It's real. It's here. This new era in PR and Marketing...

May 20, 2008 | Posted by: Alisa Valudes

2008 is the year that brought it full circle for me. For a while now, there's been considerable hype around the maturing of the Web and the advent of New Media and how these trends are reinventing the PR and marketing worlds. We've seen signs in different places, and we've all dabbled in it here and there. There's been a lot of talk, but very little action. Today, experimentation is encouraged and the industry is trying new and different ways to reach the customer. It's an incredibly exciting time, and we're truly in the midst of a new era. What brought it full circle for me personally was a moment in early 2008 when I heard for the first time a client refer to David Meerman Scott's book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR. It's one of those "aha" moments that don't come along often, but you know when it happens that you've just witnessed something pretty important. It was a moment of connection with this client since I also had read the book. While attending this client's annual marketing strategy meeting, I witnessed the "talk" turn to action. This client's marketing strategy for 2008 centered on many of these innovative concepts.

Take 2 - shortly thereafter, in March, I met someone at an industry conference who, once we got talking, said "have you read David Meerman Scott's book?". For me, this was uncanny. The second time in a 3-month period to hear the name David Meerman Scott. This was a moment of revelation for me - that this Marketing/PR revolution is truly underway. And it's happening as we speak in many different corners of the industry. When I think about our client base today and where each client is in terms of embracing New Media, our clients seem to map to a continuum. At one end of the spectrum are the more progressive clients who dive right in and are totally willing to try new ways of doing marketing and PR, while others are a little more conservative and are taking a "wait-and-see" approach. We've started to help our clients navigate this changing landscape and share best practices with them. And we've encouraged our staff to read David Meerman Scott's book to challenge their thinking and to continue to look for creative ways of collaborating with their clients. Eventually, all of our clients will get there. It's just a matter of when they're ready.