The Bad Pitch Blog

Attend Bad Pitch Night School (during the day)

2009-07-13T06:35:00.003-04:00

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, July 29 from 1pm to 2pm edt. Richard Laermer and Kevin Dugan are hosting Bad Pitch Night School (during the day).

Who belongs in PR and who belongs in Starbucks?
A lot of readers tell us nervously they hope they never wind up on our blog. Well this is a chance to hone your skills as Laermer and Dugan open the books and bring you the best advice we can fit into an hour.

What material will we cover? Call attendees will learn a smart, step by step approach to pitching that goes well beyond a simple email. From looking at the whole pitch lifecycle, including the truth about pitching bloggers and using social media in the pitch to tips to improve your news habits and the keys to pitch inspiration, we'll help you improve your game.

How much? The teleconference is $49.00(US). If you have a speaker phone, fill a conference room with your best and brightest to make the most out of this already insanely cheap price.

Bad Pitch Blog Scholarship Program! What would a school (and a recession) be without scholarships? Bad Pitch Blog will give out five FREE student scholarships and five free professional scholarships to those professionals "between jobs/in transition/laid off/out of work."

@badpitch for more details and if we are already following you, DM us your pitch or email us at BADPITCHBLOG AT GMAIL DOT COM.

But wait, there's more! What would you like to learn more about during this call? Comment below, drop us a line via email or Twitter and let us know. And mark your calendars for Wednesday, July 29 from 1pm to 2pm edt. More details to follow.

My Name Is AT&T (Maybe, Sorta, Possibly)

2009-07-11T14:13:00.014-04:00

Here is #2 in a series of stupid branding tricks. Flashback: The consummate name change unfolded into a class A brand mess in 2007 at the same time my book Punk Marketing was coming out.

Here’s what happened.

In 2005, SBC Communications bought AT&T, creating a company that reminds those of us old enough to remember about Ma Bell. In 2006, AT&T got approval to take over BellSouth and so it changed its name to AT&T. AT&T did not, however, change the name of Cingular, which it got sole control of at the same time, but instead waited to do a name-dance until January 15, 2007. Branding geniuses (lightly used) from AT&T had forgotten how much AT&T was hated as a wireless company a few years back.

I understand the concept of name recognition as well as the next marketer. AT&T was a known entity. But Cingular, with their odd little orange man-shaped logo, grew to become not only a well recognized name — even if the idea of singular or analog in a digital world was comical — and a connector to youth culture, but a quality performer in a marketplace where “cell phone companies” are hated, to say the least.

AT&T on the other hand was known in its previous incarnation as clueless when it came to wireless. (They were the phone company, quote unquote, and took their sweet time grabbing hold of the new non-tethered space).

People cringed in the '90s when encountering someone who’d been dumb enough to sign a multi-year contract with AT&T Wireless. What irked me was the nearly billion dollars a year this wayward group spent a year on ads and unreadable advertorial mini-magazines that popped up as newspaper circulars and were handed out at rodeos. That cash outlay was immense! Yet AT&T never bothered to do a thing to improve shoddy cell system nor its unfathomably crappy customer handling.

The latest AT&T jumped on to some kind of orbital shaped image and adopted a tagline I still don’t get: “Your world. Delivered.” I wondered how this newly-minted AT&T could deliver any world when the old one AT&T threw at us frustrated so many with poor-at-best wireless signals.

AT&T has for a few years now been delivering all things to all people, claiming to offer superior “modern” communication. But their actual raison d’être is not evident. In a fast-paced century like 21, actions speak louder than name changes. Cingular – a brand I miss – stood for new and forward thinking. What does AT&T stands for? All together now: Monolith.

The AT&T corporate stooges explain that the move saves 20 percent on operating costs as they force the brands into a single namesake. And to do so, they needed to forfeit the truly clever Cingular slogan, “Raising the Bar,” and instead bring out “Raising It Higher.” (Good Viagra tag, no doubt.)

And then there was BellSouth. It took me a while to let go of BellSouth as my BlackBerry provider; this was the group that gingerly brought me into the digital age back in, uh, 1996. Eventually, I got used to Cingular and was happy with it, though the idea of “fewest dropped calls” was a funny misnomer. Now, like all my iPhone-happy buddies, I am forced to use AT&T.

In the end it’s all about ego – what were you expecting? AT&T, a moniker that I salute and mock, stands tall in American history and these days SBC/AT&T/BellSouth/Crosby Stills Nash & Young wants to be seen as an ages-old corporation. It is a roll-up just like any other.

Whatever the rationale behind the group naming, it has always smelt like people who wanted to keep their jobs and thus add work that wasn’t necessary, which is so not Punk! (For the scoop on Punk Marketing methodology, see PunkMarketing.com). Plus I'm kind of worried: What happened to that Cingular orange man? Has he been pushed out of a job the rude way the Sock Puppet or Charlie The E*TRADE Chimp was? Will Orange Dude be able to feed his family!? Gosh, last time something this round had so much personality it was hanging out with Tom Hanks on an island!

Names like Cingular are, I guess, passé. Brand names “for the greater good” are in vogue. I feel good about my own slogan for Punk Marketing: Join the Revolution! I haven't changed it.

For more like the above, TwitterFollow @laermer, @badpitch or - yeah - @punkmarketing

When is a "Pitch" Not a "Pitch?"

2009-07-10T09:40:00.007-04:00

Bad Pitch welcomes its first guest blogger in a while, Susan E. Jacobsen.

*****
If you’re in PR, you know the basics of a pitch – that “hook” or story idea to garner interest with a reporter. Often it's simple: You are trying to position a person, product or event. You might contact a reporter by phone and speak directly, or send an email with your ideas. If you’re lucky, yep, the pitch is (keeping with the analogy) “hit” out of the ballpark; you get your story.

Today's PR pitch, however, is not so straightforward. Eyes are everywhere – every single one of us is looking for that new idea, novel angle, innovative structure, etc. Blogs, tweets, Facebook posts, Ning sites, everything we do is ripe for picking, or so I learned.

After attending an event, a friend sent me some photos, (Here, and here which I in turn, tweeted out for others to see. While I directed this tweet to two friends who also attended said event, all my followers saw it while a lot more saw the re-tweets. Soon after I received a DN from a reporter wanting to use the photos and expand my tweet into a story for her publication. Seriously? Two tweeted photos with a brief comment and a reporter is interested? Yep – that’s it, and fortunately this was an event I was more than happy to help promote: (Creative Cupcakes)

Unfortunately, some tweets don’t turn out as well for the twerson who originated it. There have been a number of instances where someone sent something via Twitter that boomeranged and it hit them where it hurts. (In case you dare to forget, consider the Ketchum representative who made unflattering remarks about the fabulous city of Memphis after his visit with the worldwide communications group at FedEx. Not at all "so good".)

Politicians, celebrities, athletes and business executives have all experienced an “Uh Oh” moment of a tweet gone awry. What might seem like a humorous, innocuous second of time, however, could end up the nugget this reporter needs to clinch her story. Use words wisely (UWW)! Think about those pictures you’re about to send and those that will not be forgotten. And consider the source. What you promote – whether in your blog, on a Facebook Wall or through your FriendFeed– is going to be forever connected with you. “Delete” no longer means it's gone; hidden is more like it. That means: available for anyone to find.

And finally, my slogan: What happens on Twitter does not stay on Twitter. Your tweet is your voice. While not a pitch traditionally, it could (see above) get you the story. This is, I now realize, the best reminder for me…as I pack my Flip for next week’s trip to Sin City.
****
@SusanEJacobsen is the chief bottle washer and head pitch machine at LUV2XLPR, Inc.

