I'm a web strategist and aspiring know-it-all with a passion for all things digital. I've worked in PR, advertising and not-for profit industries, and now I run a creative agency. These are the things I think about, and am sometimes compelled to write. More...

Losing Control

Jun 27 2006
4

In an article on vnunet.com about YouTube, I came across an excellent quote from Mark Tutssel, the worldwide chief creative officer at Leo Burnett. 

Marketers must learn to let go of the control they think they have over their brand," he said. "Once consumers have interacted with brands, they will not go back to being shouted at by marketers.

Of course, we can’t let go of control completely, but his point is extremely important.  Consumer-generated media is booming right now, and if done properly, it’s something that advertisers can leverage to get their message out, but definitely something that PR folks have to pay attention to in order to avoid completely losing control of their message. 

How do we respond to negative consumer-generated media?  It’s a big question, and one that I will definitely return to, as it’s one of the most important jobs of the New PR force.  Todd Defren has some good suggestions on his post about Influence 2.0, though I think convincing a client to adopt some of the suggestions would be difficult, if not amusing to watch. 

It seems that PR and Advertising in the new marketing environment will have to work closer together than ever before.  Of course, the easiest way in a networked world to avoid bad PR is to have a good product and support it well.  If that’s what comes out of the "2.0" craze, it will be worth it all round.

  • http://www.pr-squared.com Todd Defren

    So instead, Comcast fired that poor schmoe. Nothing about fixing their atrocious service, just scapegoat the tech.

    I agree that my ideas were outlandish. But I also think they might’ve worked. The Scapegoat Trick is so Old School, a state of mind that is transparently along the lines of, “let’s brush this under the rug and hope it blows over.”

    Some folks on my team at the agency forwarded some addtional whacky ideas for what Comcast could have done… I may post them just to prove that I am not the only wingnut out there… ;)

  • http://www.ryananderson.ca Ryan

    For the record, I thought the ideas were great for the most part… I just think it would take some SERIOUS convincing to get a client to go along with it.

    Comcast’s response to the situation pretty much exemplifies the problem that’s illustrated in the video. It’s easier to deal with a symptom than a disease, I suppose.

  • http://www.digitalstreetjournal.com Jonathan Trenn

    Poor schmoe? Well, finding a schmoe fast asleep on my couch or one who has eaten all of my porridge is probably cause for termination. People want to trust the people who come into their homes. Comcast having fun with it could be viewes as a callous move by Comcast’s customers.

    And yes, you are right, their service really does suck.

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