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Reading the
title, one might think we’re talking about “why you
should outsource your PR needs…to us!” In fact, it’s
referring to recent stories suggesting that the
outsourcing trend that has seen manufacturing and tech
jobs move overseas may hit the marketing and PR
communities soon.
According to
this argument, the same factors that have manufacturers
and tech companies locating entire staffs overseas will
affect white-collar work as well. Technological
advances make it as cost effective to place a phone call
from India to the U.S. as it is to call across town.
Skilled labor available at fractions of the cost of U.S.
labor makes outsourcing attractive to companies that are
compelled to cut costs.
Forrester
Research has predicted that 3.3 million jobs will move
overseas in the next dozen years – with 2 million of
them executive positions. Considering that many
companies seek outside expertise for their PR and media
relations, what’s to
keep them from engaging a firm in the Philippines?
It would not
be effective for a number of reasons. First of all, true PR and
media work requires long-term relationships with media
members. A level of trust, rapport and understanding needs to be
established to receive proper recognition and media
placements. In addition, there are many subtleties in
media relations, ranging from understanding attribution,
ground rules and other ways that the U.S. press works
within the context of the first amendment and other
cultural/business factors that cannot be grasped on a
phone line
from halfway around the world.
Second, the
main contribution of a good PR agency is in the
consulting area. Defining the PR messaging,
understanding a client’s business and the ever-changing
dynamics of their respective industries, all while targeting
the correct (shifting) media is as important, if not more so, than
the tactical execution of those strategies. While a
company may be able to relegate simple technical
and telemarketing to an agency in another country,
integrating them into a cohesive and effective PR
campaigns requires special expertise.
Finally,
what you pay for PR is much less important than what you
receive from your investment. We have been a
proponent of non-billable hours, results-based compensation for years - in a
time of increasing competition both at home and abroad,
this type of structure makes more sense than ever. |
