The Wall Street Journal interviews "digital advertising veterans" (there's a wake-up call) P. J. Pereira and Andrew O'Dell in the April 9 issue. Anyone looking for communications help can learn something from this interview, in which these two ad guys, now starting their own firm, point to the inefficiencies caused by the advertising world being split in two groups: digital shops, which tend to push clients into complex Web sites and online ads; and traditional ad agencies, which think television and print first because that's what they are paid to produce. Their solution is a new agency that "won't sell them what they don't need." Yay. However, they are starting out with $30 million in financing, with the prospect of another $70 million. How they will repay that without selling clients what they don't need is a story yet to be told. Take a look and then look at what we at Executive Media say in our "We Are PR" message.

Tags: advertising, public relations, agencies

Recently, one of the best-known firms for public relations in Indiana announced that it now would promote itself as a full-service communications agency. The company has brought in a creative director from out of town and merged what had been two cooperative shops: creative and public relations. These are all good folks and I'm sure they'll bring the same skill to their marketing and advertising as they have to their public relations.

Meanwhile, here at Executive Media we're going to stay focused on public relations. We believe that working with an independent PR agency is best for most clients. Here's why:

At many full-service agencies, advertising eventually crowds out public relations. To be effective, advertising needs a group of staffers working on an account: an account rep, a creative director, a media buyer, a copy writer and a producer, who will work with an illustrator, a video editor or an animator. To keep a crew like that paid, you have to focus on bringing in large campaigns. PR work on a campaign doesn't pay anybody but the account rep. So over time, the agency tends to find advertising solutions to the client's problems rather than PR solutions. That helps the agency solve its own problem of paying for the advertising crew. That's why you'll find, at many "full-service" firms, the PR staff more stretched and less experienced than the advertising staff.

As a result, the public relations work can become relegated to a secondary role.

Here at Executive Media, we believe in PR solutions to challenges in relationships with publics. We believe in advertising solutions to challenges in paying to put a specific message in front of a specific person at a specific time. Most often, public relations does not serve a need for advertising and advertising does not serve a need for public relations. Marketing, of course, spans both disciplines.

We also believe that by focusing on public relations, we can stay small and responsive. We can do something today. We can work only when you need us. When we need creative services, we're not limited to what we have in house. We move around a network of artists, video and photo experts, web designers, event planners and others who can fit our clients' requirements.

So when you need help with public relationships, think about working with experts in public relations. It's what we do.

Tags: Indianapolis, public relations, communication

At the top of our "to do" list when we advise clients on responding to crises is this: Tell the truth.

To tell the truth, it should also be on the "to do" list for not getting into a crisis. Morality aside, there are just too many ways these days to be found in a lie.

On February 26, the New York Times ran a positive review of a book called "Love and Consequences: A Memoir of Hope and Survival" by a woman named Margaret B. Jones. It told the story of a half-white, half-Native American girl thrown onto the tough, gang-ruled streets of the South-Central neighborhood of Los Angeles when she was just eight and a half years old. The reviewer wrote, "What sets Ms. Jones's humane and deeply affecting memoir apart is not just that it's told from the point of view of a young girl coming of age in this world, but also that it focuses on the bonds of love and loyalty that can bind relatives and gang members together, and the craving after safety and escape that haunts so many lives in the 'hood."

As it turned out, what set Ms. Jones's memoir apart was that it was a lie. The book's author actually was Margaret Seltzer, a woman who grew up in suburban Sherman Oaks section of LA and went to a private Episcopal day school. She had taken many elaborate steps to hide her fraud during the three years her publisher spent editing the book, including producing photos of people who she said were her foster siblings and a letter purportedly from a gang leader.

The big mistake was allowing her photograph to be taken for a profile in the Times. Her older sister saw the picture and called the book's publisher to tell the editors the story was untrue.

Add this to a list of recent frauds and you realize it's a lot easier to get caught than it used to be. You can't tell a story one way in Indianapolis and another way in Washington any more. So play it safe and tell the truth. You might even get a reputation for it.

Tags: media, crisis, politics

Happy Now, Mr. Brabender?
This Persistent PR Man Is Offbeat Yet Practical,
Just Like the Fish 'n Flush
By BARRY NEWMAN
December 19, 2007; Page A1

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Hi, there. Hope you are well. We thought you'd like some information for an interesting feature. It's about a Kansas public-relations professional who has carved a unique niche for himself by sending the nation's media outlets thousands of copies of news releases for "practical yet peculiar" consumer products.

He's Todd Brabender -- whose clients include the SummerSled (it works on grass) and Litecubes (the glowing ice cubes). His latest PR pitch, for the Fish 'n Flush toilet fish tank, begins: "It's a unique new product whose decorative appeal could turn the bathroom into the most talked about room in the house."

Mr. Brabender, who is 41 years old and a former media person himself, is the kind of PR guy journalists hate to love -- but love nevertheless. An old-fashioned press agent with newfangled powers, he blasts emails far and wide from the basement of his flagstoned mid-American home. Media elites may fume over coverups and spin, but for reporters with holiday news holes to fill, a bulletin about guppies in the toilet is cause for elation.

As Lisa Reicosky wrote in the Canton, Ohio, Repository: "Sometimes in this business we receive press releases we just can't ignore." That was the first sentence of her story on the Fish 'n Flush. "The toilet fish, yeah, that caught my eye," says Ms. Reicosky. "I'm part time. I need the PR people to give me my ideas." The Repository (circulation 65,000) gave the Fish 'n Flush 241 words.

This story lead, from the Dec. 19, 2007 Wall Street Journal, is a good example of what we don't do. You don't have to go to Lawrence, Kansas, to find someone equipped to send out thousands of news releases on a goofy product. Plenty of basement shops in Indianapolis. We're equipped to do that as well. But at Executive Media, we're generally concerned with issues, ideas and reputation.

We like to work long-term with clients and to build lasting relationships with members of the media. Nothing wrong with what Todd Brabender does. We're just glad there's someone out there to handle the novelty end of the business.

Unless you're selling luxury cars or haute couture, you don't need a design-heavy website. You need a website that opens quickly, reads clearly and creates a solid understanding of who you are and what you do. And you certainly don't need to hand over five figures to accomplish that. We can put you on the web for less than you think, using proven layouts and reliable technology.

Our focus is on public affairs. If that's yours, too, talk to us about a simple, accessible, attractive website.

Thanks to Fred Glass and Murray Clark!

We hope you like the new look of our website.