Who doesn’t? The definition of work has changed so much that the very idea of a ‘job description’ needs to be rethought. I come across this often when people within and without the company ask me to write down what exactly I do as a Communicator. Oh, I do have my ‘elevator pitch’ but unless you are riding with me up a hundred floors, I may not leave you any wiser as to what hat I am talking about.

An interesting article came my way on how the Franchise Industry (one sector we finance, that I wear a hat for) is looking at PR from a multi-function perspective, and not just pure public relations. Titled “PR Industry Impacted by Franchise Revolution” it says how PR companies working for Franchise Businesses need to be able to do:

Brand Building
Franchisee Communications
Franchise Development
Multiple Franchise Openings and
Internet Marketing

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Having hung out with the strategic planning, marketing and advertising crowd, I thought I’d heard of all the “Think outside the …” phrases.

How could we forget the burger-bashing approach (still running) of Taco Bell with the clumsy ‘Think outside the bun.’

BP (the company that now stands for Beyond Petroleum) must be deliberately riffing off this cliche with an ad about ‘outside the barrel’ ideas, specifically 3 E’s: Emissions, Environment and Education. For many reasons I like the BP ads in this series, with phrases and words highlighted by a yellow marker. Very polished, very straightforward. It’s not just the ads. Go to the BP site and the content is relatively hype free. As in this paragraph on this page:

Here’s a sample paragraph:

The majority of BP products emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other pollutants when burned; so it is right that we should play an active role in the search for viable solutions to the ‘energy paradox’- the paradox whereby the energy which provides society with heat, light and mobility, fuelling economic growth and development, simultaneously presents us with serious environmental and social challenges.

I would give BP an A- for trying to speak its mind, within the trappings of the hype-ridden genre of advertising and press kits.

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Jib Jab. Michael Moore. Joe Trippi. If this was not election year in the U.S. we would not have even noticed these folks. Now, the media hang on to every word they utter. Moore was on Jay Leno. Joe Tripi has a book with a very catchy title, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” and a Blog. Meanwhile, JibJab, the Bush-Kerry cartoon creators, are also facing copyright violation issues as reported by CNN.

One thing’s working for both candidates in this over-communicated world: the ability to distract the media from sticky issues. New York Times syndicated columnist, Paul Krugman on August 1st (registration required) pointed out instances of “TV news pursuing campaign triva.” He notes that trivialization and bias abound.

“We hear about Kerry’s haircuts, not his healthcare proposals. We hear about George Bush’s brush-cutting, not his environmental policies.”

It’s the Jay Leno-tization of news.

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I just heard from a British-based online company called E-consultancy that’s been reading –and citing– this blog.

Take a look at e-Consultancy, because it features a vide swath of interests for marketing managers and PR people. From Reputation Management, to Search Engine Optimization, Community building and much more. It has 20,232 registered users, and 115,000 unique users a month!

Don’t let the subscription compomnent dissuade you. There are free downloads of powerpoint slides from companies who present at offline events called ‘Beauty Parades,’ and white papers on such things as “Extending Entertainment Brands into the Digital Space.” and samples of the “Roundtables” that are extremely valuable.

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