Yet, I work for the largest private Public Relations firm in the world, Edelman. Luckily however, I was hired on the Digital team which doesn’t require a whole buncha’ public relations knowledge. And, to be completely transparent (since that is the word of the decade), I used to laugh at PR people because I thought it was such an easy job.
Working for Edelman Digital has opened my eyes to this new skill set and I am learning something new every day. There is a lot more to public relations than most people think. I used to be of the mindset that it was just about writing a press release or getting mentioned somewhere in the media.
I was wrong.
A few weeks ago, I attended an event at the Churchill Club, “What the Public Believes: New Trends in Corporate Reputation Management” featuring Richard Edelman, the President & Chief Executive Officer of Edelman. Also on the panel was Paul Bergevin, VP, Global Communications @ Intel, Peter Diamandis, President, Chairman & CEO of X PRIZE Foundation and Frank Shaw, Corporate VP of Corporate Communications at Microsoft.
- Panel at the Churchill Club – 2010
The panel was truly enlightening for a marketing guy like me. Rather than summarizing the commentary myself, here is a collection of tweets from the event that really captures the true vibe of the conversation:
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barrseitz:
RT @mchui: R. Edelman: Only 13% believe in the messages they hear through ads. Start w/ employees, social meda, then ads #churchillclub
Xtel:
Frank Shaw (MS) explained that reputation doesn’t mean much to execs until value impacts bottom line or stock price #churchillclub
setlinger:
In Silicon Valley we should invest less in engineering and more in reputation, says Intel’s Paul Bergevin #churchillclub /via @Xtel
mchui:
Frank Shaw (VP of Corp Comm): You need to understand that personal opinions become professional opinions in social media #churchillclub
ashleymayer:
Paul Bergevin, Intel re social media policy: “Companies need to democratize info flow” Frank Shaw, MSFT: 1 rule = “Be smart” #churchillclub
Xtel:
@fxshaw: SM challenge: pro & personal identities. An exec may tweet about bad airline service not realizing it’s a client #churchillclub
mchui:
Richard Edelman: Crisis mgt: 1. Tell the truth 2. Personalize solution (a leader to own the problem) 3. Tell your employees #churchillclub
AMcCann2285:
RT @jowyang: Conversation around Toyota’s PR crises: Richard Edelman says companies need: good products, transparency and reason to trust #churchillclub
mchui:
Richard Edelman: Previous important factors for corp reputation – strong leader, good financial numbers – now at bottom #churchillclub
Xtel:
Frank Shaw (MS) explains that reputation doesn’t mean much to execs until its value impacts the bottom line or stick price #churchillclub
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