Old vs new: The value of ‘traditional PR’
While the 'new way' of PR – digital, social and influencer channels – has an important role, 'old-fashioned media relations' is still worth the investment, writes Bay PR director, Deb Ivison.
I was in a new business meeting the other day and I asked the would-be client what sort of PR they were looking for. “Articles in magazines and newspapers,” was the response. “Oh. OK.” Was my reply. “How odd. Is that all?” (I thought that but didn’t say it).
“What about social media?”
“No thanks”
“Events and activations?”
“No thanks”
“Can I interest you in a spot of influencer engagement perhaps?”
“We did that and it didn’t really work.”
OK so there’s the rub. Turned out they spent $20k on a PR agency who ran a top tier influencer program that returned very little on their investment.
Deb Ivison is a director of Bay PR
The said 20K was in exchange for the ‘little black book’ of influencers that the agency waved around and professed was going to have a ‘huge impact’ on sales and brand awareness.
“And did it?” I asked the client.
“Well maybe a little blip, hardly noticeable, and then it went back down again pretty quickly after that. We’re actually still waiting for some of the influencers to respond and it’s been six months.”
Gulp. Six months. In that time, you would expect to have had some pretty good runs if you were doing a traditional PR campaign, ie media publicity.
Which got me thinking, ‘traditional PR’. Writing a media release then getting an article published. It made me feel all warm and cosy, like hugging a familiar old blanket.
I was at the last Commscon conference and there was a lot of talk about the ‘new way’ of PR – digital, social and the like. Someone in the audience asked the question to one of the speakers, “What about traditional media – what’s going to happen to that?”
“It’s going digital.” was the succinct reply.
And there’s truth in that. There are so many publications going online and others simply folding. Journalists are juggling and multi-tasking – it’s like watching a rare species on the wane.
I remember when online media became ‘a thing’ and how annoying it would be when you pitched a story into a newspaper or magazine and they ran it online instead. It felt like such a let-down.
“Yes”, they would say, “we’ll give that a run”. And then, there it was, online. It was hard to justify your efforts to the client.
“It ran online,” you would say, trying to be cheery, but really feeling quite miffed, like you missed the mark. Presenting an online article didn’t feel the same as slapping down a glossy magazine or unfolding the pages of a newspaper to showcase your hard work in all its glory in print.
Things have changed now and online media most certainly is worth its weight, with the likes of Daily Mail, Mamamia and Huffington taking centre stage. Scoring a news piece on one of these major sites is now worth an air-punch.
How refreshing then, to sit in a new client meeting and be asked to get some media coverage. Whoop – would love to!
In fact, it happened again, quite recently too. Another new client in the offing. No need for any tricky stuff, just good old-fashioned media publicity.
It had me feeling cheery. So many times recently I have found myself questioning the old versus the new, the value of what we do and have always done – writing stories and getting them published or broadcast – because they’re good and interesting and relevant. That is a skill and it’s so rewarding. Don’t get me wrong, social, digital etc. – it’s all part of the mix and at Bay PR we do all of that stuff too of course – but it’s not the be all and end all. In fact many clients are doing that stuff for themselves and doing it well. What they can’t do, they tell me, is ‘PR’ – there’s a bit of skill in that.
How refreshing then that good old-fashioned media relations is still a ‘thing’, still on the list and considered worth the investment. Personally, I agree. Even after thirty years in the industry, there is nothing more exciting than seeing your story in print. It’s a labour of love. Working up the angle, getting the quotes and research together, pitching it in.
I still love the feel of a glossy magazine, turning the pages, the smell of the perfume sample, the favourite journos who have opinions and stories to tell. It’s like a club. I still like to keep my magazines until there’s too many and I have to throw them out. I also like to trot down to the newsagent on a Sunday morning and grab my weekend papers. I love to feel the weight of them under my arms, the supplements slipping and heavy with secrets yet to be revealed. A steaming cup of coffee and black print smeared on my hands. That’s what a Sunday morning is all about. For me, at least. Maybe for a few others out there too.
And in that, there is value. There is engagement and connection and an experience that goes beyond an influencer flashing up a product or a few likes on a fleeting post. Whether online or in print, TV or radio, an intelligent opinion, a recommendation, a thought-provoking interview, has meaning, has weight and has value. Enough, it seems, to still be considered by many marketers to be worth the investment and offering a meaningful return on that investment, which in this age, is heart-warming to see.
In my experience, most organisational leaders still seem to value traditional media over online and new media outlets which they and their networks don’t seem to read. Getting an op ed published in a mainstream metro or national publication is highly valued by my clients
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Totally agree! I think traditional PR if anything is going to see increased demand. Using the skills of PR for both traditional media and also as part of strategic quality digital marketing campaigns – using PR to generate high-quality backlinks instead of the traditional way backlinks are sourced which is so often dubious.
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As one of the very first Australian magazines to offer a digital on-line option to our print magazines some 16 years ago, firstly through Zinio.com and subsequently through iTunes , Google Play and PocketMags, can I just confirm that for the transport and trucking industry print magazines are still the preference, with the digital version selling only a consistent 7 percent of the print distribution.
Members of the trucking and transport sector prefer print to digital. If we could change to purely on-line we would obviously save around $1 million per year on print costs but that’s not what the readership wants. We even have readers in US and other overseas countries willing to pay $25 postage on an $8.95 print mag as they want the feel and convenience and quality of a print title.
This is an industry that doesn’t appreciate influencers, and wants the immediacy of picking up a magazine to read during a quiet moment. The appreciation of high quality print values, backed by knowledgable and informed writers keeps us in print, supported by digital and social media.
On another note, why is Fairfax refusing to distribute AFR Weekly to North QLD? Newsagents are complaining it cannot be ordered, hence of course sales will drop without distribution. Not a level playing field at all. Regards Chris Mullett.
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Thanks Deb
Great article and so true. I’m getting the same reaction from any new business coming my way. I think the Insta bubble is beginning to burst.
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“I still like to keep my magazines until there’s too many and I have to throw them out.”
Nobody under 30 would say that.
Thanks for your opinion Mum, I’ll be over for dinner at 6 on Sunday.
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Doncha just love how someone has an opinion and arrogantly believes that everyone has that same opinion?
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