The new season of AMC’s hit TV series Mad Men started off with a bang (pardon the pun), with a peek into the bedroom of creative director and new bachelor Don Draper. It also revealed the tensions inherent in the pursuit of new business at fledgling ad agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
I confess I’m a “Mad-dict,” in part because I’ve worked at a few advertising agencies in my career and many of the situations hit home for me.
In my experience, some clients view advertising as the golden child and public relations as the bastard at the proverbial family reunion. PR can be an after-thought, while creative gets the lion’s share of the attention. After all, how do you quantify something you can’t storyboard or plot into a media plan?
The season premiere of Mad Men, entitled “Public Relations,” opened with Don being interviewed by an Advertising Age reporter. Don’s lackluster responses and subsequent dismissal of the interview as a waste of his time reminded me of a few clients’ view of doing media interviews.
When the article showcases Don in a less than favorable light, he’s called onto the carpet by his agency partner Roger Sterling:
Don: He never asked me that. Did he check any of the facts?
Roger: You didn’t give him any facts. He had to make some assumptions.
Don: My job is to write ads, not go around talking about who I am.
Roger: Who knows who you are? This was supposed to be an advertisement for the firm…this is a missed opportunity.
By the end of the episode, Don has an “aha” moment when he realizes the value of PR as a tool to tell the agency’s story the way he wants it to be told. During his interview later on with the Wall Street Journal, it’s obvious Don’s in control.
Smart organizations (the Roger Sterlings) know the value of leveraging editorial coverage to their advantage. For those that don’t (the Don Drapers), we’re here to tell them.