PR Jumps On Consumer Generated Media As Trust Bottoms Out for The Press

Steve Rubel posted a couple gems today (here, and here): At almost the same time that Gallup announced a new low in public trust in the news media, Katchum announced a new practice area called Katchum Personalized Media. According to their press release, this new practice area will focus on Blogs, Podcasting, RSS, SEO and Mobile Marketing. Emerging trends are forcing PR groups to take a serious look at consumer generated media (CGM), as surveys now indicate consumers place a greater degree of confidence in peers over advertising, news media, business, and government.

This is the right move for PR, especially given the trends in media fragmentation. The old two-step flow is back - consumers and citizen journalists are brand mediators. On the other hand, Katchum seems locked in the old "injection-theory" mindset, as Paul Rand, Ketchum Partner, elaborates: "With Ketchum Personalized Media, organizations can reach individuals with the right message at the right time in the right format." Not a lot on leveraging new opportunities to co-create marketing experiences with consumers and opinion leaders. That is still the missing ingredient for so many PR agencies jumping on the blog bandwagon.