In the comments on a previous post I invited David Phillips to suggest a job description for the public relations manager as organisational relationship manager. He responded, and here’s the key point:
The Relationship Manager is not ‘in-charge of relationships’. The role is about helping, inspiring and leading people to facilitate and enhance/optimise relationship management.
It’s a managerial role more than a technician role, so David goes on to point out that this will marginalise still further the role of press agentry. I have no difficulty with this latter point, but am still struggling to conceptualise the skills set required and toolkit available to such an omnipotent figure. (David hints that he has developed the tools, and they’re commercially available.) To keep this debate on track and intelligible, what might this mean for the role of the PR consultant (as adviser to the relationship manager)?
PR Studies 
Would that not off-load the ‘press agentry’ side of things to the consultant?
There would be short-term gain in this outsourcing of one aspect of relationship management, but the very process of outsourcing suggests it’s no longer seen as a core activity by the client. So there are questions about the long term future for consultants as press agents.
This blog has 120 visits a day (and growing). What would Richard have to do to get that many readers (with a direct interest in what he has to say) in the traditional media?
The press release and press report as a text of record may be of interest but can the media deliver the same (interested) readership?
Would you want to be a PR ‘consultant’ doing media relations when the penny drops?
So, the consultant might not want press relations in it portfolio.
I have a mental picture of ‘The Shandwick Bloggers’ with big boots and spiky hair – cool to a man.
Hmmm. All very interesting. I have worked in-house and now am in a consultancy…. I think that Richard’s earlier post as to the role/necessity of consultancies in the present world is worth watching closely. Thanks!
PR Miscellany – April 04, 2006
If you’re wondering how else you can torture your PR agency, Morgan McLintic at Lewis has helpfully published some advice, there’s some great tips in there for all of us clients. Chris Lewis has chimed in with some tips on…