Last year Steve Rubel of Edelman spoke at Mesh and this year the CEO Richard Edelman is here. Click on his name and see his blog — he gets about 9,000 hits/month. He’s all about the story — loved his talk. He talked about giving up control of the message and taking the risk of going with the spontaneous and dialogue rather than the traditional, controlled, top-down message. It is now all about control vs. credibility. He gave a great example of the Dove campaign and their “evolution” video which blossomed into an active website and the multiplier effect of space on talk shows. Edelman’s words, “the power of free media is so much more than purchased.” Loved his conversation about influencers and “the voice”, and of course, the paradox of transparency. He talked about working with NYC on their Lower Manhattan information website which is more like a living press kit but one that shares good and bad and allows conversation.
I was intersted in Richard’s comment about having 8 people who are learning, listening and disseminating within their organization, specifically about what is happening with technology and industry these days. I want to continue that conversation with him if I can. There are 27,000 people in his organization and they achieve their position in the industry by “experimentation & pushing it”, allowing “tolerance for dissent and discussion.”
Other quotes:
“the mix of media is changing”
“the line between PR and advertising is blurring”
“once you’re in the soup, let it cool off before you put your fingers in it”
“it’s like hockey — if you score more goals than the competition, you win” — he was talking about experimenting and making mistakes, great analogy — Edelman’s takes its slams but has distinguished itself with social tools
“PR is all about being an advisor, connector, idea source, creator NOT spin”
Edelman urged the Mesh group to do three things:
* make stories visual
* don’t be defeated: if it doesn’t work, it’s like skiing — if you’re not falling, you’re not learning
* don’t say to your clients, “this is your little box,” rather be bold, assertive, and platform neutral
Here’s Edelman’s post about the conference and a link to the transcript of his talk.