Old PR sold editorial just like ad space

In a recent chat with Danny Whatmough, the thought struck me that old PR agencies were really almost like an “editorial ad agency”.

In the same way the in house commercial team offered access to their pages, PR agencies sold access to the editorial space. In a media relations dominated world, it was a much simpler transaction.

In that world, things like AVE actually made more sense — even just psychologically. If you think about PR placed material just like you think of ad placements, of course that’s the comparison to measure on.

Today

Because today’s PR opportunities are so much broader than just media, this close close relationship between editorial and agencies has diminished.

Other agencies (search, social, <insert latest buzzword here>) infringe, there are many fewer media and strategies must necessarily be designed to earn attention across broader channels.

You don’t do PR anymore. You execute on the kind of strategic, channel agnostic marketing that every agency of every nature should be trying to do. The right type of work is something we are all converging upon.

In that reality, we all come at the problem with baggage befitting our legacy industry background.

Ad industry types expect to go big money and publish whatever they like.

PR types obsess over a story that would earn attention without a penny spent on it (but are often too timid about investing properly on the paid side.)

Our generation of PR founders won’t be building their value around selling editorial as if it was ad space. But what we do sell is much more valuable — a holistic, strategic approach to marketing challenges.

I’ll take that over being a commodity middleman any day.