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COVER STORY
‘
‘I’ve yet to encounter
“We spout a lot in our profession about being honest and truth-
ful, but now there is a way of demonstrating it online. In my view
anyone who has been
it is the technological equivalent of looking someone in the eye
caught out in a mega
and telling them the truth.”
And are organisations doing that? “Maybe it is representative of
lie using one of
the kind of organisations that are using these channels, but yes
some have clearly identified spokespeople or even employees out
these tools’
there having these conversations online.
“The people using these channels tend to be more inclined to
bare everything — warts and all. I’ve seen quite a few people rep-
resenting brands saying ‘Look, we screwed up here’. Yet on their
own website you don’t see that message anywhere, which is
interesting, I think. I’ve yet to encounter anyone — I’m not saying
it hasn’t happenend, but I haven’t heard about it — who has
been caught out in a mega lie using one of these tools.
“So it presents our profession with a few dilemmas, whether it’s
marketing, advertising or PR — any aspect of communications
where we try to maintain control of our messaging. I would argue
you can’t. It’s gone. It has slipped away from you.”
So what do you do about it? “Well, you can try to retain some
level of control by initiating conversations and choosing the time
and place where you have them. That’s the right level of control
in my view. It adds a lot more interest to the collective profession
that we have the ability to influence opinion in a far more genuine
way than blasting out a press release.”
And does Hobson think PR and communications professionals
are up to speed on these new methods of conversing? “Frankly,
no. A significant shift in mindset still needs to happen. Of course
you are seeing some great examples, but certainly not uniformly.
At every event I go to in the UK, the US and elsewhere, I’m in a
distinct minority with any of these views, let alone the tools I’m
showing to people. So it is still early adopter.”
Clients on top
Hobson concedes that there are strong examples of PR agencies
and marketing companies embracing these tools and using them
to engage with people, but he says these are the trailblazers. He
believes the big push may come client-side.
“Clients are seeing the 30-second ad spot, and asking if this is
the best way to spend their money. They are asking whether they
could employ that money in a way that directly engages with peo-
ple and identifies so-called niche audiences.
“This is no longer the age of mass communications; this is the
age of niche communications,” says Hobson. “It’s feasible, it’s
24 Marketing Age May/June ‘08
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