Corporate Vlogs - The future of PR?

Jason Calacanis, CEO of Maholo.com, believes that corporate Vlogs are the future of PR.

He concedes that this is the same theory that many had in 2004 with regard to blogging., but to back up his theory Calacanis points towards his own company's figures:

"Since inception Maholo has had over 4M views to our videos, and last month we broke the 1M mark. Four million views means millions of folks (let's say two million) have come in contact with the Mahalo brand. If you were to pay for four million 15 second spots on the web the cost would be $25 for each 1,000 views--or $100,000. That's about what we've spent on the show over the first six months. Additionally, the shows have archival value and will get another 2-4m views over their life I'm sure. In another three years every company will have not only a corporate blog but a corporate vlog. The New York Times, JetBlue, American Express, and Apple will communicate with their leading customers with regular videos."

Although Calacanis' post should be viewed as a piece of self-promotion, it ties in well with the news that PR shop Edelman is forming an online content creation unit:

"It’s become fairly typical for major ad agencies to get into content creation under the premise of producing branded entertainment on behalf of clients. But it is unusual for a public relations shop to try its hand at the practice. New York-based PR firm Edelman hopes to widen the perception of itself - if not the industry - by forming a “virtual studio” to connect producers, directors and screenwriters to develop short-form online videos for its clients, AdAge reports."

Benjamin Koe believe this is a correct move for PR agencies today. He says that the web is all about creating your own content and making it count:

"Why just keep to press releases for the journalists when you can create content that go direct to customers? If I was a marketeer on a budget, I might want to try for a million views on YouTube vs a national news pitch. Of course it depends on which is the best means to reach your target audience. Good to know we now have the choice."

Brian Solis argues that this is a very “official” move that should inspire the industry to evolve a new branch in this direction:

"When I’m not blogging, I also run a PR agency (FutureWorks PR) and I built a full video and audio recording studio in our Sunnyvale HQ specifically for this purpose. We’ve been working with talent to create original pilots and series to help clients tell their story in a more visual, human, and creative ways using the powerful and easily accessible online social video channels available to all of us."

Although it has come down in price, setting up the kind of studio that can produce the high-qulaity content that clients want is expensive and time consuming - resources that many agencies just don’t have and that could be better spent elsewhere.

Most PR agencies will have a relationship with a video and audio production company (or several) so that they can outsource this work if clients demand it, producing higher quality content then they could in-house.

As Edelman has the resources, it is a good idea to bypass this relationship and set up their own production studio. But as prices drop and the means to produce high-quality content for clients becomes increasingly available, more and more smaller agencies, such as Brian’s FutureWorks PR, will be able to follow Edelamn’s route and include it in their agency’s services.

What do you think? Is your agency going to set up the means to start creating its own content for clients? Or will the timing too early and will the service become more popular in a few years time?