When I saw the recent AdAge article about publicists buying media, I think my heart stopped for a moment. What!? Public relations firms focus on earning media coverage: all the emails, phone calls, deskside visits, special events – striving for just a “mention” by the writers we woo on a daily basis. I checked all my college text books. No mention of purchasing media placement. The most we can do is cajole with some free products or travel.
Okay, okay. It’s not that extreme. Gur Tsabar’s AdAge article limits our purchasing power to one small area: search. Marrying paid search ad placement with PR efforts can exponentially enhance key messages – quickly and effectively. It gives a level of control that traditional public relations does not include. And, it just makes sense. People search for information everyday online, we can feed them the information they need and back it up with legitimate media coverage.
The premise may have made my heart skip a beat, but the article brings it right into perspective. The communications landscape is changing at light speed, but it’s not time to recycle those old textbooks quite yet.
-Marie (@mariefayandre)
