To kick off this blogging assignment on PR, brand evangelizing, and so forth, I thought I’d reacquaint myself with the whole process via a seminal work on the topic: “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.” I watched the film; I did not read the book. Hey, it’s the era of speed dialing, instant messaging, and go Go GO! Who has time for a book? Even Kindles don’t make reading faster, so there goes the tagline “Does for literature what microwaves did for cooking!” But I digress…
“How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” is a farce. It’s got just enough reality to be hilarious at times, and the focus on celebrity publicity makes it broadly appealing. Buried in the story, though, are nuggets of value for those of us engaged in brand evangelism for products a wee bit less sexy than the latest Hollywood starlet’s feature film.
Take, for example, bathtubs. Or perhaps shave gel. Or padlocks. I’ve led marketing efforts for each of these product categories in the past. And, believe it or not, I found relevant parallels to my own experiences in the story of HLFAP.
The parallel or insight that most resonated with me? It is the symbiosis between the various constituents in the publicity process – news generators, news disseminators, and news consumers – and the tension that arises between the proper use and the potential abuse of journalistic integrity. Let’s face it, in many, many categories of product, there is a trade press community that is starved for scoops, news, and topics of interest.
For those of us on the marketing side of things, there’s a love/hate relationship with this community. Love the information dissemination when we feel like the story was portrayed as we’d hoped. Hate the information dissemination when, for example, it’s not quite “on message.” I hear the gasps now… “How could such a thing happen?” Maybe a reporter solicited different perspectives, which perhaps poked holes in the well-crafted, highly refined, quantitatively-substantiated-as-most-appealing-to-users concept. Or maybe somebody just screwed up a quote.
Regardless, the care, consideration, and management of good connections to maintain journalistic integrity plays itself out on a daily basis. All parties rely on this integrity, despite the occasional consternation it causes. It brings value to PR for the stewards of brands, ensures believability for the consumers of news, and hence props up the whole of the PR industry.
So, here’s my finish with a flourish for today: if you’re not familiar with it, watch (or read) “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.” Do it with a friend, a colleague, or over a long lunch with your team. Then ask the question, “How well do we play our part in the publicity game?” Please provide feedback, comments, and perspectives here.
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