Art of the Real Deal

2009-07-07T18:28:00.005-04:00

Believe it or not, several decades ago, my Mother made sure I was raised to be a good Queens (NY) boy. I was kind of polite, always a “card,” yet capable of cracking up adults at any wedding, graduation or Bar Mitzvah you threw my way. I earned a lot of good guy pats on the head.

Unfortunately for Mom, being first a reporter then a PR guy has wrung modesty right out of me. I learned quickly that the media has no respect for humility. In your quest for coverage, if there’s an angle that you know is best, and you are aiming to be the lead for a Times story, being meek and “helpful” just doesn’t cut it. You’ve got to pitch hard and be not mysterious about what you want or what placement you’re looking for. But you already knew that.

Some of you didn’t know? Over the past several years it seems that everyone has developed a new nicety with the media and with bloggers, presuming that if they’re really sweet and oh-so-darn helpful, reporters will be sure to feature them. While it’s true that being “nice” works with old ladies and in (some) court hearings, it doesn’t work with reporters who are busy fighting deadlines, particularly not with the fact that reporters have to get more done than ever before.

Does being wonderfully pleasing give you license to you be nasty? Nope. Instead, you need to be honest and upfront.

Journalists and online types interview you because they need information and new story ideas. You, on the other hand, have what they need and you need some coverage. See a deal formulating? Reporters are, contrary to popular belief, in fact people and love to be treated like adults. Yes, you should help them out with their story and okay be polite like your mother taught you, but you should also tell them, mano a mano, what story you’re looking for, what angle you think is best for all parties, and—how you can help.

Strangely enough, Mr. and Ms. Business Type, you soon learn that journalists happen to be some of the most talented dealmakers on our planet! If you think I’m on a media Jihad, do a quick Nexis search on Comcast Corporation. A few years ago, just four spokespersons commented in a not small way on a new deal Comcast slapped on the table.

The result was a thousand or so individual pieces of coverage around the globe, each a carbon copy of the last. That wasn’t what you might call luck—it was shrewd negotiation.

Reporters are aware of a balance between knowledge and access. They know how to use leverage when it’s necessary. They’re experts in requesting what they’re looking for—nay, exactly what they need—and they do it with the subtly of a bowling ball rolling down a staircase.

Bottom line: the next time you’re on the horn with a media dude, lay out what you hope to get out of the conversation.

Like never before, frank is what any reporter, blogger or producer will appreciate—and in the final analysis you’ll appreciate when the story or post runs.

Twitter @laermer, @badpitch

The Death of the Sci Fi Channel: Or, Semper Sy Fy!

2009-07-06T09:30:00.007-04:00

Just this morning the Sci Fi channel became Sy Fy, which you can be assured will be back as Sci Fi not long after that. Just about everyone who has heard about this wondered “What branding company is sleeping with who over there?” You cannot pretend to like this moniker. There are reasons for this change—though none make sense. I don’t know why they did it, but as someone who’s watched thousands of companies make change for no reason, I can make some guesses:

1. They needed a slogan and they’d run out of creativity (the New York Times called their new name an experimental laxative; that's pretty creative). Sci Fi conjured up the gag “Imagine Greater” because they want to be like Apple (“Think Different”). With a mindless slogan on their hands, they used sleight of hand and imagined a greater-than-dumb trademark name for the network so people would mock it rather than their ludicrous tagline.

2. Just like Headline News is now HLN, Learning Channel became TLC, American Movie Classics fell into AMC, Game Show Network calls itself GSN, or Outdoor Channel morphed into VS., it’s bad form now to have more than a few letters in your name. Sy Fy is fewer than Sci Fi. The History Channel even changed to just History last year; it would have been THC were it not been for similarities to the ingredient in pot. OXYGEN would have been OXY yet it sounds like oxycodone and better still, Bill Mays owns the prefix outright! This whole shortening routine got more bizarre since E! Channel’s True Hollywood Story is now called THS!

Then there is truTV, which is Court TV’s newish name. Know what? I just found out it has no content from the late Truman Capote! As for Spike, does Spike Lee know that it will be Spi soon, I’m sure?

3. Change is not good all the time and still people get antsy all the time. Sci Fi wants to program more than science-fiction shows. So, like Grandma used to say: Nu? There are subtle ways to manage this—for instance tell people, “We’re still Sci Fi but we have expanded into newer dimensions!” The concept of expansion without screaming is foreign to corporate monoliths (Sy part of the NBC Universal “family”).

4. A branding company sauntered in and told the suits it’s time to grow with the times. That happens a lot, and quite needlessly. Slick branders speak a hi-toned language to make Senior VPS, all of whom are worried about their jobs, go “Man we gotta do this now!” I harken back to truTV, which has fared horribly since the change. You don’t know this because no one watches it—tru is a trailer trash version of reality TV. Or, as they pointed out: it’s “Not Reality. It’s Actuality.” Both of these networks think its audience is the lowest of common denominators. And oh yeah,the former Court TV laid off over 150 people last week. That, my friends, is tru(e).

5. Sy Sims is funding the rebrand. That explains Sy. As for the Fy suffix, one of the Sci Fi chiefs was in the military and doesn’t know how to spell Semper Fi. That’s all I got.

I told my closest pal about Sy Fy and he said he wished he could have been in the room when the decision was made. Since he’s not in marketing, I wondered why. “So I could have seen the look on the faces of people who heard the top person say ‘Great idea’.”

What can we learn from this mess? Just because someone wants to do something ‘different’ or ‘greater than’ what existed before, your job as a marketing person is to step in with the loudest voice on record and suggest that aybe we should reconsider. Or better yet: “Do we need to change this much?” Even if the business isn’t skyrocketing this second, there is that one reality: a brand that’s known worldwide.

Alternatively, you can remind the doofuses how far Tropicana fell after the brand tossed a well-loved carton design this winter, after which it lost more market share than ever in history. When asked why 2009 was a downer, a spokesperson pointed to the carton: “Draw a line from there.”

Sometimes decisions are drawn with no rhyme or reason. You can get the rhythm back.

……This is the first of a series of Bad Pitch Blog post about brands run amok……Twittering @laermer .

TMZ Speed vs. CNN Credibility – Pick One

2009-07-01T23:13:00.001-04:00

Et tu, Richard?

The hypocrisy I’m seeing around the Michael Jackson news story is laughable. But it’s not very original. We’ve heard this all before.

What’s the motive behind declaring a winner and loser for who broke the story? Does it change the story? Does it give TMZ exclusive rights to the story?

Yet Web 2.0 super nerds are seemingly on MSM death watch, cheering with every development that can be considered a nail in the coffin of the fourth estate. And these same people would step over their own family if a CNN, New York Times or even smaller, niche and trade publications came calling asking them to contribute.

”The TMZ Beats CNN Pile On” is not a story about old being beaten by new. It’s several issues twisted together. Trying to deal with them in one blog post is like trying to read the Kama Sutra while riding a Sit & Spin.

Speed vs. Credibility
If this is about speed vs. credibility, new media will usually win speed and mainstream media will usually win in credibility. But more importantly, if mainstream media sacrifices their credibility, they have nothing left.

Case in point…as the world mourned Michael Jackson and the Internet moaned under the weight of it all, a new Twitter avalanche began that asserted Jeff Goldblum had passed on.

Thankfully the “Earth Girls are Easy” star is still with us today. But what if, after getting their shorts handed to them by TMZ, CNN said “screw it, we’ll be first THIS time” and reported that Jeff Goldblum was dead? Game over. But the Twitterverse can say anything they want and sleep soundly. We let them. We are them.

