Inside PR #30 - Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Oct 24, 2006

Comments? Send us an email at [e-mail], call us on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or leave us a comment on the Inside PR show blog.

This week on Inside PR, Terry and David have a discussion on the three most dreaded letters in the PR industry: RFP. They have a short chat about the Edelman/Wal-Mart case, and Terry talks about he and Chris' time at Fanshawe College, about which they welcome a comment from Megan Zinn. They also play Chris Clarke's comment for this week. Finally, Terry does his segment of "Inside PRoper English."   

Show Notes

00:27 Terry introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [e-mail], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

02:10 Terry talks about a comment to the show blog from Megan Zinn. Part of her comment relates to Terry and Chris' vist to Fanshawe College. Here is the link to the class blog.

03:58 David brings up Garth Turner, who has been painted as an MP fired for blogging. Terry contends that he was not fired for blogging, but for what he said on his blog, which if said elsewhere, in an interview or op-ed or elsewhere, would have got him fired anyway.

08:59 David mentions that he and Terry had dinner with Joseph Jaffe and C.C. Chapman in Toronto last Thursday night. They talk about their new company, called crayon.

13:10 David brings up the Edelman/Wal-Mart situation. He feels that Edelman's spokesbloggers could have said something, even if it was nothing more than letting interested parties know that they're looking into the situation. David also says that he wonders why a policy wasn't put in place after their last mistake. Terry talks about how big Edelman is and how that relates to the problem.

21:17 Terry brings up this week's major topic for discussion: the request for proposal, or RFP. Terry doesn't believe that the RFP regularly accomplishes the goal the client has in mind: to find the best agency for the job.

22:50 David can understand why clients use RFP's. He says that the best agency is probably the busiest, and that the busiest agency might be too busy to submit a proposal. He talks about the one time he put out an RFP during his time on the client side of things, which turned out to not be an RFP at all.

26:28 Terry talks about how a written proposal cannot convey intangibles, like chemistry. He says that it's a ton of work for the agency, and offers an example of how one RFP he worked on did not win the business,  because it turned that the RFP was just a formality.

30:24 David and Terry offer advice to clients on how to put out RFP's to make life easier for both clients and agencies alike. Terry invites any comments from listeners about RFP's.

32:50 Terry introduces and plays Chris Clarke's segment for the week.

36:40 Inside PRoper English for the week: enervate.

37:56 David closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [e-mail], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.