You Get The Trade Press You Deserve

Distracted, as I have been, by watching two UK-based millionaires warn orphans, pensioners and nurses of the need to tighten their belts, this new instalment of my blog has been a little delayed – plus one of the articles proved to be something of a marathon undertaking (see "Who Gave Love a Bad Name?").

A number of people have emailed me and asked me why I have suddenly decided to write a blog, particularly one which covers some issues which are well over a decade old. The simple answer is that I felt the time was right. There have been a number of things I’ve been mulling over for some time that I felt ought to be expressed. This is not, as one correspondent suggested, a valedictory move on my part. Far from it.

One issue that has particularly prompted me to take to bloggery is how tame the regional marketing communications trade press has become. True the Drum has always been gutless and simply regurgitated press releases in the hope of wooing advertisers, whilst burying bad news – particularly in Scotland – for fear of the companies concerned retaliating by not supporting one of its 115 going-to-the-well-way-too-often credibility-free awards schemes. This is a problem that is writ large on its website.

On a side note, one thing that does amuse me nowadays is how the Drum has now taken to commenting on national and international issues, such as the BP oil leak, World Cup scandals and ipad sales. They really must learn to be more discerning about where they cut and paste from.

Whilst it’s almost quite endearing that the Carynx munchkins (pictured left) seriously seem to believe they have something of value to add on issues where they are transparently out of their depths, it is also kind of pathetic. It reminds me of left-at-home kids parading around in their parent’s outsized clothing, whilst haphazardly applying mascara and rouge to their pre-pubescent features – bizarre, inappropriate, wrong and more than faintly ludicrous. Best stick to exhaustive plugs for their struggling awards events and kowtowing to Propaganda, I suggest.

To return to my original theme, in an industry where smoke and mirrors are fitted as standard it is important to have a cynical and informed trade press, whether that be in a print format or online. Even how-do, much as I love it and continue to support it, is falling short in that direction.

A prime example of that is Love Creative (see again "Who Gave Love a Bad Name?") and its fortunes over the last 18 months. This is a story that has been bubbling under for a while, with the agency palpably cruising on its past glories and being sustained by a firmly fixed “emperor’s new clothes” mentality on the part of industry commentators – at least until now.

For proprietors concerned that printing adverse comments or not publishing every press release they receive will alienate potential advertisers or sponsors, I would say this – the ultimate prize in this sector is recruitment. To succeed in recruitment you have to be read not just by those desperately seeking jobs – usually the lowest priority for recruiters to access – but those that are wooed onto your pages by items of interest and then stumble across a job opportunity they can’t resist.

Ultimately, the publication or website that secures the most readers, the most word-of-mouth appreciation and the most off-diary/non-PR stories will triumph. Advertisers and sponsors will follow the readers, but the readers won’t follow anything that is awash with transparent PR guff and obviously skewed self-penned travesties of the truth – and yes, SASS, I am thinking about you metamorphosing into Mosquito.

The Drum and How-Do reported SASS’ MD, Jo Sass (above) in early March as saying she wanted to replace “"a traditional agency model that had started to feel outmoded and clunky with a more focused unit that was streamlined, nimble and responsive." Blimey that’s a relief – for a minute there I thought it was more to do with SASS’ insolvency hearing that took place two weeks later.

When your readership is as cynical as the marketing communications industry, you put your credibility on the line when you tacitly endorse stories that are transparently untrue by publishing them unchecked and unchallenged.

Every industry gets the trade press it deserves. The regional marcomms sector has obviously done something spectacularly bad to merit the services of the Drum. I just hope how-do rises to the challenge of providing an informed, irreverent and inspiring alternative. Go on, Mr J, you know you want to.