WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME…
It’s rare that I excerpt (or agree with) others from the PR agency world, as I feel the majority are very outdated and out of touch.
That said, Richard Edelman (whom I have spent time with privately and have a high regard for), added a very accurate and interesting post to his blog recently.
He wrote:
“When we think about how the rich and famous meet, we generally imagine face-to-face gatherings over champagne and crudités at high society balls, country clubs or the Sun Valley Conference hosted by Allen & Company. The reality is now quite different as the bright line between professional, charitable and personal lives for the super-rich is now blurred and with the evolution of their own virtual communities. Just as MySpace and Facebook have created a parallel universe of communication along the horizontal axis to the mainstream media’s top-down vertical axis, there are other institutions doing the same with the super-wealthy.
For example, the World Economic Forum is organizing a global platform for member discussion that is closed zone to outsiders, called WELCOM. CORE: a by-invitation only club in New York City, with 1,400 members of average net worth in excess of $100 million, offers COREaccess.net, a portal which aggregates information for members’ business and lifestyle needs. This too is a closed environment for member discussion of private issues; a Zagat-like guide on favorite restaurants/hotels; and even an exchange for goods and services. So in effect, the wealthy are in gated online communities equivalent to their secure homes. How can those of us in PR reach those elite consumers?”
Business is becoming increasingly segmented among communities as the world becomes a global village. It’s important to recognize that each community demands its own level of commitment.
I do a tremendous amount of networking within certain communities – under-45-year-old entrepreneurs, Israeli/Jewish/Russian communities (via speaking engagements, etc.), my favorite Upper West Side haunts, certain overseas and NYC destinations, high level networking events and the like. It’s not enough to simply focus on one segment; to be successful, one must cultivate many different contacts which overlap many different communities.
To except from Richard Edelman:
“The reality is now quite different as the bright line between professional, charitable and personal lives… is now blurred…with the evolution of their own virtual communities.”
I agree with this statement wholeheartedly across many demographic lines. The world has changed.
The ‘80’s hit Cheers’ wish for “a place where everybody knows your name,” is increasingly a reality for business as well as for the world at large.
Ronn Torossian
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Sorry to disagree. The essential difference between subsidized ex-military commentators and others who appear on news and talk shows is the others are plainly identified as spokespersons while the ex-military commentators are identified as network “analysts” — which implies objectivity that isn’t there. It’s fine for them to appear — but not in the guise of network analysts.