Livingston Communications is off to the races with CRT/tanaka
You might wonder why I am sharing this news here on The Harte of Marketing. Well, two reasons. First, Geoff Livingston is a good friend who I truly respect and learn from everyday. And… we just happen to think a lot alike on the topic of social media! So, I wanted to be able to share his good news about being acquired by CRT/tanaka with the marketing/social media community. Second, this is a trend that isn’t going away. I believe we will start to see smart agencies starting to acquire social media agencies and consultants that have solid expertise.
I had a chance to catch up with Geoff to discuss the recent news and asked him about how social media is changing the agency world as we know it.
According to Geoff, “the era of the social media consultant is coming to an end. Social media, as we know it, will need to integrate into all communications functions or else become marginalized. Social media is a capability and a toolset that needs to be incorporated across the communications frontline…including interactive, pr and advertising. It’s a toolset that every communicator needs to be aware of and needs to be able to engage in for the sole benefit of their clients. Social media is not a standalone silo and the social media department as a philosophy won’t work.”
I think those among us who truly embrace social media and want to see it implement widely within corporations, non-profits, universities, government agencies, creative agencies, etc. would probably agree on that.
Geoff’s decision to merge with CRT/tanaka is evidence that social media, even in its infancy, is still radically changing every day. For those who have been implementing social media as part of communication strategies for years know it’s time for the next challenge-and corporate-wide implementation is most likely it.
So, who is CRT/tanaka you might be wondering? Well, they are an award-winning public relations and marketing located in Richmond, Va., and New York, with offices in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Norfolk, Va., CRT/tanaka has been recognized with nearly 300 national and regional awards for its strategic counsel, creativity, workplace culture and community service. [Wow!] Their clients include Air New Zealand, BISSELL Homecare, Inc., Charles Schwab & Co., Council for Responsible Nutrition, Council of Better Business Bureaus, GSK, Girl Scouts of the USA, Next Wave Pharmaceuticals, Performance Food Group, Sprint Nextel, Quebec Maple Syrup, Wines from Rioja (Spain), and VHA Inc. [I think we can safely say that they are experts in their field!]
Congratulations to Livingston Communications and CRT/tanaka!
[Image: David Alston]
Tags: 13 Responses to “Livingston Communications is off to the races with CRT/tanaka”
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[...] is some third party analysis from Beth Harte and Kami [...]
The real revolution in communications firms isn;t in social media. Social media is a dramatic tool that certainly does change things, but it is a tool. On the other hand, the communications industry has two very fundamental flaws: 1. Everything is based on time: billing, remuneration of employees, measurement of success. That is crazy. Clients do not care how busy (or not) their communications firm may be — they only care about value. But the time sheet dominates everything. That needs to be killed. 2) The industry is organized by silos defined by distribution channel — ad agencies, digital, pr, events — they are all distribution channels. But nobody really cares which channel you use to get your message to an audience — the issue isn’t that — the issue is knowing the goals you want to cahieve, identifying the people whose actions/beliefs/whatever will be needed to achieve those goals, developing and crafting the right messages, and then getting the messages to the audience in WHATEVER way — through whatever distribution channel(s) — is (are) most effective. Yet most firms either specialize in a distribution channel or have “practice groups” that are silos based on the distribution channel.
Washington Post Pulitzer winning business columnist Steve Pearlstein wrote about the flawed and outdated model about three years ago — he was right then — he’s even more right now: http://tinyurl.com/ylobdq
Coincidentally, that article cites Poretz’s firm as the pinacle form of communications. Too bad Pearlstein doesn’t know anything about the communications business and is ready to be put out to pasture.
Geoff Livingston’s last blog post..Livingston Is Gone
Did you have something to say about the actual points I made in my comments or those made by the ready-to-put-out-to-pasture Pulitzer Prize winner (most recent awards) who is generally recognized for his accurate prediction and description of the current economic crisis? I thought the issue was the future of communications and I (and Pearlstein) both believe that the future of communications requires a new model — my view: the new model has to reject time as the dominant criteria for billing, remunerating employees, and measuring success, and the silos based on distribution channels need to be killed. Maybe time-centric operations and siloed organizations should continue. I’m always willing to engage in the discussion and listen to other ideas regardless of the source, whether brand new to the business, in the middle of their careers, or ready to be put out to pasture.
[...] The siloization of social media within communications departments and their agencies represents a strate… [...]
