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August 9, 2005
PR--The Powerful Receiver?
I met last week with Peter Hirshberg, president and right hand man for David Sifry, founder and CEO of Technorati. As most of you know, Technorati monitors 14 million blogs, which the company considers the leading edge of discussion on the Internet. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the blogosphere. Naturally I turned the conversation to the role of public relations in this evolving world.
His big idea for PR is as Powerful Receiver. He believes that PR should to be involved much earlier in the product development cycle, in the very conceptualization of the brand. "PR has to change," he said, "from talking to listening."
He believes in the "reconciliation of markets and marketers." The ability to "engage in a continuing conversation" is a gift. It allows brands and companies to develop a new set of muscles, if they react in a supple manner. "This is a different way for markets to interact with consumers--a continuous real time relationship with the market. We need to listen, to understand sentiment, to change behavior."
In this context, I would like to suggest a new communications eco-system, that I have called The Learning Cycle. I borrowed the Learning idea from Boston Consulting Group, the originators of Learning Curve in the late 70s, which contends that companies could continuously lower the cost of production based on longer experience and greater volumes in manufacturing.
The Learning Cycle is a stark contrast to the one-way communications model which emphasizes messages and control, relying heavily on paid media for assured delivery to a targeted audience (consumers).
It calls for companies to listen to a broad range of stakeholders, then to innovate, to co-create with interested parties, to communicate and launch, to listen again and learn, finally to modify and explain.
Let's use the nuclear industry as an example. Given the escalating price of oil, the nuclear option is again under consideration, even by those in the green movement (except for my wife!). How could a new nuclear facility be located near a large metropolitan area, given concerns about terrorism and disposal of nuclear waste?
If we follow the Learning Cycle approach the energy supplier would go on-line with a paper from a credible group such as Cambridge Energy Resources (CERA) suggesting that nuclear is a viable option for the community. Solicit views from the community. Proceed to a planning phase that is open to the public, including town hall meetings and with a public web site for comment. Agree on a design and establish a protocol on disposal, security and training of personnel. Communicate the plan and take it out to the community. Modify the plan based on public input. This engagement approach can be applied across all communications, from launching a consumer product-from a car to a video game-to a company introducing an employee initiative.
This would be a far different approach than that taken in the 70s by Long Island Lighting (LILCO), whose Shoreham nuclear facility still stands in a mothballed state, never even once utilized. The community rose up against a decision taken in a closed sessions between politicians and bureaucrats. The Learning Cycle would not let that happen.
In Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace (which I'm finally reading), the Tsar asks the Russian nobility to provide manpower and money to repel the invasion of the homeland by the French Army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. One of Tolstoy's characters, a nobleman named Pierre Bezuhov, speaks up in a public meeting. "I imagine that the Tsar would himself be displeased if he should find in us only the owners of peasants who we give up to him and should not find us in counsel. We ought to ask the Emperor, most respectfully to ask his majesty, to communicate to us what forces we have, what is the position of our men and our army...I only said that we could make sacrifices to better purpose when we know what is needed."
We need to have an intellectual framework that moves us from megaphone to receiver and translator. The Learning Cycle is one person's idea on where to begin. We should position this as our answer to the consulting firms, which offer predictability based on experience. It is also a rationale for moving funds away from the top-down, advertising at consumers towards a horizontal, peer-to-peer continuous interaction model with multiple stakeholders. Would you do think – is public relations a powerful receiver?
Posted by Edelman at August 9, 2005 9:48 AM |
Comments
Makes sense to me. The old-school of command and control has been built on creating messages and then sending them out to the world - or 'Inside-Out'. The new schoool is about 'Outside-In' - or listening to what is happening and bringing those views and information into the product development process. More here...
http://www.collaboratemarketing.com/modernmarketing/2005/04/why_open_source.html
Posted by: James Cherkoff at August 10, 2005 6:18 AM
Richard,
Great blog! Looking at the Learning Curve from a purely philosophical perspective, it is always much easier to paddle with the current.
In other words, stepping back, watching and understanding a river before paddeling it will give an individual the benefit of knowledge, which allows a paddeler to use their energy more wisely/efficiently and will help keep them out of areas that may become troublesome.
More to the point, the more Corporations and governments engage their constituencies (customers/stakeholders), the more precise and useful their activities or policies will be.
Mark P. Fisher
Ottawa, Canada
Posted by: Mark P. Fisher at August 10, 2005 11:15 AM
James,
I like the outside in version of product development. I am also fascinated by the potential for inside out corporate image making. Note that great companies like Starbucks have informed employees who are key spokespeople to broader world whether blogosphere or even to friends and family.
Richard
Posted by: Richard Edelman at August 10, 2005 12:12 PM
Hi Mark,
In fact according to my colleague Michel Ogrizek, such a process of consulting with the community is mandatory in France before locating new factory in area. Keep reading my blog and thanks.
Richard
Posted by: Richard Edelman at August 12, 2005 9:26 AM
Richard,
One point I try and get across to my clients is that the traditional idea of promotion doesn't apply to the blogopshere. I think it's useful to focus on the other 4Ps. I discuss more here...
