PR 3.0 – The Era of Disruptive PR

 

 

Just as the Internet is transitioning from "Web 2.0" to "Web 3.0," public relations is making a similar sort of transition.

 

If PR in the mid-1990s gave rise to enhanced one-way communication through the mass adoption of e-mail and the Internet, and more recently new technologies like blogs, podcasts, and other online tools have spurred something resembling two-way communications, then what's on the horizon?

 

We don't believe it will be driven by new technology so much as it will be a change in mindset. We call it "disruptive PR," or to state it more accurately: companies and brands engaging their enthusiasts and stakeholders on their terms, not the companies'. In reality, it means ceding a little bit of the brand's identity to the enthusiasts who love it most by looking at the world through a new set of eyes: the enthusiasts. That might seem like a subtle evolution, but in fact it's a striking departure from the current landscape.

 

This won't really be a matter of choice; it's going to be a necessity – a table stake for companies that want to remain relevant in a world where irrelevance is quickly becoming the norm.

 

Why will that be the case? Quite simply, with every passing day fewer and fewer people are consuming media – any type of media. We know traditional media is suffering – look no further than the continued layoffs at the networks, newsweeklies and newspapers as Exhibit A – but that doesn't mean all those eyeballs are automatically migrating to "mainstream" Web sites, either. Some are – look no further than sites like PerezHilton, TMZ, Engagdet, Gizmodo and others as Exhibit B – but in reality only a few dozen Web sites are genuinely thriving in this new world.

 

A large – and growing – number of people are becoming increasingly preoccupied with their interests because their interests can now be catered to. And this happens in lots of different ways: through social networks, micro blogs, niche sites, gaming worlds, viral programming, and so on. The list is endless and growing (sort of like infinity+1).

 

The essential truth – for companies the word would be scary truth – is this: Consumers don't have to consume anything anymore that doesn't speak to their interests. If you're a diehard Mets fan, your media consumption may consist of Metsblog.com, SportsNet NY, and the Mets Facebook group, and little else. You may fit the coveted marketing profile – young man 18-34 – but if brands (that aren't called the New York Mets) want to reach you, they had better relate it back to the Mets somehow. That's not an easy thing to do.

 

To use a real life example, take the case of Dr Pepper, a Ketchum client. Its primary target audience is young men, and its primary brand attribute is that it's flavorful. Given that, its marketing and PR voice has always been a bit irreverent.

 

But our client Greg Artkop challenged us to go beyond that. No more doing the stuff that the brand thinks is cool; let's engage our enthusiasts by doing something that they think is cool, with the hope being that it would create a deeper connection.

 

Our concept: Encourage Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose to release his decade-in-the-making album Chinese Democracy by offering a free Dr Pepper to everyone in America if the album drops in 2008.

 

At first blush it might seem bizarre, but to date it's generated over 300 million impressions and has created an almost immeasurable connection between the brand and millions of GNR fans. Why? Because the brand put itself in the place of one of its subdemographics – music enthusiasts – and approached it from their perspective: what would they appreciate, find entertaining, and think is cool. And we made it authentic and funny by purposely excluding estranged GNR guitarists Slash and Buckethead from the free Dr Pepper offer – a small but critical touch.

 

It worked so well that the reclusive Axl Rose actually thanked Dr Pepper on the official GNR Web site, and revealed that he would share his Dr Pepper with Buckethead because a few of his tracks were still on the album. That might seem like an insignificant thing to most people, but to the GNR fans we were targeting, this was news – big news. They appreciated what Dr Pepper had done, mostly because it was so unexpected, unusual, and out of the ordinary for a company. Their feedback to us (in the form of thousands of blog posts): who knew that Dr Pepper had a sense of humor?

 

Disruptive PR isn't about attention grabbing stunts, cheesy ploys, or message-driven campaigns. Quite the opposite: It's relating to enthusiasts in a way that attracts their attention – disrupts them so to speak – on their terms, not ours. It's not easy – in fact it's very hard – but it's going to be essential for brands to remain relevant.