Have finally got my hands on David Meerman Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing & PR, and it hasn’t disappointed. I say ‘finally’ out of laziness more than anything else - it’s been in the shops for a year or so but my library has only just managed to get a couple of copies in. It’s out in paperback next month and I strongly recommend that all those with an interest in this area get their hands on a copy.

I haven’t finished it yet, but I can say with some confidence that I’m going to agree with the remaining chapters. That’s because I’ve agreed with virtually every line so far - it’s strangely stirring stuff. As the title implies, Meerman Scott is drawing a veil over the old way of doing things - the era of bribing contacts with liquid lunches and calling in a feature for your client on the back of it - and instead making a direct connection with the customer or buyer using all the e-tools available now. As he puts it:

Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars per month on a media relations program that tries to convince a handful of reporters at select magazines, newspapers and TV stations to cover us, we should be selecting the plugged-in bloggers, online news sites, micro-publications, public speakers, analysts and consultants that reach the targeted audiences that are looking for what we have to offer.

as well as:

The frustration of relying exclusively on the media and expensive advertising to deliver your organization’s messages is long gone. Yes, mainstream media is still important, but today smart marketers craft compelling messages and tell the world directly via the Web.

When I worked at a big PR agency, I remember becoming so frustrated at the complete detachment between the job you were supposed to do, and the impact it had on your client. So long as the cuttings came in, you were seen as doing your job. But times have changed. Meerman Scott succintly describes this change within two lists:

The Old Rules of PR

• The only way to get ink was through the media.
• Companies communicated to journalists via press releases.
• Nobody saw the actual press release except a handful of reporters and editors.
• Companies had to have significant news before they were allowed to write a press release.
• Jargon was okay because the journalists all understood it.
• You weren’t supposed to send a release unless it included quotes from third parties, such as customers, analysts, and experts.
• The only way buyers would learn about the press release’s content was if the media wrote a story about it.
• The only way to measure the effectiveness of press releases was through “clip books”, which noted each times the media deigned to pick up a company’s release.
• PR and marketing were separate disciplines run by differed people with separate goals, strategies, and measurement techniques.

According to Meerman Scott, the New Rules of Marketing and PR are:

• Marketing is more than just advertising.
• PR is for more than just a mainstream media audience.
• You are what you publish.
• People want authenticity, not spin.
• People want participation, not propaganda.
• Instead of causing one-way interruption, marketing is about delivering content at just the precise moment your audience needs it.
• Marketers must shift their thinking from mainstream marketing to the masses to a strategy of reaching vast numbers of underserved audiences via the Web.
• PR is not about your boss seeing your company on TV. It’s about your buyers seeing your company on the Web.
• Marketing is not about your agency winning awards. It’s about your organization winning business.
• The Internet has made public relations public again, after years of almost exclusive focus on media.
• Companies must drive people into the purchasing process with great online content.
• Blogs, podcats, e-books, news releases, and other forms of online content let organizations communicate directly with buyers in a form they appreciate.
• On the Web, the lines between marketing and PR have blurred.

“The Internet has made public relations public again, after years of almost exclusive focus on media”. Interesting thought I think.