It pays to read this section of the Wall Street Journal; you never know who you can meet!
As part of my new business strategy, I strive to make relationships with the VC and private equity communities. While it makes a lot of business sense, we also have a lot in common and have always contended that (one day) a PR shop should go into business with a VC group to not just go after businesses that are worth investing in, but to seek out ways to merchandise the efforts of these investments.
So when I saw the following article in AD AGE this morning about Madison Avenue forming a relationship with VC partners, I got shivers down my spine. There is hope that my vision could come true.
Investment banks look for return on assets that strengthen financial statements. PR firms can help leverage assets–both tangible and intangible. At SMPR, we strive to hit on any innovation buttons we can, for these are the very buttons that trigger asset development.
Anyone who knows me in the PR world has heard my explanation of PR and how it mirrors economics–clients have a supply of information, and it is our job to match the demand of the marketplace with what our clients are supplying. Our currency is content. In the VC and PR worlds, content is king.
If any PR folks are doing something like what this article is describing, I would be curious to learn about your feedback.