So, I was channel surfing the other day and a TV spot for an upcoming new movie ("When in Rome") caught my attention. No, not because the movie looks charming enough (it does) or might be a nice diversion on a Saturday night (it could). What got my attention was that the ad featured positive reviews and quotes from "real people," supposedly posted on Facebook.
I'm sure this isn't a novel approach. But it struck me that in this new era of cynicism on steroids, your next-door neighbor might be the ultimate authority on matters of entertainment. Or local government. Or national security.
Who needs Roger Ebert when we’ve got “Roger W.?”
In fact, we have become so distrustful of powerful people, whether they be elected officials or Tiger Woods, that to hold power is a disadvantage. What really matters is what your best friend, or Commenter No. 8 on this morning’s Facebook post, think.
The implications of this have already played out in the journalism world, where once-venerable news organizations have been scooped (literally and figuratively) by “citizen journalists” pumping out “news” via their bedroom computer. It is within this brave new world that a hoaxster masquerading as a CNN iReporter can post an item, unchecked and initially unverified, on CNN about the death of 15-year-old heartthrob Justin Bieber, and the tween world for a few days goes mad with speculation and panic. Calmer heads prevail after Justin tweets that he is, in fact, alive and MTV(!) confirms the good news under the headline “Justin Bieber: Not dead.” Good times.
For those of us who toil in public relations, this topsy-turvy turn of events – where the power-brokers are persona non grata and the “unwashed masses” spout pearls of wisdom – poses some interesting challenges. When we pitch a media outlet, do we offer up the CEO or somebody who bought the company’s product for the first time yesterday? When we craft recommendations for a speaking platform, do we suggest the Ph.D. project leader or a research intern who just joined the company and has a “fresh take?”
I’m being facetious (I think). We will eventually sort all of this out, ever-mindful that the rank-and-file more and more are the Ones Who Matter.
In the meantime, I guess the upside is that maybe we’ll have to tolerate fewer “Best. Movie. Ever!” hyperbolic quotes from that local Fox affiliate critic in Albany.
Deron Johnson, R+K’s VP, Director of Public Relations, is a former journalist who was never asked to confirm the veracity of a celebrity death report. He was, however, once assigned to look into the inner workings of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.