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Can This Reputation Be Saved?

The Public Relations Profession
Always look on the bright side.

Here at The Measurement Standard we often ask whether or not PR's reputation can be saved. After all, what better PR measurement than the reputation of the profession itself? Almost invariably our answer is a definitive "Maybe." Today, the answer is still the same, but even more definitively.

In this new era of social media, where marketing is all about conversations and relationships, you'd think PR would be King of the Hill. Word of mouth, positioning, the framing of discussions -- heck, these are all things that PR does best.

But look around, what is PR actually up to? It's busy creating fake blogs, and trying to manipulate the media with VNRs. It's pulling off stupid stunts, like the Aqua Teens episode in Boston, that indicate it really hasn't come very far at all since the early days of Hollywood publicists. And the result is that the reputation of PR is just as low as ever. Hey, at least it makes for good cinema: Have you seen "Thank You For Smoking?"

The good news is that a growing number of PR professionals are getting a seat at the table, and are truly acting as counselors for their CEOs. What I worry about is what will happen when these senior practitioners retire. Will their place be taken by publicists? Or will we have somehow educated enough people to value (and measure) relationships instead of column inches and AVEs?

Regardless of whether or not the overall trend is up or down, PR's reputation is usually in a state of flux. KDPaine & Partners is running an ongoing study of PR firms' reputations in the blogosphere. See the directions at the end of this article to view a customizable dashboard displaying the current results.

As of this writing, it appears that the hostility generated by Edelman with its Wal-Mart and Microsoft stunts, and by Burson-Marsteller for its role in the aspartame story, seem to have dissipated a bit. But we expect another scandal just around the corner. Odds are that PR's reputation will always need to be saved.

You know you need to measure your results, but chances are there’s never been enough money in your budget for evaluation. Until now.
KDPaine & Partners’ new Do-It-Yourself Dashboard system combines a Web-based application with professional consulting to enable PR professionals to customize their own PR dashboards. Look here for more information.

1. You’ll learn how to use hard numbers to prove the results of your PR efforts. (Plus, it's free.)

2. You’ll learn which are the right vendors for your measurement projects. (Yes, it's free.)

3. You’ll learn how to design your program right from the start to be easily measureable. (Plus, yes, it's free.)

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