RonAmok!

Brent (a pseudonym for a real live person) hired me to help him incorporate new media into his decades-old successful PR practice. During the engagement, something struck me as odd–the fact that Brent preferred information gleaned from big publications as opposed to some of the great online resources that I had pointed him toward. I’d forward a link to a blog post written by a successful PR blogger, he’d look at it casually, and then return to reading his paper. Every now and then he’d find some “new” article on social media, make a photocopy of it, and drop it on my desk for my comments, where I’d catch myself thinking, “Didn’t we discuss this topic weeks ago?”

And then it all became clear to me.  Brent had built his career on a fundamental belief that the printed word represented the gold standard for his industry, and to question this belief would mean turning his back on a concept that had made him a very wealthy man. It is a belief that I, as a proponent of new media, do not share.

The Mustard is off the Hot Dog

Figure 1 illustrates how Brent’s PR career has benefited from an overlap with the Golden Age of Print. Between 1970 and 2000, Brent’s fundamental belief aligned with the industry’s high circulation numbers. Unfortunately, that has been changing over the past 20 years, as circulations are 23% off their all-time peaks. And if 23% doesn’t sound scary enough for you, consider the fact that today’s circulation numbers have receded to levels not seen since the Truman Administration.

Brent’s business has weathered the slow and steady decline because the majority of the loss has occurred at the smaller newspapers–until recently. Over the past five years, the nation’s top 25 newspapers have lost 25% of their circulation numbers as indicated in Figure 2. With his fundamental belief shaken to its core, Brent is now faced with a very scary situation; he’s staring straight down the barrel of The Innovator’s Dilemma.

So What’s Next?

I’m not recommending that Brent throw the baby out with the bathwater. Big media still has a punch, and therefore, it has a significant role to play. But businesses cannot rely on it solely anymore. Until mass media can design a business model that plays nice in an online world, businesses must do everything that they can to break their dependence on them. Companies must consider the fact that audience is an asset, and that they must adopt publishing principles in order to build their own audiences.

The successful adoption of social media technologies requires two things: 1) questioning fundamental assumptions that don’t align with today’s communications realities and 2) combining the storytelling practices of old with the delivery benefits of new. Together we make a great team. Separately, we’ll continue to be at odds with one another.

And while we are fighting over our beliefs, the only person who’ll suffer is our mutual customer.

Tags: agency Audience is an Asset circulation fundamental assumptions New Media Orange County PR Public Relations social media business as a publisher ron ploof top 25 newspapers

When I started my first company back in 1994, I remember the “advice” that people gave me:

• Customers won’t beat a path to your doorstep
• You must spend money to make money
• You need a logo
• You need a fax machine, telephone, mailing address, and business cards
• You need to buy advertising
• You need to get press coverage

Sixteen years later, the professional communicators are still chanting the same mantra, omitting new options such as:

• we now have access to digital communications technologies that reach internationally–for a nominal hosting fee.
• we now have access to our own international radio stations (podcasting) for nominal hosting fees.
• we now have access to our own international television stations (YouTube)–for FREE
• we now have access to a worldwide focus group that can be observed through search.twitter.com–for FREE
• we now have one of the largest companies in the world, Google, that will not only cut digital pathways to our doorsteps, but it will pave them, drawing customers directly to us– for FREE

Are you still driving your 2010 communications plans using 1994 advice?

I looked around the crowded restaurant for any sign of my friend, who caught my attention with a wave of his hand. As I got closer, I noticed two other gentlemen sitting at the table with him. He introduced us, then apologized, explaining that their meeting was running a little long, but that I was welcome to stay until they finished.

Who doesn’t like being a fly on the wall, right?

It took me a few minutes to lock-on to the conversation, but I finally understood that they were discussing the development of a new reality television show. You gotta love LA!

I sat there like a mute, listening intently. One volunteered to write the treatment. Another would scour his contacts to find the right people to pitch. As they wrapped up, one of the gentlemen looked to me and asked, “What do you think, Ron?”

Uh-oh. There’s nothing worse than being asked a question by a perfect stranger who has no idea who you are. Add the fact that you’re a guest at the table, and the complexity of the social situation compounds itself exponentially. I looked to my friend for guidance. If he had given me the waive-off signal, I would have bit my tongue. Instead, he smiled and gave me the green light.

“Why do you need them?” I asked.

“Need who?”

“Whoever you’re pitching the show to. Why do you need them?”

He looked at me as if I had two heads.

I explained that if they truly believed in the project–if they wanted to maintain control of their own destiny, why not consider producing the show themselves and releasing it online?  I offered a litany of benefits to consider, including creative control and the ability to find the right audience as opposed to the biggest one.

They listened politely, asked a few more questions, and then wrapped up their own conversation.

I don’t think that they’ll change their plans, but online publication should at least be a consideration. Our networked world has opened all sorts of possibilities for indie producers.

What story have you always wanted to tell? What’s stopping you?

Photo Credit: Library of Congress on Flickr