PR Chicago

Stop the presses?

These are hard times in the newspaper business. Besides the flurry of layoffs, we have newspaper bosses sacrificing content for snappy graphics, rearranging the ad-to-editorial ratio and even cutting the size of the paper. That's bad news for PR folks, who have seen business sections shrink to just a couple of pages, and home and travel sections reduced to mostly freelance and syndicated columns.

Now comes the disheartening news that papers are sharing content, as in the recently-announced agreement at the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Palm Beach Post. Are we doomed to USA Today clones, with little, if any, local coverage and no in-depth stories? Perhaps blogger Jose Leal was right when he wrote a six-part series predicting the demise of newspapers.

Returning to find they still hate us (PR folks, that is)

Returning after a blogging hiatus--spring and summer filled with projects--and still I find the anti PR comments rolling in. It started a while ago with CBS legal analyst Andrew Cohen's now-famous comment about PR: "Show me a PR person who is accurate and truthful and I'll show you a person who is unemployed" (check out Shel Holtz's blog on this kerfuffle, as they say) and continued with lots of other folks -- including some PR people, even, piling on. Todd Defren chronicles it well in PR Squared.

And now I read that journalists and bloggers aren't getting their news from PR people...they are finding it in other blogs, from friends and acquaintances, by browsing on the web. Hate to break it to you, but most of those interesting tidbits began as PR placements. No kidding. Perhaps it was a word-of-mouth program or a mention in a seminar or a display at a trade show. Maybe it was a friend reading about something in the newspaper and telling someone else, who told a blogger. PR, PR, PR. Yes, and that is PR, too.   

But is it news?

What makes a successful media pitch? From time to time, many of us in the PR business must tell a well-meaning client that his or her story clearly isn't news or even feature worthy.  Unfortunately, it's like telling a mom that her baby is ugly: she doesn't believe you and she hates you for saying it.  Some tips for telling a good news angle from a bad one:

1. It's something the average reader would like to know. For consumer media, put on your "average reader" hat and consider whether the story is relevant for many people, or if it interests only a niche market.
2. It's timely. Your story might even be ahead of its time. Some six or seven years ago, I pitched a story on identity theft to some legal magazines and newsletters. "It's not a story," I was told. "We don't think it's a problem." In other cases, the ship has sailed far away. Last year's trends are last year's news.
3. You have supporting information. Does a reporter have enough data to make this a relevant article? Consumers who have used or are using your client's product or service, endorsements from non-commercial third-party sources, facts and figures on the market for your client's product or service -- all this is essential to a good story pitch.
4. Your client is available for an interview -- and media trained. Sometimes you lose a good placement because your client is reluctant or unavailable for an interview. Even worse, sometimes your client is ill-prepared for media questions. Make sure you develop some incisive sample questions and answers so your spokesperson can prepare adequately ahead of time. 

Good deeds and good Samaritans

There are those grinches out there who believe that a good deed, if done or encouraged by a corporation, is not a good deed at all. Shame on them. Only those who truly help the poor and give to charities anonymously can be said to be altruistically pure. The rest-- the celebs, the philanthropists, the corporations -- would like the world to know that they care. Is that so bad?

Witness the cynicism shown during the recent rash of "Pay it forward" coffee purchases during the holidays at Starbucks. Some bah humbug bloggers suspect that Starbucks employees started the whole chain --purchasing a free cup for coffee for someone in line at Starbucks so that person would purchase coffee for the next, and so on. Oh, the humanity!

A very clever and effective big-city promotion for Starbucks was its "Red Cup on Cars" campaign. A red magnetic coffee cup was affixed to the top of a car. Each good Samaritan pointing out the coffee cup (or even rushing to remove it and give it to the driver) received a $5 gift card as a reward, and Starbucks received some great mentions on major market TV stations.

PR Pests and Cranky Bloggers: Can't We All Just Get Along?

Not since the wave of lawyer jokes hit some years ago has a profession been so reviled as PR. As much as PR professionals work to conduct themselves ethically and, moreover, not make pests of themselves, journalists and now, some holier-than-thou bloggers have become INCENSED that we DARE to sully their inboxes with press releases and PR materials.

Granted, a number of newbies, overeager entrepreneurs and even some big agency people who should know better have angered journalists such as Wired editor Chris Anderson and blogger Tom Coates. Perhaps Chris Anderson is being a bit disingenous, since Wired Magazine is basically a compilation of items about new tech gadgets (and where, I might add, would he have heard about them, if not from PR people?) interspersed with a few articles. And even stranger is Coates' rant...it seems that his blog appeared on a list of MOST INFLUENTIAL blogs (the NERVE!) and since that posting PR people (or so he says) have been sending him masses of unsolicited product information. Again, a bit disingenuous. 

Apparently, these folks have not heard of 1) the delete button or 2) the practice of sending all unsolicited emails to a folder to be sorted out at leisure, if at all. Another idea: don't provide your personal email address if you're going to be so offended. Send it to a favored few. Trust me, we don't want to send you an email if you're going to get all cranky about it.

Also,it might be well advised to provide PR people with a list of the correct contacts for specific sections of your publication. Sometimes it's not clear from the publication or the web site, and often we can't get through to anyone at your office to find out who we need to contact.   

The Social Media News Release: PR PowerPoint?