CNN lives in a different world than TMZ and is held to different rules as a result. Newspapers can get sued if they retweet something deemed libelous in a court of law. Something tells me TMZ budgets for law suits.

More People or the Right People?
If this is about getting exposure in the best possible outlets, TMZ is a niche publication. You won’t see a TMZ reporter at Davos…unless we find out Amy Winehouse is speaking at the World Economic Forum. One thing new media has shown us is that it’s no longer a question of the most exposure possible. It’s the right exposure that will move the needles measuring our programs. Bottom line is that public relations needs to blend the benefits of new media and mainstream media to reach its goals.

And we can work to make that happen with the urgency of knowing that we’ll all die someday. But unlike MJ, MSM is not dead. Not yet.

Twitter @prblog and @badpitch
Image via Some e-cards

Michael Jackson’s Dead: Now Comes the Mainstream Media’s Death

2009-07-01T12:12:00.008-04:00

Tough media week for superstar Michael Jackson. Imagine, your death being announced by TMZ. Horrors!

Actually, I adore TMZ. It’s the one program and site that makes me laugh all the time. A lot of tabloids can learn from it. They should stop yelling at us. TMZ “covers the waterfront” in LA—there is no story they don’t have first. And it’s something their brothers at Time Warner (heck, they are all owned by the same Dad) should take a hint from.

RIP, Michael.

On the night of Michael’s death – may I call him Michael? –pristine and often other-worldly CNN spent hours looking uncomfortable and acting like they were phoning in election night results. Their viewers – the ones with ether abilities–knew the superstar was dead. But the major media lost their balls and waited. And waited. They looked silly. And for the first time, I turned the TV nets off.

That night’s background noise: “Rock With Me.”

Meanwhile, Twitterers covered the horrible event even better than CNN – questioning TMZ but keeping in mind the Harvey Levin institution usually gets their scoop (no matter what). I’d never seen such venom toward the cable news.

Since then, the “actual media” (quotes mine) has turned this into a strange story—the usual “how did he die?” pieces, as if that will ever be honestly pieced together. And the most fun story was that the mainstream media missing Jackson’s death because of inability to believe a “not quite credible” news source. Best Bullshit Ever. Credible to whom? This is not the National Enquirer, which uses a stable of freelancers to aurally-record each interview with “a best friend” of someone as proof of purchase. TMZ has a full-time, on-the-scene staff to interview real sources, taking photos and –yes-paying for clues. I’m sorry if MSNBC doesn’t want to be aggressive; it’s because they’re not budgeted for it. But I did see MSNBC salivating while interviewing a non-NBC celebrity journalist about TMZ while waiting for “the verdict.” (So MS couldn’t be accused of---what was it again they were worried about?)

As someone who worked as a scrappy and pit-bullish reporter for a decade before heading to the bright side of PR, I commend TMZ for knocking barriers down and saying “Fuck you” to everyone who hates them. (I admire that.) When I was a reporter I slept outside a source’s door until they came out for work (for the original Us magazine, in a story that became the movie I Love You To Death). I doubt the current MSM would do that, because they’d see it as unseemly.

Heck. A story is a story is a story, paraphrasing Gertrude Stein. TMZ rules right now. That Levin character is proud of his people—and the skills they’ve amassed. It is naïve for us to say MJ’s death is not a step toward the slowly-diminishing role of the “trusted sources” we’ve come to depend upon.

Hungry, nonstop TMZ will survive this downturn (they have a second series starting this month!); while that self-serious, slogan-inundated (“Keeping Them Honest”) CNN may end up being the TMZ Network. And that’s a story I can’t wait to cover!

What’s your take, Kevin?

Twitter @laermer and @badpitch

Death Be Not Pitch*

2009-06-30T00:11:00.002-04:00

Laermer has jury duty. So while he does his civic duty, we’re waiting to put a fine point on our point-counterpoint posts. In the meantime, I have to rant and wonder WTF some publicists are thinking when they pitch around celebrity death.

If we’ve posted about this once, we’ve posted about it at least three times in the past. We’re getting tired of it and refuse to create The Dead Pitch Blog -- even though brand extensions are in and there seems to be a sad amount of fodder through the years for this macabre project.

Unfortunately there are some low-class, no-class publicity hounds willing to do anything to get their clients ink.

Dr. Drew -- Surgeon General Compared to These Sources
Our worst pitch was sent as a pondering email: “Michael Jackson - Death or simply 'Put to Sleep?'” Upon further investigation we learn that this person’s client is three steps removed from the pitch. It starts with Michael Jackson and leads to a Dr. you assume is being pitched as the client/source – but no.

“After reading this, I knew I'd found the right man to discuss Mr. Jackson's addiction to opiates, and asked him for a face-to-face interview. Dr. NAME, himself, has never treated Michael Jackson directly, but because of his extensive knowledge of addiction, and detoxification - I thought he'd have some cogent and perceptive thoughts on Mr. Jackson's life, addiction and death. Also, because of Dr. NAME extensive work with addicts at CLIENT, I was curious to hear about how Mr. Jackson's wealth and power might have played a role in his active addiction while living and, in his subsequent death.”

How’s that for a weak link? Not to mention it is wrong on so many levels. Is anyone else wondering why someone would pitch THESE sources to US?

But wait, there’s more! We were also sent this one from a similarly offended recipient.

“Michael Jackson's Fatal Demerol Addiction No Surprise to CBS Personality and Previous Addict” This pitch ends with this strategic insight: CLIENT is ready, as a guest, to begin talking about the anticipated toxicology — while everyone is still reporting on "heart attack."

I Want a New Pitch*
If this is your idea of timely pitching, you need to stop chasing ambulances and study up on good taste. And we didn’t out any of the above thick skulled ass hats as they probably think all Google Juice is good Google Juice and wouldn’t get the point of this post. >/rant<

With apologies to the book, and the song and -- most of all -- the families of all of the deceased.

Each war is different, each war is the same uploaded by kevindooley

Michael Jackson's Internet News Frenzy: History of Hypocrisy?

2009-06-26T16:11:00.003-04:00

Let’s be honest…the only person happy about Michael Jackson’s death was South Carolina’s Governor, Mark Sanford.

As the world processes the loss of the King of Pop, many focus on related stories. Some PR folks for example have been proclaiming TMZ is “Associated Press 2.0” and are all but dancing on CNN’s grave.

Personally, I see the mainstream media’s role in this differently than some – including Richard Laermer.

So we’re doing a point counterpoint – 250 words each on why the Michael Jackson Internet frenzy spells the death of mainstream media and the rise of TMZ and other emerging news outlets.

Who’s right? Who’s wrong? You’ll be the judge.

Michael jackson is over capacity uploaded by :raeioul

Hello Out There: Why Letters to the Editor Are Pure PR

2009-06-22T14:51:00.005-04:00

Dear Bad Pitch Participant:

You have to remember that all democracy truly guarantees us is death, taxes and (says Mark Twain) good ole Letter to the Editor. The latter is one of the most effective ways to get coverage in your favorite newspaper or magazine.

I, however, do not recommend death or taxes.

But remember: There are hundreds of more subtle plugs in the Letters section!

If you’re like most people, whether you flip through Vogue, The New York Times or Computer User, you set up camp for a few minutes on the LTTE section to read what people are griping about, snicker at the journalists’ boo-boos — where publications run their corrections — and other lurid pursuits.

But there’s another side to the section. Besides being a great place to rant, it’s also a good spot to shift opinions-at-large and plug your business to boot! It’s PR through and through.

