We are a true digital shop, so it is a point of pride for us that what we do for our clients online can’t be put into the PR box, the advertising box, the direct marketing box, etc.  The Web blurs these old distinctions and if you don’t get that, well…good luck out there on the vast digital plain. 

Because of this orientation, I (along with many of my colleagues in the digital world, I’m sure) often find myself suppressing just the tiniest bit of an eye roll when a client brings up “the PR firm” or “our ad agency.”  So, it came as a big surprise to me last week when I found myself wishing I had a PR firm at my fingertips. 

It was mid morning when I got a call from an old friend (not a client) who found himself in the middle of a very nasty, very divisive, very public debate.  As he explained the situation to me, I immediately went into digital mode, looking for the Forums and Blogs that were most likely to light up as the day unfolded. 

As I rattled on helpfully about what people were saying online, he interrupted me: “Nan! The press is outside.  What do I say?”

Initially, it was a question that didn’t throw me.  At this point, I already had a handle on what was happening on the Forums, so I quickly spouted off some questions he was likely to hear from reporters.

“Ok, ok.  Got it.  But…but how do I answer?  What do I say?”

Uhhhh…..Messaging?   Ouch.  I don’t even like that word. 

In fact, upon hearing it uttered, I might normally have been tempted to go on a long rant about old models of one to many communications, letting go of command and control, the end of media gatekeepers, etc. – all which would have been spectacularly unhelpful to my friend, who was facing a slew of reporters and whose words would no doubt echo (within minutes of speaking them) on the Forums I was so busy monitoring.

Let’s be honest.  I don’t know anything about the finer points of talking to conventional press in a crisis.  And PR firms wouldn’t have a clue as to how consumer generated media was impacting the situation (much less what to do about it).  Fortunately for my friend, he went with short, sweet, and true, and it all turned out ok.  But, the spotlight doesn’t always result in such a just outcome.  We were lucky.

What’s my point?  We all know this: The reality is that none of us (digital shops, PR firms, ad agencies) truly have a completely integrated, online/offline service offering (despite the hype in some agencies’ marketing materials).  And that’s a problem that we’d all better figure out a solution to — soon. 

In the meantime, I’m going to stop my eye rolling and start insisting on more and better communication with my clients’ PR firms.

Filed under: Agency, Reputation Management on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 by Nan Dawkins |
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