James
Posted by: James Cherkoff at August 12, 2005 9:28 AM
Richard, it is exciting to see the Learning Cycle continue to embed in Edelman culture. And it should be noted that throughout the cycle, listening (truly a constant) has two key roles. First in the initial assessment and in reviewing preliminary implementation.
However, I remember in your early discussions a critical step I missed in your blog...that of thinking. After the initial development of understanding through listening, thinking is an essential and frequently missing element in what Peter Hirschberg refers to as a "continuing conversation". and fundamental to co-creating. That critical step of connecting is where ideas are generated and often overlooked in a task-oriented approach to solutions.
Posted by: Barry Collodi at August 15, 2005 9:20 AM
The Learning Cycle is a very good method to cope with a great problem of the telecommunications industry in Greece: a lot of communities are against the installation of base stations...
Our company, e-Decathlon, that is Edelman affiliate in Greece, is going to apply the Learning Cycle concept...We think it will be succesful...
Posted by: Stathis Haikalis at August 15, 2005 1:47 PM
I agree with your wife that nuclear power is not a valid option as it is both unsafe and absolutely not cost effective. I wish your PR talent be used to promote energy conservation and real clean and sustainable energies like solar, wind, bio, thermal, oceanwave, etc... Amory Lovins makes this case very forcefully for new extra light vehicles and else in the book/study he did for ... the Pentagon. read the book and/or listen to Amory (recorded on www.voiceofbainbridge.org).
Posted by: philippe boucher at August 17, 2005 10:09 PM
Great blog~
You impressed me with the importance of the PR.
Thank you!
Posted by: eun at August 25, 2005 8:44 PM
Should Public Relations be part of the chain of events that releases value from new products, services or ideas, it must both add the values of the community and the value of Public Relations for empathy, understanding and activity. This is the process of creating new wealth. If this is not so, there is no role for public relations. If it is so, there is no other capability for creating new wealth. Public Relations is the management practice that levers wealth.
Posted by: David Phillips at August 26, 2005 12:28 PM
David,
This is a new direction
PR as aid in wealth creation
I really like it
And your basis is sound
PR as bridge to multiple stakeholders
This requires further discussion how did you come to it
Posted by: Richard Edelman at August 29, 2005 10:19 AM
Barry you are absolutely right Thinking must be critical element of this new concept
And it should be dynamic thinking working throughout process
Posted by: Richard Edelman at August 29, 2005 11:41 AM
Stathis,
This NIMBY issue (not in my back yard) also applies to installation of wind power turbines and other bits of technology that may not be aesthetically pleasing Please keep reading my blog
Posted by: Richard Edelman at August 29, 2005 11:45 AM
Philippe
I went to the Brookhaven National labs last Tuesday It is a 2.5 mile race track shaped facility With two rings running clockwise and counterclockwise Have gold ions smashing into each other to simulate the big bang Also research into UV and infrared effects on drugs etc Note my recent blog on science and need to connect to the public
And I will relook at nuclear issue in part because of pressure from home front!
Posted by: Richard Edelman at August 29, 2005 4:28 PM
Thanks Richard,
Here is the link to 7 minutes of Amory Lovins about nuclear energy.
I finally had the "courage" to take this segment out of the conference:
http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/philippe@bainbridge.net/1374-1-200508
21-amorylovinsaboutnuclearenergy.mp3
Here is the post about the whole talk (mostly centered on new technologies for cars): key arguments.
http://blogsofbainbridge.typepad.com/voiceofbainbridge/2005/02/winning_t
he_oil.html
February 11, 2005
Winning the oil end game, by Amory Lovins
We are happy to be back with this recording of the conference given by Amory Lovins this Friday at Islandwood.
Amory who comes to the island to teach at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute created by Gifford Pinchot explained to a full house the argument of his most recent book, Winning the oil end game.
He showed how super-efficient cars could be built very rapidly, how alternate bio-fuels could be economically developed and energy wastes eliminated to the extent this country's oil dependency would disappear.
A very compelling argument. Listen (57 min)
Thanks to radioa4all.net for hosting the recording.
The book can be downloaded for free.
We recommend a visit to the site of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
Posted by: Philippe Boucher at August 30, 2005 7:38 AM
Richard
Very interesting blog. Peer-peer discussion which drives action seems a lot more logical in today's world than the top down model. If PR is to shift its emphasis from pushing to receiving, agencies like yours (and mine..) need to start thinking big thoughts about how well our business structures and models are set up to support this. Interesting times ahead.
Posted by: Sally Costerton at September 5, 2005 8:32 AM
Sally,
I continue to think that private company infrastructures could be put to work in this type of disaster to supplement government communications We can be a part of this Example--major employers cell and web infrastructures become multiplier for government dictates on evacuation flood relief We can also help on constructing web sites for progress on reconstruction environmental issues Thanks for reading my blog
Posted by: Richard Edelman at September 6, 2005 9:14 AM