I have been researching into what can possibly be the next level of open innovation that can catapult the PR Industry from its low perception and price challenge and gradually elevate its offerings in the eye of the buyer.
In this era of knowledge economy, with the consumer getting increasingly sophisticated and ahead of the curve in terms of information, the press release and indeed traditional PR as we know it, is increasingly becoming endangered. Absurd as you might imagine this thought to be, just think again - the computer did not serve notice to the Type-writer and Word-processor that it was around the corridor; neither did the mobile phone with its ability for text messaging and data, serve notice to the Pager or the Telex. The old always seats in cold comfort believing that human beings are creatures of nature who are too scared to try something new until the unexpected happens. The new is usually always unheralded until it starts to prove itself, and by so doing, it gradually dethrones the old! Let’s take caution or we might someday wake up to find out that we are yesterday's fad.
So what do we need to urgently do? The answer is simple, embrace social and not just digital, because digital is just a platform! Your success will depend not just on discovering digital but knowing what you want to do with it! Ask Yahoo and it will tell you it thought it was the next best thing to Eldorado when it commercialised the e-mail, earning billions in online Advert revenue until Google came along. Now Yahoo is in decline and Google is just soaring away. Why? Because Google has continued to reinvent itself! From the Search Engine, to Geo-mapping, to the e-mail (contesting yahoo's comfort zone) to Android (taking on Apple) to Chrome (taking on explorer and firefox), to its acquisition of Motorola Mobility to even social networking and social search! The Google business model is simply one that defies logic, yet it is working.
So back to what we need to do to gain control of the future as PR professionals, We need to redefine the whole idea of digital public relations by focusing not so much on the platform but more on the possibility it can deliver, how that possibility can add value to what we do and how we can deploy that value to attract fortune.
Very nice piece,capable of inciting deep reflection about a trade in communication,which continued relevance is buried in its ability to adapt and re-invent itself. I was however looking forward to your localising the essay through insightful local case studies on how the social media space has and will continue to revolutionise the practice of PR in Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteOlumide Idowu
@Olumide: Valid observation. I intend to discuss local perspectives of the route to joining the global conversation on the social media phenomenon and provide a route on how public relations practice in the Nigerian environment can benefit from an embrace of this new trend in subsequent articles. That's for the healthy debate. Looking forward to hearing from you on a consistent basis.
ReplyDeleteOga Mi,
ReplyDeleteSocial and digital are indeed turning traditional marketing communications on its head. However, I think that while the platforms are changing, the value that PR firms bring to the table remain relevant. The new challenge is to make sense of the blogs, wikis and other content publishers that make up the digital media space, and shape perception by engaging users through these platforms. Of course that brings a new challenge of measurement... :)
@seekingmastery: You've said it all.
ReplyDeletegood one B.O. and interesting piece. May be, the PR have to become a bit techies for things to get better or work closely with application developers in this regard. But seriously, the price challenge should be of concern and how to translate that across board, including PR companies and media entities, should be a course for symposium that must transcend benefits/value to all engagement process, that is only when it can make a business sense.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing is that when you say PR and social media, except when we intend to remove/removed the intermediary which is ACCESS between pure users - populace, carriers - which is the media outlets and PR companies; among them who bears the cost and how will various industries perceive this concept eventually?
@Remmy Nweke: You have asked a good question, but I reckon that, it is only when journalists and PR people are able to come together under the larger media umbrella, can this question be answered.
ReplyDelete