Like any other industry change is hard and not everyone can get their arms around the bear. Just because a company buys another company to add value, does not mean they will. CHANGE has to be understood and accepted within the organization from top to bottom. Silos have to go and everyone needs to be on the same page. Hopefully, Livingtons team has committed to being on that page.
courtney benson’s last blog post..11 Stupid Sales Cliches
I totally agree that agencies are in need of a strategy for addressing communications across all channels of business services. It looks to me like that is the kernel of what David Armano, Peter Kim, and others are up to. I recently pointed to the emerging challenges involved in such a transformation over on Skilful Minds.
“The point has become increasingly obvious, even to some Public Relations experts who now assert that the fate of PR lies in mediating the customer experience, and managing customer touch points across channels of engagement. In other words, listening is not enough. Those listening for a brand, whether employees or outside agencies, require an understanding of how a complaint, product suggestion, opportunity, or request heard on a social media channel (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) relates to the brand’s business services and the processes that regulate them.”
Larry Irons’s last blog post..Brand Experiences are for Employees and Customers
[...] upon the big news that Livingston Communications acquired by CRT/tanaka. Good news via Beth Harte, Livingston Communications is off to the races with CRT/tanaka: I wanted to be able to share his good news about being acquired by CRT/tanaka with the [...]
[...] upon the big news that Livingston Communications acquired by CRT/tanaka. Good news via Beth Harte, Livingston Communications is off to the races with CRT/tanaka: I wanted to be able to share his good news about being acquired by CRT/tanaka with the [...]
[...] The siloization of social media within communications departments and their agencies represents a strate… [...]
I think your assessment is spot-on here, Beth.
While there will always be boutique-ish [read: low cost; low overhead] options for procuring services on a shoe string, I see more and more agencies and in-house MARCOM orgs talking about converting freelance social media resources to full time assets.
The toughest part about these agency melds is managing the resulting overlap, created over the last few years by agencies and freelance social media consultants wearing lots of hats in their effort to satisfy clients during this new media (re)evolution.
We have developed a new website intended to fill this social media gap. SocialDirectConnect.com is meant to bring non profits, businesses, social and community leaders and media together so all can benefit. We’ve only been online since November 2008 and are constantly developing and adding new plug ins. Would appreciate your input.
@DougPoretz, there has been a lot of discussion around billable hours versus value delivered. As well, I think most of us in the marketing industry (whether clients or vendors) recognize that silos don’t work when communicating to the outside world (i.e. customers/prospects/investors/etc.). The problem boils down to internal politics and laziness… in an effort to give everyone a platform for their opinion, the result is multiple campaigns, messages and end-users that are getting hit with tons of marketing babble. No wonder most people ignore the traditional favorites like direct mail, ads and e-mail marketing. Will social media rid the industry of billable hours, lack of value, politics and too many messages? Only if a company wants to stay in business for the next 10 years or more.
As for measurement, I don’t agree with you there. All companies (and the agencies they select) should have plans that measure for success… otherwise how will you know if you are making any strides? The reason there is no perceived value in marketing is because of the lack of planning, measuring and re-planning. Most folks don’t want to be held accountable, so the result is shotgun marketing that is worthless and ignored (in most cases, there are always exceptions).
@CourtneyBensen, Knowing Geoff and his team, I don’t think there is any issue with change…they are change agents when it comes to social media. As well, it’s doubtful that CRT/tanaka would have purchased LComm if they didn’t embrace social media.
@LarryIrons, not sure I agree with this one: “Those listening for a brand, whether employees or outside agencies, require an understanding of how a complaint, product suggestion, opportunity, or request heard on a social media channel (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) relates to the brand’s business services and the processes that regulate them.”
If I understand your meaning, I’d say that’s an inside out, not outside in, viewpoint. The statement, from a social media perspective, should be something like:
“Those listening for a brand, whether employees or outside agencies, require an understanding of how a complaint, product suggestion, opportunity, or request heard on a social media channel (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) can be used to enhance, revise, etc. the brand’s business services and the processes that regulate them.”
Also, I haven’t seen any examples or case studies of agencies taking social media across silos or corporate structures…most have been one-off marketing campaigns. The one exception that I have seen recently is Sea World San Antonio; they are using social media tools across the organization. Kami Huyse is involved in that social media initiative.
@DonLafferty, thanks for adding a local reality check. From where I sit, I don’t see a lot of local agencies or embracing social media (and I don’t mean embracing the tools, I mean embracing the new mindset). It will be interesting to see what happens…
@SharonAdams, best of luck with your community!