Those trades, be they VARIETY for Hollywood, law journals for the legal profession or subscription-paid newsletters for the public relations industry, are becoming "increasingly irrelevant." That's what Sharon Waxman, a former THE NEW YORK TIMES reporter, tells THE NEW YORK OBSERVER.
Clearly, ambitious lawyers and enterprising law students have been sensing this zeitgeist.
That slouching toward irrelevance has been speeded-up by the downturn which put the pressure on every player to be out there, opining brilliantly about something. Therefore, more are turning to the 24/7 accessible, high-reach medium of blogging, including microblogging. Daily, instead of every six months, I receive pitches about news insights on public nuisance, emerging models for law firms, and an award having been won.
Simultaneously, there are fewer and fewer of traditional trade media. Most of those are protean configurations, containing everything from macro economic information to specific industry coverage. That lack of a razor-sharp niche focus or long tail has tended to put them in the vulnerable category of old media. Media expert Michael Wolff predicts that 80% of publications in that category will be dead in 18 months. No newsflash, those wanting coverage are flocking to new media.
What does this mean for law firms, their stars, the 3Ls desperate to just enter the game, and the 20,000 unemployed attorneys? Obviously, participating in digital communications is now a necessary part of the marketing mix. Yeah, seminars to general counsels and influentials on labeling and product liability are important. But so is presenting the implications of what was discussed in those seminars in blogs, microblogs, podcasts, and YouTubes. More than ever, how we market has become an integrated system. No, there is no Killer App to keep hammering - exclusively.
Professional services firms, be they law, public relations or management consulting, will be as dead as much of old media and as soon if they don't migrate from what used to be effective in marketing to what else can be tried out. More deals get closed now from just-in-time opportunistic approaches than codified success formulas. If a so-called marketing pro claims to have the "secret" to unleash the potential of your operation, flee that field of force. It's dangerous to your survival.