Check out my latest vlog to see what Agency P.R. and "Mad Men" have in common!
During my most recent summer internship at a full-service marketing agency, "Mad Men" references were the common language – except for everyone in the public relations department, which really stunk as an intern in the P.R. department who loves the show!
Despite constant digs at the public relations function from Don Draper, "Mad Men" is able to capture the essence of a consultancy that delivers first-class work for its clients and can teach agency P.R. practitioners these four lessons about being an excellent communications consultant.
1. Immerse Yourself
The Agency Management Institute (AMI) is a consultancy for mid-size marketing firms looking to grow their impact and client roster; in a survey of chief marketing officers, business owners and directors of marketing, AMI found that the number one criteria for a brand's agency selection is "Industry Knowledge."
Don Draper, despite his many flaws, is a deeply pensive communicator, constantly digging for the deeper how and why beneath his clients' products. Take, for example, Don's fictional pitch to Kodak for its new slide projector. To understand the product, Don took a Kodak camera and photographed his family and presented those pictures during his pitch. This personal immersion into the product allowed Don to understand that Kodak's industry wasn't film and the technology needed to present it. No, Kodak's industry was capitalizing on that elusive yearning for nostalgia. The slide projector wasn't just a piece of tech--it was a time machine to capture youth, a Carousel.
In fact, as P.R. consultants we lack the advantage of brute-force selling that advertisers have; rather, the P.R. consultant must have a deep level of product knowledge to convey a more intuitive and subtle message. In the end, make it simple but make it significant.
2. Knock 'em Out
If you want to win clients for your P.R. agency, you better be prepared to come out swinging in your project pitches. Even the best proposal can be dead on arrival if it isn't communicated with vigor.
In a seminal moment of Peggy Olson's character arc (secretary become copy chief), Don steps aside and asks her to pitch a massive campaign to a potential client called Burger Chef. It was July 21, 1969, the morning after the moon landing, the morning after every man, woman and child in the country gathered around their televisions to witness history – together. This became the pitch: that amidst the chaos of the late-1960s people still yearned for family connection and that was what Burger Chef could contribute. Burger Chef was a family's dinner table free from the turmoil. Peggy's pitch knocked the client out with its poignance and timing.
Even beyond client proposals, pitching is still crucial to modern P.R. practitioners. Syracuse University Professor Brad Horn stresses to his class the need to be aware of communicating in the era of sound bites (personal communication). Certainly, the seven second sound bite can be intimidating; however, this fear masks the tremendous opportunity to knock out the public with profoundly meaningful statements in client advocacy.
Sidebar: it never hurts to dress sharp for a client pitch!
3. Follow the Research
You can't know a product or sell a client if you have your blinders on.
Lisa Magloff said, "Agencies will usually have access to researchers, media buyers, artists, film makers and other experts who can provide advertising know-how that small businesses cannot afford."
When clients come to a communications firm, it's an admission that they don't know all of the answers for their businesses. With that in mind, solid research and informed solutions are the comparative advantages of a P.R. firm and the fundamental underpinning of that client-agency relationship.
Pete Campbell, an accounts person in "Mad Men," became frustrated by stagnant sales with one client, Admiral TVs. So what did he do? He dove into the numbers and discovered brand success in "jazz cities" (i.e. metropolitan areas with large African American communities, like St. Louis, Detroit and New Orleans). In a critical meeting with his frustrated client, Campbell took the findings and pitched a campaign redirection that specifically targeted black consumers. Perhaps too revolutionary for the early-1960s, Admiral was offended by the research and strategy; however, it earned Campbell an industry reputation for gutsy insights that would bolster his career.
In the era of digital marketing, social media analytics and big data, the need for P.R. agencies to be research literate has never been more vital.
4. Don't like the conversation? Change it.
Imagine that you just started a new agency and your biggest client, Lucky Strike, dropped you. Consider that during the 1960s public pressure and regulatory organizations were beginning to shame tobacco advertising as reports revealed the cigarette's health hazard. At the same time, it's big business that can keep the lights on. Lucky Strike hasn't gone public with it, so what do you do?
If you're Don Draper, you quit Lucky Strike before it can quit you. Don took out a full page ad in the New York Times to explain that his agency would no longer cater to clients in such a destructive industry as tobacco.
Don's preemptive strike teaches a P.R. agency a couple of lessons. The first is to keep your radar up and always be prepared to take action during a crisis.
There also lies a deeper statement about the role of a client roster in the public perception of a communications agency. P.R. firms are judged on the work that they do, but also who they do that work for. It's an extreme move and one that undermines your credibility in other client relations but signals an alertness from Don about the brewing public climate against big tobacco. As a P.R. agency, it's vital to build a proud client roster and to recognize that the firm will sink or soar with the reputations of those clients.
"Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your family to read," said David Ogilvy ("Confessions of an Advertising Man"). Never represent a client you wouldn't want your family to know about!
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