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Michael PranikoffGlobal Director of Emerging MediaPR Newswire |
No matter the delivery mechanism, one fact still holds true: “Every company has a message to communicate and a story to tell,” says Michael Pranikoff, PR Newswire’s Global Director of Emerging Media. How that message is shared, however, continues to evolve. In this interview with Jake Wengroff, Frost & Sullivan’s Global Director of Corporate Communications, Pranikoff discusses the future of press releases, how to measure communications success (hint: There’s no one way), and what clients expect from a company with one of the most storied names in the PR business.
F&S: When did PR Newswire begin an Emerging Media division?
Pranikoff: This is an interesting question because PR Newswire doesn’t really have an Emerging Media division. That said, PR Newswire established our MultiVu division in 2000, dedicated to the creation and distribution of video and multimedia content. In 2001, we launched the Multimedia News Release, which was the first time news releases were combined with multimedia content and distributed online. In 2006, I was appointed Director of Emerging Media for PR Newswire to help us capitalize on new innovations for distributing, tracking, and measuring content in new ways.
F&S: What drove this decision?
Pranikoff: The decision to start our MultiVu unit was an easy one: It fit with what we were already looking to do. In creating a role dedicate to Emerging Media at PR Newswire, we recognized that the Web 2.0 movement at that time was leading to all kinds of new thinking. PR Newswire [wants] to help our clients take advantage of new ways to communicate their messages.
F&S: Does Emerging Media offer standalone products separate from the traditional newswire service?
Pranikoff: Our approach has been to try to incorporate as much emerging technology as we can into our existing products. Just because there are new technologies to help people communicate every day doesn’t mean they replace traditional methods overnight. We are seeing a revolution in communications, but some things don’t change--and that’s the fact that every company has a message to communicate and a story to tell. We are in business to help companies communicate their messages in whatever way they want. This exists in the traditional press release today, but now includes tactics like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), video creation and distribution, and new ways to monitor and measure the effectiveness of that message. Where there may be a need to create brand new products and services, we are doing so -- such as in our new ARC Engagement Platform. However, those are still built on the idea that we are helping companies and organizations tell their stories to the world.
F&S: Do you see clients wanting to utilize a hybrid of traditional newswire and emerging media services, such as social media?
Pranikoff: We definitely see more and more requests of this nature. Our clients in the PR and marketing world are continually exploring new ways to tell their stories. However, they are also working with peers inside their companies who are more used to traditional methods of corporate storytelling. We try to help them bridge the gap by adding SEO and social attributes to their messages without them having to think too much about this. I often ask clients if they are thinking about SEO when they are writing their releases. The most common answer is that they know they should, but they often forget. So we’ve built a website on the idea of helping our clients get the most out of search without having to think about. However, we’ve also built services like OptimizationMax (currently in open beta) to help our clients who want to go even deeper.
F&S: How have metrics changed? What kinds of measurement do you see clients demanding?
Pranikoff: Metrics have changed so much in the past five to 10 years because new metrics are always being established. That’s one of the best things about the explosion in online and mobile communications; there are lots of trackable and identifiable ways to listen to what is being said and in the tone that it’s being said.
While there are so many different ways to track and measure conversations these day, I don’t believe that any standard has been set yet. I think it’s most important for companies and organizations to figure out for themselves how they will grade what equals success for them. For some companies, it may be just about driving traffic; others will grade their jobs on how much others are talking about them, their products and services, etc. . .in both traditional and nontraditional ways.