Pick up any publication — let’s say BusinessWeek — and take a long, hard look at the letters. In this particular and randomly selected issue, neatly tucked onto page 19, Richard J. Martin, EVP for Public Relations and Employee Communication at AT&T, takes up a full page (small print, naturally) to grind an extremely angry ax and truly straighten out, he says, the “blatant distortions” served up in an article the week before. Now, there are two sides to every story, and Mr. Martin decided that his side should be long, packed with juicy sound bites and free of editorial banter. Martin got away with sentences such as, “AT&T Broadband’s combined telephony, high-speed data and digital-video growth leads the industry,” and the hearty “After AT&T Broadband spins off and merges with Comcast, AT&T will have one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry.”

Amen.

I’m sure that after BusinessWeek printed these sentences, Martin and his pals were high fiving each other in the conference room, sparking up Churchills left and right.

The AT&T incident was a pretty obvious example, but there are hundreds of more subtle plugs in the Letters area. You don’t have to be a big muckety muck setting the record straight or call a journalist on a blunder. There is plenty of space to write in support of an article you’ve read and then (aren't you good) work your message, subdued, subliminal, or totally “out there,” into your point.

Here’s an example: In 1998, I (author of Native’s Guide To New York) ogled a cover story in Time Out New York. The writer of that article claimed Giuliani was closing nightclub after nightclub - trashing city’s economy without taking the requisite early evening nap!

Said New York expert recognized the mud slinger as the PR guy for a nightlife association and wrote a strong letter in response, stating that thousands of partiers frequented one night club or another on Friday eve, but about 100,000 day trippers visited one of the dozens of museums and galleries (a la Native’s Guide) daily. He (“I”) mentioned how it was unfortunate to sight Disco Stu writing under guise of a wholly unbiased reporter.

One more, to make you realize how crucial the LTTE is: In 1990, aging singer George Michael released a CD (“Listen Without Prejudice Volume I”) and then announced how much he hated being on display, as though being a pop singer meant he should be completely private. It was the ultimate display of gosh-you’re-kidding chutzpah.

If you heard him whining — claiming he would not tour, do videos or even promote his downer collection of ballads — you weren’t alone. Oldster (he was alive) Frank Sinatra felt the same way and made it known in a classic and quite frank Letter To The Editor appearing in the LA Times after Hollywood’s paper of record published George muttering about his so-called problems. Frank told Michael that he was, without mincing words, a wimp who should be thrilled that fame had brought him to such heights. Inferring that he didn’t know the singer — his work nor existence — Ol’ Blue Eyes exclaimed how “he [Michael] should have it all taken away from him” and reconsider how sad his life was then. The letter was referenced in court years later when Michael ironically sued Sony for, uh, not promoting him enough. With this in mind it’s good to remember people read, collect, e-mail, tweet, save for posterity, and use these often-passionate missives.

The specific purpose of the Letters section is to give readers the opportunity voice their opinions on what’s going on in the publication and in society at large, so make use of it, turn it to your advantage, and make yourself and what you’re up to relevant at every opportunity. Also, reporters, dare I say, check Letters and snatch up story ideas and sources using letters as inspiration!

So that’s it. Be the letter writer. As Samuel Clemens said: use that gift to learn its value.

Yours truly,

Laermer
(@laermer)

Summer, Baby, Is Coverage Time: Tips for Real PR

2009-06-17T14:30:00.000-04:00

Some are saying this is going to be a non-news summer. Hard news seems to only happen when it’s about the economy—and that’s even dimming some. That leaves a lot of domestic space to occupy! More space means plenty of opportunities for coverage in daily papers, on network affiliates, and in trade, consumer and business magazines (especially those weeklies!), not to mention blogs, vlogs, and the whole ‘og world from now till the end of the slow-w-w summer months. Below are 5 tips to help you maximize your coverage in this time of our need.

Make it timely

As you develop story angles for the season, remember it is summer. Whether you’re talking about a summer gadget (easy) or a medical device (hard), tie your pitch to something relevant to the here and now. For example, a lot of travel goes on this time of year, so tie your company, product, or service to summer travel (airfares…heat, sun..SPF..etc.).

Work the holidays

July 4th falls on a Saturday this year, creating opportunity for a fantastically long weekend, so most will take the 6th off — including experts who might otherwise be available to appear on TV. Make your company expert (you do have an expert?) available on holiday weekends—especially the 4th of July and Labor Day—when producers have a tough time finding guests.

Think smallish

Coverage in smaller markets or in smaller-circulation publications can be just as effective in achieving business objectives. Getting coverage in key markets is easy if you take the time to understand and include a local summer angle. For example, Milwaukee has a lovely lakefront where many denizens spend their summer weekends — can you tie that to your story? Milwaukee might be a second-tier DMA, but it’s only an hour’s drive from Chicago!

Present company

If you haven’t submitted products to relevant holiday gift guides, get going! Today! Many long-lead monthlies have deadlines any day now; some have already passed, but there are plenty out there for you to crawl onto. Just make sure you have images and specs at the ready.

Agency review, friend

If you’re not getting the coverage you merit — or, if you’re not seeing clear return on your PR investment—summer is the time for the ole agency review. Identify five companies and simply ask them what they would do for you—and who would do the work—given the chance to take it on. Compare this to what you have now. Even if you stay with the old firm, it’s good to hear new thinking, particularly about angles and opportunities. Time spent researching is never a waste! Just ask the folks at RLM, and they’ll tell you: “I research, therefore I am.” (Apologies to Descartes.)

You see, dear participant, although the lean summer months are considered by many to be a barren media wasteland, with the right attitude and some out-of-the-box thinking, they can be just as fruitful as any other month. As usual, though, success is up to you. It is merely a choice – a tough choice, sure – but what about the PR business isn't tough?

If you need something MORE to do this summer, call me. I have a lot of filing for ya.

Okay, a nicer ending: Tweet me @laermer.

Top 4 Ways Twitter Can Improve Your Pitches

2009-06-16T22:11:00.003-04:00

A little bird tells me that Twitter can reinforce habits that, in turn, can improve our media relations efforts.

1)Brevity. More effective writing translates into a lower word count. Hey, even this post was going to be a top 5 list. 140 characters force you to be on topic. A three paragraph pitch (or less) should be enough for you to get your point across.

2) Links. Links point to an image, or an article, that payoff your tweets. Why aren’t you using more links, and fewer words, in your pitches? And URL shortening services allow you to track who’s clicking through.

3) Value. Consider the “law of thirds” when you tweet. You broadcast content, you converse with others and you serve up links of value. These links are not self-serving or pointing to your company website. That sounds a lot like becoming a source for a reporter, no?

4) Always On. Twitter follows you everywhere. If you want to you can even tweet a reporter from the potty. ew. Mobile Twitter devices I’m told also serve as mobile phones and email devices too.

So why are you giving these same media your desk phone number…in that pitch you sent right before leaving for lunch, or for the day, or for the week? If a reporter wants to contact you, they should be able to do so. Give them the best way to contact you so you can be responsive.

Twitter won't cure disease. It's a handy utility. But it can also help improve your pitches. And that's hot.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON SOCIAL MEDIA OFFERED BY ONE WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT EITHER

2009-06-14T13:11:00.013-04:00

Social media is not a joke, and anyone who thinks it is should not be pitching SM executives. Recently, a bad PR person personally emailed me a release that was written in a way that made me believe that she thinks her client is on many levels just a dilettante. The lady who sent it has seen that BPB is on the Power 150 and felt that I would want to interview her client, the so-called expert.

