taking place n smaller and medium-sized agencies. I’m not sure if I’ll be correct on this one - but I do share your view, for the most part, about the holding companies.
On Feb 28, 2008, Martin said:
They are behind the curve because most of their corporate clients don’t know what to do with the technology and choke on the investment required to fully take advantage of it. Hence there’s no client demand and no revenue potential.