Brian Morrissey of Adweek looks closely at Panasonic’s efforts to create buzz during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
Panasonic wanted to build cachet among Internet influencers for its array of tech products. As part of its “Living in High Definition” push, Panasonic new media consultancy Crayon recruited five bloggers to travel to CES on Panasonic’s dime. Panasonic footed the bill for their travel and passes to the event while also loaning them digital video and still cameras. The bloggers, which include popular Internet figures Chris Brogan and Steve Garfield, will also meet with Panasonic executives and preview products.
Morrissey, a traditional journalist–one of the best on the advertising beat–can’t see himself swimming in such compromising waters:
The program points to one of the many conundrums for traditional media outlets online: how do they compete with bloggers who have built up sizeable audiences of their own and are free of ethical constraints placed on traditional journalists.
“Free of ethical constraints” seems a bit much, although I know what Morrissey means. This is a topic we explore a lot here. For what is AdPulp? Is it a media entity or is it an ad for our creative services? I’d like to think it’s both, but that has to be some kind of 20th century conflict of interest, right? Of course it is, so why don’t I feel troubled by it? I don’t feel troubled by it because I believe in change and in adapting to my environment.
What makes sense to me right now is a media company that also offers agency services, particularly in content development. One that creates its own media brands and has a ton invested in their success. And at the same time, is available for hire, ready to help marketers create media, not advertising, via successful content strategies and implementation plans.