However, all this got them was coverage they probably don’t desire because, yep you guessed it, we spend time writing about yucky pitches. Why – why! – don’t people see that in the networked world we spend our entire lives in, once you push Send and mass mail crappy words to people they will end up on a well-read blog and shared by their colleagues, enemies, frenemies, bosses and.....

Oh yeah. Did I mention their clients?

As participants here know, I tend to "out" people using their names and their companies. In this case I’m going to leave the guilty parties to figure out who and what they are on their own. Cause I feel kind of badly for everyone involved. This pitch is just stupid. I put in X, Y and Z—and Product in place of the names to protect them. (And I mean that word GUILTY because someone had to approve the following pitch.) Here now the facts.

The thing that struck me first was the headline, “Social Media Expert,” which is like advertising someone is good in bed. When you use words in this manner it’s rarely true – and if it were, you should be able to tell us w/o you shoving it so far down our throats. Oops.

Before I show you the missive, here are facts I picked out (plus that it was sent to Bad Pitch Blog shows you that the public relations “pro” is pretty clueless, but let’s leave that aside):

What’s wrong begins with the offer of an exclusive that was basically mailed out to dozens, if not hundreds,. Then there's the fact it goes on forever. Guys, after three years of saying this, I will say it again: Write what you need to, then stop.

• The subject line implies a call to action that is not explained in the text

• What’s a “social media interview?” Is it about social media? Conducted via social media? Published on social media? Or maybe this PR person thinks they’re talking about a social tea!

• If the reporter doesn’t already know X, and understand the way Y works and for whom, this sure doesn’t explain it: The gobbledygook of “a tool designed to help advertisers and marketers make better strategic decisions focused on the bottom line.” A plain-language explanation should lead the pitch, a-la: “Product makes it possible—finally—for advertisers to measure and analyze their social media presence.”

• Referring to both the company and the product is bizarre and she should have chosen one. Particularly as this is the company’s only product right now. The pitch seems to be a product pitch — confusing it with the brand is just confusing.

• It says he is an expert, but what, I’m just supposed to take the sender's word for that? How about specifics? Even one. Example: "directed strategy for the fastest growing [WHAT KIND OF?] services company in history...”

• The “not all content is created equal” thing is kind of intriguing but it is both buried and the text describing it is all marketing/sales junk

• It reads like a blast e-mail — not any real thought has gone into it. Like it was written by someone who has no idea whatsoever what this is, and today that is dangerous for a company that I know is well-funded (I checked). There’s no reason at all why anyone should care after reading the below. It reads like it was done so the PR lady could say s/he had “done” it. That is, she reached her deadline and quota

Here comes the pitch--low and wide. Keep in mind that there are a lot of details left in so yes you can figure out who it is, but you can’t say I said who!

EXCLUSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA INTERVIEW: X AVAILABLE MAY 19 – 21

Good Morning,

I wanted to touch base with you regarding a possible social media interview with expert X. X is the founder of Y. Y’s listening platform, Product, is a tool designed to help advertisers and marketers make better strategic decisions focused on the bottom line. Product offers advertisers & marketers a new approach to understanding their brands, customers and competitors. X is an expert in customer intelligence and the challenges companies face in gathering actionable, real-time insights about their customers.

To offer you an idea of X’s expertise and topics, I invite you to read below and visit his website…

Thanks!

Not All Content Is Created Equal

Y’s (product) delivers actionable insights about content, consumer behavior and the demographics of social media so that Marketing and Advertising professionals can spend their money wisely. Product gives you the data you need to know you’re buying the right place to show your ad, the right demographic and the right time slot.
Product’s dashboard delivers insights about content, consumer behavior and the demographics of social media so you can take action. Product’s finds your most important audience and provides deep analytics on the people that matter most to your business.

• Brand monitoring, engagement & sentiment analysis for Marketing and PR
• Site content and behavioral analysis for Advertising and Media Planning
• Keyword and Discovery Insights for research of competitive brands, consumers and target markets

*Left the remainder out - it's just a list of topics and filled with dull words that will put you to sleep. And you need your energy to read the rest of this.*

Now, you should get why this is bad. If you don’t, then write me and I’ll come to your office and slap you!

Hope those who recognize themselves – both PR person and the victim himself – will realize how far off the mark this is. But I may be wishful. There’s something about people who approve buzzwords that makes me think they use them a lot too.

Enough for today. Go and write something good. I am Twittering http://twitter.com/laermer.
More Twitter: For some insightful thoughts on PR please follow me and Kevin: twitter.com/badpitch.

What Are We-- Meeting Planners?

2009-06-08T15:31:00.003-04:00

It is unavoidable. No matter who your client is, or what demographic they are a part of -- old line companies with brand pedigree, start ups with deep VC funding, or a nonprofits dedicated to doing good – they will have their internal meetings during your weekly PR conference call. Write it down and file it between “The sun will rise tomorrow,” and “Paris Hilton is annoying.”

The scenario works like this: Your agency team is assembled around the speakerphone, breathlessly eager for the weekly client conference call. The call begins and the account manager is effortlessly traversing the agenda like clockwork. Then it happens.

Innocently enough, the client’s public affairs officer remarks to someone in charge of online marketing, “Did you know that division one’s marketing campaign starts on Monday?”

“We didn’t know anything about it!” responds the online marketing guy.
The train has now left the station. Before you know it, the client team is chatting amongst itself about budget, collateral and everything else under the sun, all the while forgetting – or ignoring altogether -- that the purpose of the call is external PR.

What are we, Mr. Client? Chopped liver? Last night’s dish water? I think we should add a meeting coordinator fee to our monthly retainer. If you want to pay us to get your inside ducks in a row, we are happy to help, but that isn’t our business and it surely isn’t in our contract. We are PR pros, not meeting planners. And you are wasting everyone’s time.

The agency team had worked tirelessly to execute last week’s objectives and to move forward on any new tasks. The team has questions, too, and they need to get them answered in order to be effective service providers.

The intrepid account manager, responsible for using everyone’s time efficiently, is sitting there befuddled; she wants to make sure this call isn’t bogged down in a morass of minutia.

She has to regain control of the call—this instant. Although the client team appears to enjoy the chatter and might bristle at first when you rein them in, they will ultimately appreciate how much you value their (and the paid-for) time.

It is very easy to simply press the mute button on the speakerphone and make silly faces at the cacophony on the other end. Resist the urge. That’s too easy. Use the opportunity to demonstrate leadership skills and gain the client’s respect by getting the call back on track.

When the leader of the call takes a breath from his tirade, interject with a hearty, “As we were saying…”

If, perchance, someone on their side of the call says something germane to your PR efforts while they’re musing on their own, use that to your advantage. Say, “We’d like to piggyback on what so-and-so said,” or, “He has a good point…” The goal is to get back in the conversation and return to your well-planned agenda.

If none of the above works, then “Team, let’s get back on track” should do the trick. If that doesn’t work—hang up. You owe it to your client to keep them on task. Plus, you have PR to provide. Let someone else plan the meetings.

Follow me @laermer

For breaking Bad Pitch news, follow @badpitch

The Spray and Pray Pitch

2009-06-03T22:28:00.003-04:00

Spray and Pray, Dialing for Dollars. Both are mass pitch approaches that show more desperation than strategy. We’ve seen the unfortunate results of these approaches when a Jewish Mommy Blogger is invited to attend an event during Passover or a vegan blogger gets pitched about barbecue.

We cringe, we shake our heads and either forward it like it’s hot or give thanks we didn’t make the misstep.

Today we received another bad pitch that exposes media list targeting so poor it suggests, at best, a complete lack of social insight.