Big corporations are slowly adopting the social media news release in various forms, as mentioned on the what's probably the best podcast devoted to the PR biz:  For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report. As much as I like the idea of offering journalists and bloggers multimedia possibilities and endless links to further information, the formats seem like an excuse to revert to PowerPoint-style bullet points. Are journalists that pressed for time? Like staging a home for sale, a good narrative "sells" a news release. It takes skill and a bit of effort, but consider a PR future of just lists and links. I, for one, am getting depressed just thinking about it.

The Live Earth ecopalooza and other annoyances...

• I wonder...did the Live Earth artists get to the venue in an energy efficient way? If we combined the square footage of all of their various residences, would we be able to comfortably house the denizens of a mid-sized town? Is anyone just a bit annoyed that they're telling US to conserve energy? Vinay Menon offers a very funny take on the subject in a column in the Toronto Star, saying that the stars' promise to carbon-offset energy consumption is .."a bit like buying somebody a hat after you've pulled out his hair."
• I wonder...why retail operations often don't carry event sponsorships through to their stores? Posters, custom coupons, event tickets for customers, even special products created to highlight sponsorships...although it takes more work, the payback is in increased customer awareness.
• I wonder...if the iPhone is such an awe-inspiring gadget, why don't I want one? Although I would consider myself an early adopter, I remember my purchase, oh so many years ago, of the Apple Newton. Can you say....wait for the next iteration?

Scrapbooking dogs and other stupid story ideas

PR folks have been regularly lambasted for bad or boring story ideas and their penchant for pitching even the most inappropriate media outlets (check out badpitch.blogspot.com). But when you have a less-than-scintillating product to promote, you sometimes have to look high and low for decent story angles. We do what we can.

That said, the media shouldn't come out of this unscathed. Recent articles on the $54 million lawsuit for a pair of pants a hapless dry cleaner lost and the hiccupping girl who, finally rid of the persistent problem, ran away from home, underscore the media's apparent fascination with stupid stories.

And now this find: one journalist has requested leads on pets with hobbies from a PR service that helps journalists find sources and information for stories. What kind of hobby would your dog have? Would it be a traditional dog interest, say, digging or chewing? Or maybe your dog enjoys scrapbooking or collecting sports memorabilia?

Help us help you

PR isn't strenuous, but it IS stressful. That's because we can find ourselves trapped between clients who have unrealistic expections and media people who, in an industry facing serious economic downturns, don't even want to deal with us. We do want to do a good job, though, so here are some ways to get the best value from your PR firm:

• Stick around. Sometimes CEOs come to a town to do interviews and are willing to devote about 30 seconds to the task. Sure, it's not the easiest thing in the world, but since you're here, why not take advantage of the opportunities that your PR firm presents? And if you don't like talking with the media, we can help train you so you'll feel more comfortable and confident.
• Give us some great information to work with. PR people are often criticized for not providing in-depth information to the media. In some cases, it's because clients don't feel the need for pitch materials, such as b-roll, backgrounders, bios and photos. Won't you let us develop them? In addition, are your management people available for interviews? Could you provide contact information for satisfied customers/clients? Does your web site have adequate content?
• Allow us time to tell your story. Getting in-depth coverage doesn't happen overnight. We need to nurture our media contacts, providing the right pitch at the right moment. Then we need to follow-up with the requested information and interviews in a timely fashion. Sometimes this takes months, given the extreme demands on the time and attention of today's overworked print and TV reporters. Be patient. It will be worth it.
• Keep the dialogue going. We love to discuss story angles with clients. Often some usual fact or idea will result in a great media placement. We also like to explore some other ways to build awareness for your product/service, including demos/sampling, networking with business/community organizations, sponsorships, radio promotions and special events.

The best PR programs result from an ongoing client/agency partnership. The client must be committed to and actively participate in his/her own PR efforts, and these efforts must be constantly evaluated and reexamined so that they meet the changeable demands of the media and the public.

Why PR needs some PR

A couple of recent posts have led to a flurry of commentary that heaps even more criticism on PR's value as a profession. It started with Guy Kawasaki's blog, which references an article by Margie Zable Fisher on "Why PR Doesn't Work." The post points to the need for PR agencies and consultants and their clients to really understand what PR can and cannot accomplish and how the parties can work together for their mutual benefit. Some lively commentary followed, and Kawasaki subsequently published a post by Glenn Kelman, a real estate CEO, espousing do-it-yourself PR. (BTW, Glenn, the same case might be made for buying and selling your own properties without using any real estate services, right?) The post led to some significant PR bashing, which has come to be as much of a sport as lawyer-bashing. Hey, we're easy targets. Some of the blame falls on our industry, which has been historically bad at doing PR for PR. Public Relations Society of America, why aren't you weighing in on these blogs?

Of course, you can do your own PR. Could you be effective? Depends on your company, product, audience and the media. And the posts seem to assume that PR simply boils down to calling a few editors/producers or getting into a few blogs, rather than the many other tactics that we employ, including community relationship-building, value-added promotions and street team marketing. 

PR requires constant reading -- and knowing what reporters and editors are covering, what the trends are and what interests them. Then you must provide the right stories at the right time and build their trust. It means responding to media requests quickly, and preparing your client well. Sometimes it also means working with the communities in which the company is located to build relationships and contribute to local causes; working with TV and radio to create value-added promotions to build sales and developing street team-level programs to encourage product trial and increase brand awareness.

Anyone can do their own PR. We could also do our own tax preparation, financial planning, plumbing, electrical, auto repair and roofing. Would it be worth the cost savings? Probably not.