So why then does it seem like we never quite have all the PR tools how and when we need them. Instead it’s a little bit of this, a little bit of that, some stored here, some saved there, this pic in 1MB, that pic in 300KB, a half edited international press release with incorrect details….and so it goes. As a PR company we seem to spend 60% of our time trying to arrange the somewhat chaotic state of information that is supplied to us, which in theory should be handed over in all it’s sweet and complete perfection. If this were the case, how simple it would be to create the interesting content to effectively engage the media.

But this is the real world and in reality things are never as they should be. No two clients are the same, each one has different specifications and requirements which means that there is no ‘one size fits all’. The knock on effect is of course on to the end user, a.k.a the media, who spend all their time going back and forth with pricing and product queries, all the while cursing the dreaded and seemingly incompetent PR company.

Order I say! Clients – it’s time to conform to the code of PR information supply! Oh, except of course that there isn’t one. But maybe there should be. Maybe there should be a central source where information is provided proficiently and professionally and can therefore be accessed with ease, accuracy and consistency. Day and night. Yes, we (clients included) would need to put some effort into getting ducks in a row, but ultimately…..phew, we could then get on to do what we’re trained for and are paid to do. Effectively.

Hello real world?

For over 730 days I have lived online. I wake up, boot up, remain connected to email, facebook, twitter, linked in, news etc until I finally close my eyes and my laptop simultaneously. Whilst I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I have begun to recognize signs of my addictive personality at play – anxiety, physical craving, hot sweats and the compulsive fear of the lack of laptop (plus the fact that I am always talking to my kids over the screen of my Mac).

So my family and I have headed up the east coast to a place called Great Brak River. We’re on ‘The Island’ – a remote little spot, 70 houses with green rolling lawn onto the river. Bliss. First day I didn’t even look at my laptop bag. Day two I booted up, put in my 3G and waited for my connectivity button to start pulsing. No signal.

Once the sheer had panic subsided, I realized that this was my opportunity to break the compulsive pattern and I’m proud to announce that for 10 days the only thing that my Macbook has been turned on for is to let the kids watch a DVD.

FREEDOM. Alas, the shackles of connectivity have indeed been broken and I am free. Sunshine has replaced the translucent glow of my screen and I am alive. So whilst sitting on the patio sipping my G&T, there is a moment where I glance over the pages of my book (yes – paperback) to watch my husband and two kids fishing and I reflect on my newfound freedom.

I am loving the real time that I am spending with my family and the pace at which time is passing. But really…… I thank God for my Blackberry and for my birthday I will definitely be getting myself an ipad.

The players, it seems, are cautiously sitting on the digital sideline and slowly but surely dipping their toes into the online water. Some are knee-deep, some splashing around and yes, others are fully submerged, but there’s no doubt, this digital revolution is by no means a tsunami.

So how digital is publishing really. How far are we from jumping into bed with our i-pads and settling in to read our latest Cosmo, Woman’s Health or O magazine? And if so, what are we expecting from the online delivery? Do we want to read a new version of our favorite magazine every night? Or are we happy to browse through like we do the paper and print version, stopping to admire gorgeous visuals and getting stuck into a sexy article? Will the digital reality shift the publishing requirement? And if so what does this mean for the publishers.

What is apparent is that in most cases, there is no new team in place to produce the digital requirement, whether it is a blog, social media content or a full new article every three days. The portfolio is usually added to the already overflowing plate of those producing paper & print. Yes, it is December and understandably we’re all coming apart at the seams to some degree but there’s no doubt this new digital requirement has contributed to some of the rather frayed edges.

Across the board, there’s one fundamental increased requirement, namely content: – new content, more content, better content, relevant content. And they need it delivered quickly and accurately. So the question is where does this additional content comes from? And what are the clever brands doing to maximize this from a PR perspective.

According to Alexis Chaffe, Top Billing Fashion Editor, “usually it’s downloaded and always after hours”. Robyn Cooke, Style Guide extraordinaire and Oprah Magazine Fashion Editor runs her successful blog as well as Oprah magazine’s entire fashion contribution. So how does she get her hands on anything and everything that is important in the fashion world? Besides being present at every industry launch, she cleverly taps into additional resources but essentially spends the majority of her after hours trawling online.

A brief look online at the PR companies who specialize in fashion PR definitely doesn’t produce much. Being a highly visual industry, there is a distinct lack of anything to attract the attention of the media magpies. Yes there are press releases, but lets be honest, what is the ratio between words and images in fashion publishing?

We really think it is time that the industry get on board and start to make it easier (as well as exciting) for the fashion and lifestyle publishing folk to produce their content. After all, it’s opportunity for our brands what brand manager wouldn’t like to see their beautiful product gracing a full page on their i-pad.

The one’s that we know most certainly would.

We’re not saying that this is the fault of the PR company. On the contrary, any PR company worth their salt will put together a slick and impressive media kit, complete with fancy folders, CD’s with all their info and images wrapped up in the brand experience. Beautiful.

So with all this cost and effort why does the journalist call back three days post event to ask for a telephone number, a price, a detail and of course a high res image? Surely they were blown away with the level of professionalism and elegance all wrapped up in the all important ‘media kit’. Sadly, this symbol of all the PR companies professional effort, is more than likely lying in the boot or their car or incorporated into their kids school project at the time that they are sitting down to compile the feature.

In defense of the journalist (because in the PR world, journalist is king – or queen) they are bombarded with a thousand other attention seeking attempts. In fact, your launch is probably the third one that they have been to that day and the tenth that they’ve been to that week – and its only Wednesday. Not to mention their email inboxes. Let’s not go there. Some journalists will get in excess of five hundred emails a day all telling them of a new and amazing something. So we forgive them for not remembering all the details of our particular product.

The irony of all this effort is that when the journalist does finally sit down (usually after hours and after the last cocktail event) to compile the feature, they don’t actually have all the info at hand. So they have to go back to the beginning and research it all over again.

Surely in the digital age this should be considered pre-historic? Yes, we love the fanfare of PR, and please let’s never take that away, but surely there is a more efficient way to manage the effort and flow of information.

After all, if the journalist is king, or queen, surely all our attempts should be built around making their life and job easier. Surely they should be able to access anything at any time, even if it is at 11pm.

We think so.