----
From the Editor in Chief and Publisher of Gay List Daily:

I got this totally misdirected pitch this morning -- keep in mind Gay List Daily is a GAY publication (we're like DailyCandy for the gays). When we gays get it on, we don't worry about pregnancy and whether pulling out is more or less effective at stopping babies from showing up in our bellies than condoms.

Begin forwarded message:
Date: June 3, 2009 9:45:42 AM CDT

The "Pull Out" Method Rivals Condoms? Interview Opp
Hi [Editor in Chief’s Name],

A recent study published in the June issue of Contraception Magazine presents findings that the “Pull Out” method of birth control rivals the use of condoms. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/reprints/Contraception79-407-410.pdf

Published by sex researcher Rachel K. Jones and based on several studies and data from the Guttmacher Institute, the study indicates that “pulling out” before ejaculation is nearly effective as condoms in preventing pregnancy – calling the method “only slightly less effective” than condoms. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/28/health/main5045514.shtml

This study has clearly raised concerns amongst healthcare experts, with lively opinions and debate being expressed across the media. To speak with 20 year veteran on contraception, CLIENT, please contact me. CLIENT is an industry expert and can provide commentary and insight on the study, as well as answer relevant questions.

[SIG FILE]
----

The mind races with snark.

But lately people have given us a hard time when we vent about poor media list targeting that can turn any pitch into a bad pitch. Well it’s examples like the one above that fuel that fire and ultimately inspired this blog. ‘Nuff said.

The Pitch That Cried Wolf

2009-06-03T09:07:00.002-04:00

There are only so many reporters and bloggers covering the field or industry you play in, whether it’s automotive technology, software, clothing, or architectural design. With time and experience, you will wind up speaking to them all one day—or their brethren. In a world of instant communication and shrinking inner circles, a PR person who cries wolf with a few off-the-mark pitches is blackballed in a hurry.

There’s nothing the media dislikes more than vapor (a non-story), so don’t pitch it. Click over to Business Wire, PR Web, or any of its ilk on a given day and you can count up hundreds of thousands of dollars spent propagating vapor news. “Small Company A Signs Agreement with About-to-Fold Company B” or “InterSliceTech.com Launches Bleeding-Edge Customer Tracking Functionality.” Find us a journalist who actually wants to write about topics like that (how do they affect anyone else besides the people who wrote the releases?) and we will tip our hats to that PR person (who has a reporter cousin, of course).

The danger in vapor is that it builds a name for you quickly. The wrong name. If you’re dabbling in handheld technology, say, and you pitch Jason Kincaid, well-known gadgetry guy from TechCrunch, on every software upgrade, he’s going to learn very rapidly not to take seriously any pitch you send his way. Who cares? The danger is that when you have real news, the kind that matters, such as the launch of your new device that makes the iPac shake in its boots, Jason will not pay attention because you’ve proven yourself to be a vapor merchant.

Before you blast out a cluster bomb of e-mails or send that release over the wire, consider long and hard what’s interesting about it. Is it fascinating just because you’ve spent three tireless months working on the content? Is it amazing because your latest noodling brings you one step closer to a competitor that no one’s ever heard of? If that’s the case, hold off and wait ’til you have something worthier of the presses; in other words, don’t believe your own story too much.

Larger public companies are especially guilty of pushing vapor into the press. There’s a theory out there, one we don’t subscribe to, that if you don’t have a steady, weekly stream of information crossing the wires—also known as “the machine”—your business’s progress has sunk to an uncompetitive pace. Remember that with public companies, their news unfortunately engenders an article or two (unfortunately, because it makes the firm think that what they put out is urgent, and so it compels them to keep the vapor machine oiled).

Yet when this non-urgent-news-pushing firm truly has something worth chatting about, the press may not bite. Everyone at the firm scratches their heads and wonders why. But reporters and analysts are glazed over from the hundreds of newsless missives shot through that PR cannon. And they are all too familiar with firms that cry wolf.

The take-away is that vapor works only rarely. For example, it did for the whole of Seinfeld. If what you desire is respected coverage continually, sit on the vapor (“CEO sneezed today!”), and don’t put it out. You’ll only numb the reporters who should care and who should notice that what you do is important. Being important is paramount.

For more topics like this, follow www.twitter.com/laermer

Exclusive Bad Pitch News: The HARO Rip-Off

2009-06-01T14:58:00.003-04:00

Harvesting is a joyous thing for the great plains of the Midwest, and cause for a great celebration in Israel. Harvesting, though, is simply a no-go in the Social Media whirl...

Before our eyes today, PR and its brothers are seeing a naked attempt at harvesting another’s users, and it just isn’t cool. Peter Shankman’s invaluable helpareporter.com (HARO) has been providing free many-times-daily queries to PR folk and a lot of others who want to be quotable sources for quite some time—doing what he can to help us get connected. Harnessing the crowd-sourcing nature of the Internet has successfully proved that literally anyone can be a source. (A recent query asked for a bat expert. Surely somebody out there knows their guano, quite right!)

(Peter Shankman)

HARO has become so successful that the tool is being co-opted – nay, stolen. Imitation is certainly the sincerest form of flattery, but petty larceny is bushleague.

The culprit is the joker behind the clunkily URL’d http://www.reporterssource.com. (Note the double “s” in the middle. Hilariously, Shankman owns http://www.reportersource.com, which points to the main HARO page.) Frankly, this squatter isn’t even trying to hide his intentions – that is – he wants to steal from our friends at HARO.

Here’s how absurd the RS guy is: He (she?) has taken to following Shankman’s multitudes of @skydiver Twitter followers and constantly – for instance, 12 times between 5 and 6 p.m. on May 28 – tweeting about his "amazing" http://www.reporterSSource.com. Little does he realize that twitterers are brilliant buggers. Shankman’s followers are blocking the doofus, (name deleted to protect the idiot) en masse.

So, (doofus' email address redacted), if that’s your real name (reporterssource.com is registered with ICANN anonymously) we at Bad Pitch have our eye on you! Consumers know and trust a good product, and cheap imitations will not be tolerated, especially when that product is so hard to come by.

A lot of the PR game is based on intangibles. When a good, solid product comes into being that gives a pro something to sink his teeth into, it is worth its weight in platinum. Peter Shankman has created such a product, and our community will rightly reject outright the usurpers. Shankman has been getting emails from a bunch of fans asking “What is going on with this copycat?” To which his response has been: “Nuttin’ but a cheap wannabe!” It’s simply another example of some bad seed who wants to make a quick buck off someone else’s smartness. (This is not the first time someone has tried to unsuccessfully copy the HARO thang. See the PR Newser story here for more dirt: http://bit.ly/HAROvsExpertClick)

****

Speaking of Peter: In some nowhere-near-as-ridiculous but truly exciting news, HARO announced just today addition of veteran PR man and executive Thom Brodeur to its senior management team. Brodeur joined the company as its COO, where he assumes the kit and kaboodle responsibility for corporate strategy, marketing, sales, biz development and ops.

(Thom Brodeur)

After serving as SVP of global strategy and development at Marketwire for two years, Brodeur left in April. Before Marketwire, he was a VP at Brodeur Partners (or Brodeur Worldwide), providing marketing, PR and plain old good counsel to companies in the consumer, high technology, aerospace, services and telecoms. Incidentally, Thom Brodeur is not related to Brodeur Partners founder John Brodeur. How do you like them apples?

Prior, he was a start-up software and SP sales guy with, among others, AOL Latin America, Johnson & Johnson and Paramount.

