On Dinosaurs & Asteroids
Among the many OTHER debates that bounce around the echo-chamber on occassion is the debate on disintermediation. Specifically: As Social Media becomes more mainstream; as companies enable more direct communications with their end-customers (through blogs, SMNRs, RSS, etc.), will the PR industry suffer a level of disintermediation? Will the middleman role fade away?
To date, that has certainly NOT been the case. Social Media faux pas notwithstanding, the PR industry business has been booming. There's been a headlong rush, among client companies large & small, into the arms of PR agencies --- specifically agencies who (supposedly) "get it" when it comes to Social Media.
Of course, that gold-rush won't last, as knowledge (mistakes, best-practices, daily use) spreads amongst marketers of all stripes. So, disintermediation could still occur within the next 3 to 5 years, if you believe the cynics. If PR agencies are becoming dinosaurs, we need to scan the skies for asteroids.
I was discussing these concepts with some colleagues and clients recently. One of them said something off-the-cuff that struck me as (potentially) profound. He said, "One of the reasons companies hire PR agencies is so that they have someone to blame when something gets FUBAR. Despite all of the OTHER value that agencies offer, they ALSO serve as job insurance for the marketer. The agency is the neck that the marketing v.p. gets to choke, if they ever need to protect their own necks."
Talk about cynical! And yet, he makes a good point.
As marketers (and their agencies) struggle to keep pace with high-scaling volumes of "traditional" and "new era" communications and communities, mistakes are bound to happen. Because an agency has several clients, they'll make (or witness) more mistakes. They'll learn more, and faster. So, it's better that the agency catches those bullets than the clients' marketers. What could be more human --- or humane --- than that? At most agencies, losing a client does not mean losing a job --- and that's not the case for the in-house contact, for whom "making a mistake" could result in "missing a mortgage payment."
Thus, for now, the PR Agency serves at least two distinct & important purposes in the Social Media era:
- Faster learning curve across multiple clients = more sophisticated counsel re: Social Media do's & don't's.
- "FUBAR insurance" for the corporate marketer.
Combined, these dual benefits should ward off a few asteroids.
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Comments
Todd:
I also think that the typical client-side communicator is overwhelmed with work and is pulled in too many different directions to focus. He/she needs competent agency help more than ever.
That isn't going to change just because someone in the company starts a blog. Heck, it might even get worse if the company employs social media -- creating content isn't easy.
Posted by: John Wagner | January 23, 2007 01:49 PM
Agreed, John. As much as I appreciate the perspectives and experience of folks like Stowe Boyd or Brian Oberkirch - great believers in "edgework" - I tend to think that we're looking at an EVOLUTIONARY process: most people are too busy working to blog, or to participate in blogs as a reader/commenter.
I think I read that there are only 2M blogs that are updated with regularity, and that about 25% of Americans read blogs with any regularity. (My guess is that a large % of thoese "regular" blog readers simply stumble upon relevant blog postings via Google searches on topics of-interest, and then get engaged: it's a reaction, not a proactive seeking-out of blog content).
Anyway: interesting times, eh?
Posted by: Todd Defren | January 24, 2007 07:31 AM
"One of the reasons companies hire PR agencies is so that they have someone to blame when something gets FUBAR.
This is becoming increasingly disconnected with Generations X & Y. They want genuine voices from real people, not something that can be denied as only the voice of a third party.
We understand you'll screw up sometimes. If it happens, then we want a real voice of apology and a brief explanation, not a third party apology.
If you want real engagement, then you need to engage with your customers yourself.
Posted by: scientaestubique | January 30, 2007 03:44 AM