 | | From: Cheerupron@aol.com
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 01:01:24 EST
Subject: Brian Connolly's Sarcasm and Stupid Advice on PR Firms
To: ron@themayreport.com
Ron,
At times I've agreed with Brian Connolly and his biting critiques of the PR industry. But the sarcastic response to the legit PR firm question and his conclusion that only a fool would hire a PR firm these days is simply further proof of why he's gone through two major PR firms in the last two years and is now basically out of the business.
As a MarCom professional, I too am frequently dismayed by the bait and switch, clock churning tactics of some of the better known practitioners in our industry. And the blatantly obvious self-serving garbage like the fan letter from A. Aldrich fluffing Dever doesn't help matters either. As many have noted here before, Dever's complete lack of ethics is precisely what gives our business a bad reputation. Frankly, too many of the tech PR people in this town are worthless.
But to suggest that "not choosing a firm presently is the best bet" and that all "serious businesses" are "deconstructing down to basic value so as to rebuild with structural soundness" is just nonsense. For a company/firm in a competitive industry, now may be a great time to aggressively go after market awareness and market share at a time when competitors are on the ropes. Not every business needs to "deconstruct." Some are well-run and well-financed. These can afford to get more aggressive with targeted, focused efforts that support the fundamental sales strategy of the firms.
The trick is to make sure you know enough about the firm you're hiring. Know the kind of work they've done. Check out their references and their reputation. Ask yourself, do they understand your business and understand the importance of integrating their activities into your overall sales and marketing strategy.
I won't name names because I don't want to be too self-serving and I don't want to promote the competition, but there are a few good people in this business that genuinely know what they're doing. With a little research among people in the industry, you can pretty quickly determine who the better practitioners are. And it's not necessarily those like Dever and Connolly that do a better job of promoting themselves, than of promoting their clients.
"Scott" |