During his tenure at Marketwire, Brodeur worked on the release of the company’s Social Media 2.0 Plus product suite, that thing to help marketers craft social media press releases and includes iTunes podcast integration.

In announcing the news, Shankman said with trademark jumping up and down: "Bringing Thom in made sense on several levels, not the least of which being his impressive track record for corporate growth.” Amen to that.

More on HARO and the rest of the PR world via http://www.twitter.com/laermer

Get the Picture or Get Lost

2009-06-01T01:04:00.003-04:00

Between PR Newswire and BusinessWire, around 2,000 press releases go out over the wires each day.

Wow, 2,000 press releases! How many of those actually contain news? Noise from traditional PR tools across fragmented media channels are fueling bad pitches and stunts that have little or nothing to do with helping the client’s business.

As a result PR people are struggling to help clients stand out – in any way possible. But more isn’t the solution to any problem. Better is the answer. How do we improve?

We must embrace the visual.

Visuals decrease our word count and increase our effectiveness. And in a Web 2.0 society it's become cheaper and easier to make our efforts über visual. The evolution of news and search is making this visual leap essential.

The rest of this post is available as a free .pdf file you can grab here if you're interested. Oh and we also cross-posted this to Strategic Public Relations.

Making of a Media Darling: A Simple How To

2009-05-31T12:58:00.001-04:00

It’s no coincidence that some companies and products receive constant media coverage, while others never see the light of day. While a solid, innovative product has a lot to do with the coverage a company or product receives, there are other crucial factors affecting a successful media campaign. Below are the top four reasons that companies become media darlings.

Creativity (when a straight product pitch won’t cut it)
It’s all about how the story is pitched. Since there are only so many latest, most innovative, sexiest companies or products, creatively positioning a pitch can be the difference between getting coverage and getting a dial tone.

For example: RLM formulated a pitch for a lip balm. Instead of pitching the gooey product as its own story, we used a dermatologist as a spokesperson, and pitched a TV segment on keeping your skin healthy during the cold, dry winter months. As the dermatologist was giving tips, she worked in the lip balm as a great preventive measure and therapy for dry lips. The producer was happy because she had an expert giving her audience free advice and our (thrilled) client got a brand mention on live, and then viral, TV.

Uniqueness
Of course, if a product is groundbreaking or completely different, media coverage is all but guaranteed. My five-year-old nephew could have placed Viagra or BOTOX stories.

Timeliness/current events
Timeliness is always a key factor in securing optimal media coverage. For example, there is no better time to pitch a digital camera than December for the holiday Gift Guides.
In addition to leveraging reoccurring events such as holidays or seasons, using current events like a really unusual election (read: recall) can also pay nice dividends. For instance, we pitched a “career expert” client so that she could give commentary on life-changing careers as she promoted her new book.

Relationships
At the risk of sounding self-serving, which I risk every day, a good PR firm with established relationships is a key component to placing a story. As with anything in business, strong relationships will take you far. Developing mutual trust and respect with producers and editors will not only increase the chances that they will take a call from a PR pro, but it also increases the likelihood that they will cover stories that have less “headline appeal.”

Yes, of course, these four factors do not guarantee media coverage (or lack thereof), but understanding them will increase your chances of being the next big thing.

Simply put, at that point you can decide if autographs are allowed, darling.

What Just Happened To The Long Tail?

2009-05-28T11:41:00.006-04:00

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson has been the rage for a while. It’s actually a fad. I keep hearing from people who want to “reach the long tail.” Some big journalist types—those who have not read the book—seem to be under the misguided impression that Chris and his people sure know how to coin a catch phrase. It is a catchy book title, but let me clarify the term for you:

Wikipedia says: the long tail is the colloquial name for a feature of statistical distributions.

The phrase refers to the appearance of a line graph where the left side is high on the Y axis and tapers down quickly to a sustained lower level. As the lower level is maintained, it cumulatively equates to more than the initial short-term burst. (Here, Yellow > Green.) It sounds like calculus (ugh!), but it really is just common sense. Commonsensical, helpful knowledge.

In a nutshell for PRists out there, Anderson has postulated that smaller niche audiences have more cumulative value to businesses than larger audiences reached over a short timeframe. Being editor-in-chief of Wired probably has something to do with why Anderson’s book puts everything in the context of cool tech.

I’m sure The Long Tail is well-written and insightful—I haven’t read it, but you knew—and groundbreaking for what it says in the long run. (Rimshot. Try the veal!) But I can’t help but roll my busy eyes when someone thinks they’re giving me something so unbelievable and ground stopping as they inform me about the importance of niche audiences and the fabulousness of blogs. I’m told the sequel will tell me the sky is blue.

As a blogger: “Really?”

See, in PR we’ve been dissecting audiences for many years. Look, tailees, blogs are not the first long tail (italics mine) form of communication. Some consider this example archaic but the “fad” of the weekly newspaper is still one of the best long tail communication tools.

The weekly newspaper reaches a niche who cares: community. That’s saying a lot. I wonder if that’s just a little too old-fashioned for Anderson groupies to grasp. Alas, I’m grateful to Anderson because his statement will influence the suits and help them finally get that “PR By The Pound” is a 1990s concept. Yes, you want to reach a lot of people with a message. However, doing so indiscriminately will not work since there’s no power in the message-less story that gets to the wrong (untargeted) individual.

Targeting is back! Which means that as with other trendy pseudo-new ideas, The Long Tail has made a core componentof PR fashionable.

Uh, again.

Unfortunately it leads some CMOs to believe that a successful PR program can be based entirely on niches. Smart practitioners of our field know that PR delivers return when it reaches both broad foundation of the pyramid and the specific audiences that inhabit the top.

Let me tell you how PR works. (Yes you can laugh.)

A Brief History of PR and Audiences

A while ago—think no computers and only 12 channels—we all tended to talk about audiences in general terms. Our demographic breakdowns included sex, age and geography. There were consumer stories (we called them features) and business stories (we called them business stories). News was by its definition new, and we were intimately familiar with the outlets we patronized because there were comparatively few.

As the sheer number of outlets increased we shifted focus to less tangible angles and discussed corporate reputation ad nauseum. Newsworthy events became stunts, some of which kinda worked.

Then online came into being. Those of us who had enough coffee knew early that the Web would change PR and once again we turned it into a process story, and fell in love with discussing it to death. Now we seem to be having a hard time moving past any discussion but that one.

Reality Check, Please

Online media is not in the least new. It’s not at all mysterious. It simply is. We must get over treating blogs – even this one that you love– as Brightest Shiny Object in the toy box, and get on with integrating what used to be new (and is now fairly old) media outreach into our programs. If you don’t understand how “new” and “traditional” media interact by now, let me come over with my portable White Board.

Dear Martha Stewart: It is not complicated.

So what about Anderson’s elongated extremity? Congratulations, sir, for stating the obvious. I’m staring at some of it on Amazon and (my gosh!) he has used a lot of fancy words. Then again Dickens got paid by the word so what can I say?

May I sum up? Niche audiences are important to people in PR—they always have been, always will be, bla bla bla—pointing it out seems to be a big hoohah moment. But niche is not the be-all-end-all.

At the acclaimed, wondrous and decades-old (!) RLM PR, we use what we have dubbed an Audience Matrix to identify how to reach niche audiences. Outreach is not conducted in a silo. If hardcore online gamers are important for one of our fabulous (read: paying) clients, we ensure that our tactics also appeal to the broader audience—like 20 year-old males who don’t play online but might be one of their eventual consumers. So we are reaching the whole tail and then we are also going after the head and torso.

That’s it for me. Drop me a line – and not one in the sand, please.

