• by George Simpson , Featured Contributor, March 7, 2005

To: Bob Liodice; President and Chief Executive Officer

From: Meredith Topalanchik; Press Contact

Re: Your Blog: Who's Killing Television?

Bob:

One of the great hardships in being in public relations is that everyone thinks they understand it, so they don't think it necessary to consult with the PR person before making what many might consider to be a serious misstep (see Re: above).

The analogy I make is that, during the budgeting process if some tech geek asks for a XY673GHz Sever Blade Screw Alignment Subtractor costing $55K, he gets it approved without much discussion because nobody has a clue what it does and has to take the geek's word for it that it will shave three seconds off a page load.

But, if a PR person wants $350 to recover a chair, there is a 25-minute discussion because everyone gets that. "Really? What color?" "What kind of fabric?" "Have you considered corduroy instead?" etc, etc. etc.

PR is also so distanced from the revenue stream that we end up having the least influence on company strategy. When income goes up, it is because the sales force really rock and rolled last month or because the new marketing campaigned kicked butt. That nice story in the NYT is sort of forgotten in the rush for the revenue-generating guys to slap each other on the back.

This utterly depressing professional backdrop aside, I am still here to help you keep from blowing yourself up in the minefield of public opinion. If you will only let me.

Since you didn't run it past me first, I must now ask what you were thinking about writing a blog that says the television business is a train wreck? Surely it is not lost on you that our dues-paying members include Viacom, Inc., The Walt Disney Company, and the General Electric Company (and that two of them are board members)? And that the vast majority of our other members spend most of their ad budgets on television giving one at least some small hint that they think it is money well spent.

Geez, Bob, you came to ANA from being the vice president of global marketing and sales for Grupo Televisa, a major worldwide broadcaster. How would you feel if the trade association you help pay for and that claims "to provide indispensable leadership that drives marketing communications, media and brand management excellence and champions, promotes and defends industry interests" publicly dumped on your business? And on a page of the association's Web site, no less.

I can only assume that in order to keep from getting kneecapped by some beefy NBC key grip, that this is the first of a series of blog entrees that will in turn dump on the problems of all other media where our members spend their marketing dollars. Hey let's point out that magazine and newspaper circ. is in the toilet, or that radio can't keep from rubbing the FCC the wrong way. How about discussing the legislation being introduced in the Midwest to ban moving ads on buses and trucks because they're "dangerous?" We can fault online for click fraud and weird page counting methodology. Geez, what's left? Don't want to miss the opportunity to piss off everybody do we?

While I appreciate that blogs are perceived to be a kind of "off the record" place to air your inner most feelings, as you know by now the piece on TV was picked up by a number of online publications that linked to your blog. And who has to answer for this stream of conscious output? Not, Mr. Oh-I'm-sorry-he's-in-a-Meeting&no, the press office, for which we have no rational answer.

Bob, next time you feel the urge to write, drop a note to your congressman or send your mother an Easter Card.