Public Relations: Yes, Gini Dietrich at "Spin Sucks," it's become too timid

Too much of public relations (PR), at least among the big brandnames, is timid.  In a column on "Spin Sucks," Gini Dietrich asks if the PR business has become risk-averse, wary of offending anyone.  For example, the Pizza Hut PR gimmick of asking the presidential candidates what they want on their pizza was pulled.  The idea was smart, fun, and sure did get attention.  Yet, the powers that be caved to a fear of controversy.

Recently, I had just that disappointing experience ghostwriting an opinion-editorial for a major Manhattan PR agency.  They wanted to get this op-ed bylined by a BigPharma leader in a media property such as THE WALL STREET JOURNAL or THE WASHINGTON POST. But they were unwilling to go beyond cliches. 

Funny, there was once a time when no mover and shaker in PR would even attempt to foist conventional wisdom on the editor of the op-ed section.  Bob Dilenschneider, who founded boutique The Dilenschneider Group, had a high placement "hit" rate because he had the insight about the need to be bold and the persuasive skills to get clients to buy in.  During the 1990s when I had been a freelance ghostwriter for TDG we found homes regularly in top media for op-eds as well as requests for interviews and editorial board meetings.

Here the wisdom from a bunch of drunks may work to bring back creativity to PR.  In the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, it's hammered that one of the major drivers in human experience is fear.  That is the fear of losing what we have or not getting what we want.  The current PR industry seems riddled with that fear.  The bigwigs might attend open AA meetings, particularly those with speakers sharing from their gut, to develop a sense of trust in their best instincts for attracting the right attention for clients.

Comments

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[Gini Dietrich (@ginidietrich)]

LOVE this, Jane! In the comments on that blog post, someone said no one ever gets fired for playing it safe. Which is true (they also never get fired for hiring a big, global PR firm), but you also don't accomplish big things by playing it safe.

I thought the Pizza Hut campaign was hilarious. It would have been funny had it actually hit the debate. We need a little levity in our lives. It's really, really hard in today's digital world not to cave to the very vocal minority. The best advice one can take is to have a sound strategy and to stay its course, even when people have negative things to say.

If there is negativity, you're doing something right.