It was every PR practitioner’s nightmare and further evidence of the fact that we as marketers are the most out of control and the most in control we have ever been. Editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and author of the book The Long Tail, Chris Anderson listed the email addresses of 350 names he has blacklisted from his email inbox on his very public and popular blog, thelongtail.com. The 350 offenders had allegedly sent Anderson irrelevant PR “pitches” one too many times. To the mortification of many public relations people who were on that list (with their company name in the email address), it served to show no one is safe from the fire hose, not even the people you hire to protect you from the fire (or to start it) depending on your needs. Anderson’s public protest sends the message that you must choose wisely when picking a PR firm to represent you, and it is essential you select one that knows the rules of the game and how to create compelling messaging directed at the right audience. The fact that mass distribution outlets for information exist these days is no excuse to spam irrelevant information in the hopes it randomly catches a reporter’s attention.

This principle applies not only in the context of media relations but also to customer relations. Anderson himself is an authority on the subject matter of targeting niches. He coined the term, “The Long Tail” which (according to its Wikipedia definition) describes the advent of economic business models such as Amazon.com or Netflix–businesses with the distribution power to sell a greater volume of otherwise hard-to-find items at small volumes in lieu of selling popular items at large volumes to a general audience. Translation: as marketers we must be prepared send multiple messages to multiple niches. The challenge is researching these markets and crafting specific communications for many distribution mediums, but the upside is precision targeting of your demographic.

Companies and agencies alike are taking a serious look at the way they market themselves. According to PR godfather Edward Bernays, “public relations is a management function which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interest of an organization followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.” It seems this definition is still intact; however, the “program of action” has taken on an unexpected life of its own. In a world where anyone with access to a computer can shape public perception by publishing exactly what they think about you, your company or your product in a blog, a podcast, or a vlog, this “management function” can seem untenable.

Time Magazine named “YOU” as person of the year in 2006 as a result of this trend to attest to the power of individuals to shape perception and as harbingers of the latest information on new products and services. Two years later, we as marketers are still in the process of determining what this means for PR campaigns and how consumers are responding to this new force. The user-generated information library, Wikipedia, is one of the most frequently visited sites on the web and “Google” is a verb. We now find information and make purchasing decisions based on a variety of sources that include blogs, vlogs, social networking sites, viral emails, and ecommerce rating systems. Each one of us is a journalist if we want to be. Our tendency to trust each other more than we trust institutions, media outlets or even the government prompts us to turn to feedback from one another before we make decisions on everything from politics to product purchases. At Zenzi ,we find ways to manage these data sources and make information on the Internet work to your advantage.

While many companies and marketers have been slow to integrate online and new media tactics into their campaign not knowing where to start, others have been successfully charging this territory with tremendous success. Heavy hitters with the resources and funds to research and analyze trends are increasing their online and new media spends and decreasing traditional media spends. According to a TNS media study, L’Oreal, Procter and Gamble, Unilever, Johnson and Johnson, and Estee Lauder cut budgets on TV and magazine advertising by 10.2% and 21.5% respectively between 2005 and 2006 while online advertising budgets increased by 46%. Another research study from EMarketer estimated an increase in 2006 of online advertising spending by 26% from the previous year amounting to $15.4 billion.

Forward-thinking public relations agencies are naturally taking the same cue and shifting attention to online strategies while still being guided by the traditional principals of PR, defined by The Bernays, to shape and manage public opinion of an organization. The advantage of online PR (just like print/tv/radio) is that it is executed for a fraction of the cost of advertising and continues to have the credibility of traditional editorial coverage. Traditional media is now looking to new media as sources for information, story ideas and for their own gratification and entertainment which further serves companies that are choosing to be a part of online communities.

A new study from Bulldog Reporter and the TEKgroup reports that journalists’ use of online newsrooms, blogs, RSS and social media is much higher than most PR professionals had guessed. Corporate news and information can be accessed online 24 hours a day. Nearly half of all journalists reported visiting a corporate website or online newsroom at least once a week. 25% of journalists surveyed reported regularly reading five or more blogs to research desired topics and nearly 70% followed at least one blog regularly. More than a quarter of journalists visit a social media or networking site such as YouTube, Facebook and MySpace at least once a week. Almost 40% subscribed to at least one RSS feed.

Increasingly companies large and small are cutting through the clutter to market to specific consumers niches. Marketing pioneer Lisa Johnson outlines five essential criteria that underlie consumer cravings in her book Mind Your X’s and Y’s: experience, transparency, reinvention, connection, and expression. Web targets that satiate these cravings and segment their audience and content such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Digg and Sugar Inc. are incredible new tools for companies to engage their consumers.

