PR Trend Predictions for 2010

We tend to agree with these points from Communications Catalyst:

What does 2010 hold for PR pros?

I’m sorry to say that I don’t have a crystal ball – for that matter, I don’t even have a Magic 8 Ball – but there are a few trends I think we’ll see unfold over the next 12 months.

So to kick up some lively conversation about the immediate, short-term future of PR, here are four trends I think we’ll spot in 2010.

1. PR Pros Will Learn that Social Media isn’t a Three-Trick Pony. Okay, we get it. Corporate blogs and Facebook and Twitter. There’s nothing wrong with using them, but if you don’t think those three platforms are the beginning and end of many social media proposals these days, you’re kidding yourself.

PR people will begin getting past the shiny object syndrome of these three and realize that it’s a big digital world out there. They’ll start to better understand technology and the possibilities it unlocks online – or hire and/or partner with people who do.

Why?

Other than being a smart business decision, the next best reason is that many advertising and digital agencies DO understand technology and platforms, and how to leverage them to develop creative content and efforts online for clients. If PR people don’t get smarter about this in 2010 and look beyond “Tweeting 101” as a prominent example of the social media value they bring to the table, advertising shops are going to eat their lunch.

Read the rest here.

Friday Sauce: With Tonic

Looks like noted Kansas City PR firm Sprenger McCullough has rebranded in hopes it will be just the right Tonic for today's challenging business climate.

Now called "Tonic," the firm's new website is lively and has a definite focus on branding services with a touch of liquid-flavored "fun." Fun figures heavily on their team bio page:

"We take fun very seriously, in fact we hire for it."

The overall philosophy seems to be one of taking the stuffiness and bureaucracy out of the agency experience:

"Ready for a refreshing change from that bloated agency feeling? Tonic offers light and fresh branding solutions from effervescent pros who don't just talk about the work... we actually do it ourselves. No thick, heavy layers to slow you down. And no unpleasant billing after taste..."

Sure this is fun, but why shed the tried and true Sprenger McCullough brand? The site explains:

"As an industry, we have routinely stamped our names on the doors of our businesses, as a choice of pride or arrogance, or maybe, simply tradition. For us, it was time to put a new stamp on the door that better represented what we stand for and what we do. Tonic represents true passion and unlimited energy. And that’s what makes it the perfect culmination of all we do."

The site also features a blog, "Spitballs at the Battleship." We'll let you read up on that one.

The Sauce
If you're going to be a company that brands and rebrands products, services, companies and people, what better place to start than yourself? It's a bold move, but one we think can really "gin up" business (sorry). Having once worked with "Chief Brandologist" Stacy McCullough's team on a project, we can certainly testify that they are positive, fun, talented folks. We at the Sauce wish them the very best.