*UPDATED* Clients in the wild... PR agencies in the wild?

Went along to the NMK event last night, Clients in the Wild. There was a good panel including fellow bloggers, Will McInnes and Drew Benvie.

Amusing moment of the evening was Midnight Communications' MD, Sally Sarah Ogden, wondering out loud if Lewis had destroyed Second Life's brand but remarking that we'd never find out because no-one from Lewis was in attendence. WHOOPS. Fellow panellist, Drew, headed up the SL account until four months before.

My big take-away was that a lot of PR people there still only see social media (aka relationship building in a networked world/economy) as a range of new tools to slot into the time-worn PR campaign plan. My opinion (as voiced at the event) is that the internet/web 2.0/whatever is changing the way everything works so we need to do PR in a totally different way.

Someone said social media PR was either a glass half-full or half-empty.... my point is it's not a even glass, but something else entirely.

EVEN more reports from the event here:

• Alan Patrick
• Tim Hoang
• Ged Carroll
• Will McInnes

Technorati tags: NMK, Clients+in+the+Wild, Drew Benvie, Will McInnes, PR, social media

Comments

[Ian Delaney]

Just finishing up my report. The 'SL Incident' does not appear, strangely.

[Simon Collister]

Ever the perfect host, Ian. Good to see you again too. Lunch at that Morroccan place again soon?

[Drew B]

That was funny. People like to make assumptions like that, espcially about certain brands. Good job someone could add some facts huh! In fairness to Sarah we were briefed to cause a bit of trouble.

[alanp]

Moroccan elephants are extinct I believe ;)

[alan p]

On a more serious basis, I agree - PR is a "human social network" sort of service that uses media to channel itself. Social Networks are going digital, media is restructuring, hence the way PR works will be restructured by these forces.

Also, comms revolutions tend to drive major socio-economic change - where / how / why we spend money among them, so I suspect the traditional PR methodolgies must also adapt.

[will mcinnes]

Hi Simon - I'm just glad and heartened that at least one other person there, and brilliantly someone from the PR community and therefore credible, agreed with the overall gist that the industry needs to make a fundamental step-change rather than incremental minor adjustment. So much hiding and 'we're fine'-ing in all of the comments following on from the event.

I eventually got round to writing my thoughts up here: http://blog.willmcinnes.co.uk/blog/2007/11/world-has-chang.html

See you soon!

[Simon Collister]

Thanks, Will. You've produced a mini-essay about the event. Excellent stuff. Any more takers for the PR barricades.....?

[Libby Davy]

I guess I just have to add this. When I was 17 - getting ready to pop up from the soil as a new type of thing, a strategic stakeholder relations (PR) in Australia with a pack of old white male ex-journo's wondering what to do with us - I was sold a * two-way * definition of PR. I thought it was about dialogue and participation. To my idealist young self, with corporations gaining power and governments losing it, I thought working in PR might let me contribute to "mutual understanding between organisations and publics". By the time I ran away screaming from the Porter Novelli propaganda machine to join academia - I was disillusioned to say the least. A decade of activism and using my skills on the "other side" of the game, plus marrying an uber geek, led me to this. This? Social media evangelism, but with eyes and heart wide open. Now I am willing to come back in from the cold and go mainstream again. I'm not buying shares in old school PR firms. I'm banking on a phoenix or two. Let's hope we can create some real, social/eco impact, and take this (r)evolution all the way. With or without the dinosaurs.

[Libby Davy]

I guess I just have to add this. When I was 17 - getting ready to pop up from the soil as a new type of thing, a strategic stakeholder relations (PR) in Australia with a pack of old white male ex-journo's wondering what to do with us - I was sold a * two-way * definition of PR. I thought it was about dialogue and participation. To my idealist young self, with corporations gaining power and governments losing it, I thought working in PR might let me contribute to "mutual understanding between organisations and publics". By the time I ran away screaming from the Porter Novelli propaganda machine to join academia - I was disillusioned to say the least. A decade of activism and using my skills on the "other side" of the game, plus marrying an uber geek, led me to this. This? Social media evangelism, but with eyes and heart wide open. Now I am willing to come back in from the cold and go mainstream again. I'm not buying shares in old school PR firms. I'm banking on a phoenix or two. Let's hope we can create some real, social/eco impact, and take this (r)evolution all the way. With or without the dinosaurs.

[Simon Collister]

Intersting story, Libby! Thanks for sharing.