Having begun my career in several of the country’s largest PR firms, I know what it takes to be successful in an agency: the ability to juggle a seemingly impossible list of deliverables in one day; developing a finely tuned attention to detail; becoming an expert in multiple industries in order to speak intelligently to clients; maintaining a voracious appetite for the news; and the commitment to burn the midnight oil day after day – the list goes on. And despite the rigors of working for an agency, the demand to break into a communications firm world remains high – and it remains elusive for the majority of corporate-side communicators.

Having made the transition from public relations to recruiting, I meet candidates every week who work in corporate side communications departments and would love to make that jump – and they’re frustrated about the agency doors that have been closed to them again and again. Why the resistance from top management at these firms to hire from outside the agency world?

The fact is that agencies tend to “raise their own”. They have developed vigorous internship programs that often span four-to-six months and provide their emerging talent with the chance to make major presentations to clients, participate in strategy and braining meetings and the opportunity to author their first media relations documents.  Junior staff has been put through their paces, and they prove they can handle the lifestyle and the high caliber of work that clients demand – if not, they don’t survive long.

The majority of successful upper agency management have spent their entire careers in that world – albeit moving from firm to firm. They develop a unique mix of skills: the ability to deliver outstanding service to clients as well as develop new business. They’re networkers who are always strengthening relationships within the business community because they’re held accountable for generating revenue within their firm or practice.  The fact is that many corporate-side communicators simply are interested or passionate about this aspect of the business.

With all this said, there are the few who break into the agency world at the senior level. How do they do it? They offer a firm and their top clients something agencies haven’t been able to cultivate on their own – a truly deep expertise within an industry. Former journalists who come from top national media outlets are a perfect example. The former corporate communications manager from a global pharmaceutical corporation is another. The bottom line is that to successfully make the transition to the agency world from corporate, you need to find a unique value proposition that can make you invaluable.

What is yours?

True story. What do they say, “Truth is stranger than fiction?”  Obviously, a bit of an extreme but it’s what marketers are facing today as they struggle with these social media and nontraditional marketing tools the global consumer is using.  People (and specifically non-techies) have taken control of the online conversation. I am neither the first nor the hundredth person to blog or twitter about these phenomena. It’s an exciting (but scary) time to be a marketer while new technology and mass consumer adoption is occurring we are seemingly stepping into an economic downturn. Cover your ears if you don’t want to hear it but Recession (with capital R) typically is felt by marketers right in their ad budgets so as to keep companies’ “profit generating centers” alive. Entering from stage left - cheaper and potentially more effective social media strategies.

In reference to the title of this blog, virtual worlds are making a comeback in the US and across the globe:

http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Online_divorcee_jailed_after_killing_virtual_hubby_Yahoo

Life has been up and then down in the world of “Early adopters”. I have worked with several clients in the past who have virtual islands they own in a 3-D virtual world called Second Life created by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the global medium used for laypeople’s expressions of fantasy, including wished-for spouses, regions of living, etc. This interactive online game is used for information, recruiting and even B2B sales. The recently hired CMO of Second Life has started breathing some new energy into this emerging media:

http://digg.com/tech_news/The_Second_Life_of_Second_Life

As we continue to be bombarded by messages from companies and in turn become numb to their outreach, new challenges emerge. How can we separate ourselves from the fire hose of media? The belief that social media is used only by teenagers or those who can’t hack it in the real world is a fallacy.  Marketers must come to terms with this.  Maybe not to the extent of the online divorcee/virtual murderer, but to the point where marketers recognize that failing to master these powerful tools can be a career killer.  If that doesn’t spook you…..

Happy Halloween, All.