*****

Twitter @laermer; that’s where I’ll be. Rubbing my tail - naturally!

T-Mobile’s “Can You Spam Me Now?” Pitch

2009-05-26T23:20:00.002-04:00

This bad pitch comes from a mobile service provider’s agency. In their defense, mobile service providers are a lot like IT staff. No one EVER calls IT to tell them everything’s working perfectly. We just bark or whine at IT when things go wrong.

And this is another one of those times.

----
SUBJECT: *T-Mobile l Eco-Friendly Viral Videos. Mobilize. Change Powered by People*

Hey!

I hope you’re doing really well. T-Mobile just launched a series of eco-friendly viral videos - the latest rollout under T-Mobile’s recently launched Mobilize sustainability platform, (www.t-mobile.com/mobilize) which encompasses multiple initiatives designed to help consumers make more eco-friendly choices in their daily lives and empower them to affect change in their communities through a unique multi-series viral video campaign.

Below is the link to the Mobilize Video Lounge where you can check out the latest videos – more being released this week & next!
http://www.mobilizewitht-mobile.com?WT.mc_id=587m4

All the best,
----

How do I hate thee Pitch? Let me count the ways:

1) SPAM. A LOT. Rumor has it that an underling “using Outlook for the first time” sent the pitch to everyone in the TO: field. And by everyone we’re talking 330+ people. After a quick review of the addys on the list we can tell you this pitch was sent to some people that would definitely consider it off-topic.

2) Buzzword Bingo. This pitch used a buzzword bingo card as inspiration. Can a video be eco-friendly? I guess you could argue that YouTube would have less of a carbon footprint than a news release, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

3) Pitch Kills Story. The video at the end of this pitch, Touchtone Symphony, includes a fun little flash mob. So the biggest crime of all, in our opinion, is that the pitch stopped most of the 330+ from clicking through to a video which didn’t suck. The video is creative and gets their point across.

Flash Mob might make the buzzword bingo card, but it’s an accurate use of the word. Which reminds me, if you have to pitch someone about a viral video? It’s not viral. Evolution of Dance? THAT’S a viral video. This video, which doesn’t suck, is not viral.

4) Technology Kills Story. I wanted to embed the Touchtone Symphony video here to prove out my theory. But you cannot embed it, you cannot permalink to it and you cannot share it. Any attempts to pass this video around like a joint at Woodstock are thwarted. So how is this thing viral again…other than the pitch giving me a rash?

Be careful folks. Any one thing can kill a perfectly good story on its way to getting covered by the media. At a minimum, make sure you aren't one of those things.

Bad Pitch Gets Vocal at Vocus Customer Event

2009-05-26T06:41:00.002-04:00

We’re a firm believer that it’s the techniques not the tools that cause PR spam. It’s one of the reasons Richard Laermer will be speaking at the 2009 Vocus Users Conference on the morning of June 5th in Washington, D.C.

If you’re attending the event, be sure to check out "Avoiding the Bad Pitch Blog" for some timeless information on how to craft a pitch for the ages.

For the rest of us, I have to believe they’ll be some live tweeting….he hinted.

suessian megaphone uploaded by theparadigmshifter

Talk on "Pragmatic Notoriety" [The Real Fame]

2009-05-24T13:40:00.008-04:00

A deep recession calls for ingenious job hunting methods. Suddenly, Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Plurk, and the like are viable job search tools. Social media -- while hardly perfect -- is actually proving to be a useful tool as the long-awaited year 2011 approaches.

Watch more on CNN as I talk about how to confirm to the world you are the person you think you already are. See below and learn about "Pragmatic Notoriety"(tm).

Twitter @laermer

BusinessWeek Sends a Good Pitch

2009-05-22T12:39:00.004-04:00

Proof that well-written, creative content can carry the day, a BusinessWeek reporter sent us this pitch from Alphadog PR.

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Subject: Party Like a 5 Year Old!

Try to keep your fingers out of the birthday cake and stop asking us "why?"
Mark Your Calendars for May 31st, 2009

May 13, 2009, Los Angeles- It's good to be a kid, and there’s no reason to stop eating like one. We're celebrating the best of comfort food as LA’s best caterers and restaurants will appeal to your childhood sensibilities and gourmet palate. Think mac ‘n cheese with lobster, ravioli with pumpkin, sloppy joes made from Kobe beef.

It'll be your standard five-year-old birthday: really good food, lots of sweets, and plenty of juice (in our case, wine). So try to keep your fingers out of the birthday cake and stop asking us why. Just buy your tickets and enjoy being a kid again.

The event will go from 4pm to 7pm and tickets can be purchased for $40 at www.drinkeatplay.com/fiveyearoldparty.

Sponsored by Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and CozmoDeck, the event will feature over a dozen culinary reasons why being a kid was so much fun. And just because your inhibitions might kick in, the Renaissance Hotel will offer a cash bar with mixed drinks and "adult grape juice". Fortunately, unlike most 5 year old parties, the event will be sans excessive noise, probable nakedness, and at least one barf incident.

SNIP
--

We’re not sure why this was sent to BusinessWeek, but a solid subject line and the following elements gave it pass-along value.

* Cute without over killing it.
* Recession theme with comfort food and multiple businesses participating.
* Parents with kids should respond -- it’s a fun theme, offering them an escape, but the release does not reinforce the soccer mom, mini-van stereotype (he notes with two kids and a minivan).

Moral of the story?
Cute won’t sell jet engines. But smart writing can sell (almost) anything.

Yours in Tweet, @prblog

Party Portrait uploaded by Shawn Econo

Tag, You’re It: Answer your phone now!

2009-05-20T16:16:00.000-04:00

“You have reached the voicemail of…. I am out of the office until…” How often have you gotten voicemail when you’ve called a friend, your client, a reporter [your mother!]? At that crucial moment, the important question: Should you leave a message?

Let’s say no. Because unless you are calling your mother, you don’t truly expect a return phone call. Sometime between eagerly waiting by the phone for your crush to call and screening your cell phone caller ID so you can avoid the loser from last night, we became a society that doesn’t returns calls.

That’s where our disconnect lies. Media relations thrives—no, survives—on a practitioner’s ability to woo a reporter or a blogger or your mother on the phone. Crafting a perfect pitch is successful if you have a human on the other side to talk to. You can’t tell the client you scheduled an interview with BusinessWeek if they don’t pick up.

As children, we used to run around the playground during recess trying to catch all the other children running away from us, just so we can stop chasing. [I still do that.] As adults, how much of your day do you lose re-dialing the same people…reporters to schedule an interview, clients to confirm a time, third-party sources to give their expert opinions, friends for dinner? But, with so much technology at everyone’s disposal, they’re all running and you’re “it.” Good luck getting someone on the phone.

There is strict etiquette about answering a call before the third ring, keeping your cell phone on vibrate on the bus, and not texting during a dinner party—but why not a rule about calling someone back? Professionally it’s frustrating while personally it’s maddening! Returning phone calls is an essential part of building strong relationships. It is the foundation for a successful feature and a lucrative future, so how did we become a culture lacking this most common courtesy?

So, PR pros, I challenge you to buck your impulse to delete your messages and ignore the incoming. This is karma talking. Pick up your phone! Be the person who answers the ones who call you, be the one who returns those messages. Start a trend that will persist throughout the season and check your voicemail, review your caller ID, make the effort to see who it was that wants you on the phone. People will be so impressed with class and don’t be surprised when your phone rings off the hook.

Oh my. Look at that! It’s the Times calling you back.

I’m now Twittering with karma in mind at www.twitter.com/laermer