Tomorrow I'll be speaking to a joint meeting of the local AdFed and Florida Public Relations Association clubs. The overall focus of the session will be conversation and interaction with your customers (not just blogs).
Another one of the topics will be the blurring line between advertising and public relations. One case in point is Word of Mouth (WOM). What are your thoughts? Are some advertising campaigns becoming PR campaigns?
The session is being held at the Lakeland Center from 11:30 a.m. till 1 p.m. Come on by if you're in the Central Florida area, but you don't need to make a special trip :-)
Visitor Comments
I wish I could be there. I'll be on on route to Tallahassee by then.
So many companies need to learn how to act small. Bigness is impressive to shareholders, smallness is important to customers.
Keep spreading the good news, Josh.
Posted by: Bob | March 13, 2006 9:28 AM
Josh - good luck with your speech. I am in Boise, ID so I would love to be in Florida this time of year!
I see two lines forming. On one side is classic interruption marketing such as advertising. This side is still heavy with tv, radio, and print, but is being re-warmed and served with web campaigns, street marketing, etc. That said, they still have an intrusive mind-set.
On the other side, is the consumer involvement marketer. This side is less concerned about message control, brand awareness, etc. and more concerned about creating a positive customer experience that creates organic buzz. To accelerate this buzz, they are creating communities, distributing their own content, and other consumer-driven tactics.
In the end, I think the latter side will win. Especially as the ad agency business model shifts away from media placement.
Posted by: Justin Foster | March 13, 2006 12:42 PM
Hey Josh, good luck speaking at the conference, I definitely wish I were in Florida right now!
I definitely think that the lines of PR and Marketing are becoming even more blurry than ever. I also think that campaigns, whether PR or marketing oriented, can be used for both. Many marketing campaigns increase awareness and acceptance as a PR campaign would do. And many PR campaigns may lead a customer to purchase a product, such as Ford and their new campaign.
I have an interesting tidbit about blogs also and their ever-extending reach. I was at a college newspaper conference where reps from Gannett were holding seminars. One of the reps, who was from Ft. Myers, Fla., told us how they had begun a blog for their newspaper and received 300 comments concerning leads to a murder case. They even used some of the comments in the trial!
Posted by: Lindsey | March 14, 2006 4:36 PM