I am still recovering from Friday’s PR Camp New York.  Check out attendee response on Twitter (#PRCamp). Good feedback only makes me want to do more camps next year. (Any recommendations for cities?)

I am putting together the notes from the discussions. Much was said about Gen Y, client buy in and alignment, but two topics stood out for me: storytelling and measurement.

Let the Numbers Tell the Story

It seemed clear from many  in the room that storytelling (and message development) remain a key point of differentiation for PR professionals. We do it well, even as blogs, Twitter and Facebook transform the way we tell our clients’ stories.

Take the press release.  It’s a time tested storytelling tool. But during the camp discussion, Chris Andrew (@chrisa270), vice-president-group director media at Digitas declared it dead.  And Jonathan Kopp (@jonathankopp), global director at Ketchum Digital stressed the importance of the social press release. But a well written press release with a lead, body and conclusion is not going away.  It still serves as a statement of record and required when the subject is material.

But no matter how well we tell our story, it is still hard to measure its value.  PR continues to struggle with measurement.  What are the best metrics for engagement? Are they any more meaningful and accurate than the old measurements? And what are the best tools to help us measure success?  Many in the room seemed to need help in finding answers.

In many respects, interactive marketing does a better job in measurement.  They have to.  They are more accountable for click throughs and signups.  Numbers rule their world.  Messages rule ours.  But I am not sure we want to cede this ground.

I think social media presents us with an opportunity to play a leadership role in a company’s overall marketing and communications strategy — if only we could demonstrate our effectiveness and deliver meaningful ROI.

It’s time  that PR lets the numbers tell our story.

Peter Shankman leading a break out session on measuring success

Future PR Camps may take these topics head on. What does storytelling look in the age of social media?  What is the best way to sell this new form of storytelling to clients?  And how do we measure success?  We started the process informally on Friday. It may be necessary to formalize the discussion.

It would be interesting to explore social media sites and ancillary data extracting tools.  By testing these tools and developing standards to evaluate them, we will be better positioned to analyze:

- time spent on free vs. premium services

- risk associated with doing no social media

- what to do with the information

- the best distribution path for communication and reports

- geography and behaviors of your audience

- the value to your organization

- the ability to meet your goals

I believe this analysis is critical to better sell our social media programs.

Moderators present their recommendations

Word of Thanks

No event would be complete without the participation of moderators, attendees ,volunteers and of course a sponsors and partners. I would like to thank everyone who participated.  But I would also like to call out Lloyd Trufelman, Bill Sobel, Dean Landsman, Howard Greenstein, Danielle Culmone and Mark Miranda for their help, insight and hard work.

Clients and Partners:

PR Newswire

Advertising Club of New York

Bernardo’s List

Gorkana

Landsman Communications Group

Mashable

New York AMA

NextWeb

PRSA New York

O’Dwyers

SobelMedia

Social Media Club New York

Trylon SMR

212 New York’s Interactive Advertising Club

Let me get back to you.

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