Introducing...
This week the communications firm of which I'm a partner (parkyoung) announced it had established an offshoot agency in partnership with media relations specialist, Jaselyn O'Sullivan.
The Ledbetter Agency, as the new entity is called, specialises in media relations and 'traditional' publicity.
The name is a hat-tip to Ivy Ledbetter Lee, regarded by many as being the father of modern public relations; he was also credited with issuing the world's first press release.
It's a counter-intuitive move, for sure, setting up a media unit while other PR agencies are busy trying to establish their social media credentials, but that's exactly why it makes sense to go down this path.
Zig while everyone else zags!
PR today has many layers and is becoming more and more complex, all of which is placing considerable stress on the 'old' PR consulting model.
Under this model, consultants are expected to administer the account, manage the client relationship, handle all the media relations, sometimes run events, and now, look after social media as well - it's crazy, it's unwieldy, but it happens!
* Jaselyn O'Sullivan, media gun!
Which brings us back to The Ledbetter Agency...
The idea is to complement the parkyoung offer of communications strategy, social media planning and content creation, allowing us to focus on developing and running broader communications programs while at the same time fully servicing clients requiring media work.
While social media is becoming a core part of what we do as PR people - and rightly so because it's rapidly changing the marketing ballgame - traditional media relations work remains important. For some clients, that's all they require from a PR agency.
Fantastic Opportunities
Coincidentally, we announced The Ledbetter Agency on the day new talkback radio station MTR 1377 hit the airwaves in Melbourne, and only last week a proposed free major suburban newspaper (The Weekly Review) was unveiled.
So while the marketing landscape has changed and social media (of which I am more passionate about than ever before!) continues to grow, there are still fantastic opportunities for brands in the traditional media space.
Of course, the combination of 'old' and 'new' is more powerful than either by itself...and don't forget that events and face-to-face communications are potentially more important than ever before too!
Cheers to Ivy Ledbetter Lee!
* 3 wise monkeys - From left: Park, O'Sullivan, PR Warrior
