PR and the Blogosphere

A few years ago, when Richard Edelman and his public relations associates
wanted to pitch a story on behalf of a corporate client, they would call
their contact list of influential editors and television personalities.

These days, they also pitch Web loggers.

"Public relations has changed so that now we call both. In other words, we
pitch from the bottom up as well as from the top down," Mr. Edelman said in
a recent interview with The New York Sun. "We have nine full-time bloggers
to advise clients how to blog and how to deal with blogs."

He is CEO of Edelman Public Relations, the world's largest independent
agency, with 2,000 employees in 49 offices worldwide. The company has led
the industry in terms of its commitment and investment in the so-called
blogosphere, which now totals an estimated 34 million blogs worldwide.
Edelman's total billings for the 12 months ending in May are $305 million,
up from $206 million the year before.

Known as "emerging media," blogs began as diary entries by individuals to be
read, and replied to, solely by friends. Because they are posted on the Web,
though, they have the potential of reaching anyone with a computer around
the world if the ideas, photographs, or artwork therein are considered
captivating, controversial, or somehow of value. Some now have enormous
audiences, in the hundreds of thousands.

"Companies must learn how to manage this," Mr. Edelman said. "The reality is
that companies face the problem of having employees with blogs who are
griping about internal matters concerning their employer. Companies now have
consumers with blogs who are annoyed and complaining about products or
corporate behavior on the Web to hundreds or thousands of other consumers.
Still others have blogs by NGOs that are complaining about offshore labor
practices or environmental problems caused by a company¹s operations or
products," he said.

Blog management has become a logical extension of public relations and
advertising strategizing, he said. Not surprisingly, technology companies
selling computers and software have used blogs for some time. They have
marketed and promoted their products through their own blogs and by
providing information to authors of blogs aimed at technology afficionados.
Other advertisers are now getting this message.

"Tech companies get it, but packaged goods or food companies are going to
change," Mr. Edelman said. "Microsoft promoted its X-box using blogs who
cover gaming to get traction and create a positive predisposition for
consumers and the media."

Most recently, Britain's Unilever moved markedly into blogs to promote its
Dove and AXE personal care products. "For instance, the first media mention
of the Dove `Real Beauty Campaign', featuring six women in underwear, was
made in an influential blog called Gawker, which was chosen because of its
large, influential audience," he said.

"Certain blogs are read by reporters in the mainstream media and then they
call the client to do a story, and that¹s how publicity is obtained," Mr.
Edelman said.

His company was involved this year in a successful promotion for AXE body
spray on MySpace, a network of teenagers' blogs. A popular MySpace female
contributor agreed to sign up "friends for AXE" and attracted 60,000 teenage
boys for the promotion.

"The promotion cost $100,000 and it generated all kinds of press interest,"
he said.

Another example of blog-related public relations involved Wal-Mart
Corporation's recent annual general meeting. Edelman's bloggers set up a
special Web site in advance that was promoted, and offered live video from
the "American Idol" winner who was performing at the meeting.

"This humanized the company and gave them the horizontal conversation: the
peer-to-peer conversation, or word of mouth," he said. "The `new thing' in
all forms of marketing is that companies must understand that the person
consumers trust most are persons most like themselves. What we¹re seeing is
a devolution of authority."

Edelman is 80% owned by the Edelman family, and key employees own 20%. It
was founded by Richard¹s father, Daniel Edelman of Chicago, who is chairman.
Considered a pioneer, the senior Mr. Edelman launched the enterprise, and
public relations itself, with his "Which twin has the Toni?" hair perm
campaign in the 1950s, which proved that major attention in the press could
increase sales.

Today's public relations is about finding out how to spread a message in a
manner that consumers trust. This means spreading the word in unorthodox
ways and not strictly through paid advertisements.

"We¹ve increased our income by 28% in the last two years," he said. "We
argue that if public relations is 4% of a corporation¹s budget it ought to
be 5%. This is where companies have to spend money, and they are getting the
message."

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