Traditional companies such as Schwab, Chevrolet and Nike all provide excellent examples of campaigns that are hitting the mark in satisfying these cravings. Chevrolet targeted college students to promote the launch of the redesigned 2007 Chevy Aveo. The company selected two students each from seven college campuses across the nation to see who could “live the largest” inside a Chevy Aveo for five days. The students could only leave the car to attend class or for 10-minute breaks while documenting their entire adventure online. The students embraced the idea enthusiastically, creating YouTube videos, LinkedIn and Facebook groups, photos, blogs, and other realistic expressions of their experiences. Result: in just five days, the Aveo Livin’ Large Campus Challenge generated 217 million audience impressions through online, traditional, grassroots and campus media. Over one million students were actively engaged in the Challenge through the Aveo Website and links in each team’s Facebook and MySpace accounts.

In January 2007, Charles Schwab launched its new “Money and More” private online community made up of 350 25-to-40 year old Generation X non-Schwab clients, which acted as a focus group providing valuable market research for the company. Based on insights from the community, Schwab lowered account minimums to $1,000, introduced a high-yield investor checking account and developed an online landing page specifically for the Gen X target. Schwab has added 32% more Gen Xers since the online community was launched.

Nike launched the Breakfast Club to promote the Jordan Brand. The club is an interactive online basketball training community. Customers can select pre-built workout curriculums or create individual programs and hear from celebrated coaches on the pursuit of improving their game. The self-built programs incorporate a social component through peer assessments. 120,000 consumers signed up, and when the Training Tool for the Breakfast Club launched in August 2006, 100,000 more unique visitors came to the site than the previous year. Visitors spent an average of six minutes on the site.

The common thread in all these examples is that the content was relevant to the audience. The companies and their respective agencies were instrumental in coming up with campaigns that were fresh and had a hook to keep customers coming back for more. All good marketing and PR professionals agree that you can be present on Wikipedia, Facebook, Linkedin, Digg and wherever else, but if the content you are pushing is not interesting to your audience, simply being there will do nothing for you. The advantage of being online is that the “stickyness factor,” will have a viral effect.

Even trade shows are emerging online. PR practitioners must begin to navigate how best to leverage these virtual experiences for their cusomters and must elevate the level of content they can provide to make up for the lack of human interaction. Historically, setting up and preparing content for media and analyst interviews has been a primary function of public relations agencies.

Unisfair, a Silicon Valley based software company, powers virtual events for companies like IBM, Cisco, Quest and Adweek. The events include everything one would find at a live event, including a grand entrance hall, exhibitor booths, and networking forums through instant messaging. Attendees can listen to guest speakers, meet in virtual meeting rooms, and download whitepapers, podcasts and other valuable content from exhibitors. Brent Arslaner, VP of Marketing for Unisfair, says the advantage is being able to generate extremely targeted leads by being able to see who clicked on your virtual booth, downloaded your materials, listened to your speakers and chatted with your virtual sales reps. While this forum might not be an avenue that many companies are ready for, early adapters are having tremendous success drawing attendance and generating qualified leads from these events. Arslaner estimates on average that sponsors can expect to generate 10% of qualified leads from the total number of attendees.

And what about those customers who are simply not behind a computer all day long (i.e construction and even sales people in the field)? How can your company or agency reach them? Vancouver, Canada-based AirG powers mobile technology that enables mobile social networking and boasts the largest mobile community at 20 million customers globally. Most major wireless carriers have a branded version of the technology. AirG says 60% of its customers still do not have computers. The mobile equivalent has the same essential components of other social networks in that users can create profiles, join chat rooms, share photos, and blog through their mobile phone. It does not require a PDA and is accessible on most handsets. The appeal to marketers is that they can zero in with great precision on targets, based on the demographic of the wireless carrier and the profile information of the users in the network.

Companies such as West Coast Customs, creators of the famous MTV show “Pimp My Ride,” used the AirG network to run a highly successful give-away contest aimed at urban youth. The company offered Boost Mobile’s “Hookt” network a chance to win a “pimped out” or customized Dodge Charger. Allison Johnson, communications director for AirG says, “the campaign solicited 1.5 millions entries, which we considered a huge success.”
There are many low-cost tactics companies can do right away to improve their visibility to target customers and ensure they don’t get lost in the information abyss. Creativity is getting companies of all sizes out from under the places they were formerly stuck. In this infinite sea of online outlets for entertainment, communication and information, will your message get lost?

Contact Zenzi for a multi-touch marketing analysis to learn how to best position your company for success.