One Doc blog post = MBA in PR

You could look at Doc's post today on PR and get a nice, compact graduate degree in what's going on with PR today.  Cuts included from Edelman and my friend David Parmet, both of whom contribute valuably.

These three speak with a grace I don't have, but I won't let that get in the way of saying again what I've said here before.  The Cliff's Notes version is this:   Do you want "good PR"?  It's free for the taking if you do only two things, mainly: 

1. Behave well.  That's a catch-all that includes having a product/service people want, listening to what the market tells you about what it wants, being appropriately proactive, and not breaking the law.  Why is the 1982 Tylenol case still the textbook example of good PR?  Because McNeil behaved so well.  Why are there more textbook examples of bad PR than you can shake a stick at?  Becuase organizations behaved badly.

2. Relate with your publics.  There's behavior, and then there's the way you talk (and talk) about your behavior.  Relating with your publics means conversing with them, listening to them, having a sense of humor, understanding what they want and figuring out how to get it to them.  In other words, reflect normal human behavior, because we're humans interacting with each other.

I can't believe that if you do those two things at the root, people will write, say and believe good things about you and will be more likely to buy your stuff.  And that's what you're after, isn't it?  It should be. 

Edelman writes:

"We talk with pride about developing messages for our clients. What about Doc Searls’ view that in this democratized world, we don’t need messages? Maybe the idea of controlled messages is something that worked in a world of relatively few media and is now obsolete. We have to get away from anything that smacks of control and manipulation of audiences. We should opt for public relationships where the operational words are dialogue, transparency and speed to market."

Sure, of course.  I could aruge with the last line becuase it still sounds like business-speak (isn't transparency wildly overused?), but never mind that -- he's right that controlled messages are ridiculous.  Companies assume controlled messages will enter the ear and lodge in the brain as an uninterpreted belief and will cause a very specific, highly-prioritized action in the company's favor. 

Come on.  You and I both know very well that human beings aren't like that.

Edelman also said this, which I think is much more on the money (emphasis mine):

"We also agreed that we need to have PR that is policy based, not the PR of defense and spin. As Paul Holmes eloquently stated in PR Week, 'So good PR can't be about cosmetics, nor can it be about projecting an image that fails to reflect reality. Relationships aren't built on images; they are built on authentic and consistent behavior.'"

Edelman says humans are relying on friends and family now becuase they've lost trust in government, business and the media.  If there's no trust, there are no real discussions between humans and the institutions serving them.  If PR is seen as part of the problem -- and I think it is -- practitioners need to behave more like the humans and less like the institutions.  Help the institutions understand what the humans value and need and then help the institutions talk like humans.  Holy cats, will that help.

Doc outlined this waaayy back when by saying this, and it's every bit as relevant now as it was then:

"But, of course, the best of the people in PR are not PR Types at all. They understand that they aren't censors, they're the company's best conversationalists. Their job — their craft — is to discern stories the market actually wants to hear, to help journalists write stories that tell the truth, to bring people into conversation rather than protect them from it. Indeed, already some companies are building sites that give journalists comprehensive, unfiltered information about the industry, including unedited material from their competitors. In the age of the Web where hype blows up in your face and spin gets taken as an insult, the real work of PR will be more important than ever."