For folks like me, sitting on the outside of the PR Agency-verse, it’s interesting (sometimes) to see what’s going on inside. As Mike Manuel has pointed out, some are faking it, some are pulling in outside help but others are digging in and doing the learning themselves.
Having spent the better part of my adult life inside of PR agencies, I know something about agency politics, that is why I have no faith in the ability of any agency – big or small – to pull in an outside ‘expert’ and start up a separate ’social media’ practice. For reasons to numerous to go into here, It Just Won’t Work.
I also know something about the first option – the faking it bit. I was the ‘tech expert’ for the latter half of the 90s, covering up the fact that the rest of the agency was still sending email attachments. I strongly suspect that hasn’t changed.
So we come to the last option – develop the skills set in-house.
For example – at CJP, down the road from me in Stratford, CT, I found this. For an agency to put something like this on You Tube, something must be afoot. Drop me a line guys, I’m interested in seeing what you are up to.
And at Marina Maher, Annie Heckenberger is cooking something up.
I don’t know if we’ve reached the proverbial tipping point yet, that might be years away. But we’re getting there. Without reference or help from ‘A list’ PR bloggers or the PRSA, we’re getting there.
