Bad Pitch Blog

Gawker Follows Our Lead

2012-01-16T13:05:00.001-05:00

We've worked with Gawker in the past to help further our cause. Trying to change the industry from the inside out has been an ongoing task (psst, our sixth birthday is this Friday!).

And, while we're proud of the progress we've helped create, we've learned over the years that we need all the help we can get.

Our friend Hamilton Nolan knows of our valiant quest and he's "reaching across the aisle" on behalf of the fourth estate to help us out with his new blog item: PR Dummies. Hat tip to Judy Gombita for alerting us to the homage.

It's great to see someone follow our lead. This is a case where imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And I think this means we're the frying pan to Gawker's fire? Dunno. But the bottom line is the price for bad pitches continues to escalate.

3 Ways National Media Use Social Media to Find Sources

2012-01-16T12:44:00.000-05:00

We've seen some interesting examples of how journalists are sourcing stories via social media. Here are three national journalists using three different social media platforms to get things done. And in this MLK edition, we've also got some tips for being a better source via social media.

The New York Times: social media editor Liz Heron on Facebook

Liz sourced several quotes via Facebook and even followed up with her sources after the fact. It's a reminder to PR people that everyone's quotable -- regardless of what platform they might be on.

CNN/MTV: author Brenna Ehrlich on Instagram

Brenna used her Instagram account to see if anyone started a romance through the mobile photo app. ~~She came up empty. But to her credit,~~ And she followed up via Instagram when the final article was published.

UPDATE: A tweet from Brenna notes she did get some inquiries via Instagram, just not in time for her deadline.

Some may be quick to point out an app with 15 million users, compared to Facebook's nearly 900 million active users and Twitter's 100 million active users, decreases the odds of connecting with media in your area of expertise. Just be sure to confirm your assumptions. In addition to major news organizations, anyone doing PR for a luxury or fashion brand are sure to find some of their media using Instagram. And even if they're not sourcing stories via the app, it's worth following their feeds for visual insights.

The Wall Street Journal: retail and fashion features reporter Elizabeth Holmes on Twitter

In this example, Elizabeth is establishing contact with a source to ask questions via Twitter. I've also watched reporters use Twitter to get quotes they couldn't get otherwise. Most recently with an NPR reporter and a CEO.

Use Social Media to Be a Better Source
A couple of free sites can be used at either end of the media relations spectrum to position you, your company or your client as a source. And the following tips apply to creating online clip books as well.

Delicious Stacks: Delicious finally realized it could leverage the metric ton of links its users have collected since its launch. Its new Stacks capability, lets you aggregate links into more visual displays. It can take a list of links and turn it into a much more useful page of content. The stacks are then categorized by Delicious so non-users can access Stacks. Stacks are also easy to share with anyone you like.

Storify Simplifies Multimedia Sharing: Storify is great for assembling a variety of content from tweets, images and videos to news stories, social content and even Google searches. Storify also organizes stories into larger categories and your story is easily shared and even embedded onto another site. For serving up a Twitter conversation? There's nothing better out there. And Storify gives you options to "write around" the content to better explain it and give it context. Of the three profiled here, Storify is often used by the media themselves to tell a fast-breaking news story in an efficient, easy to understand manner.

No Museum Required to Curate Thanks to Scoop.It: Scoop.It came along before Delicious Stacks, and the end result is very similar. Here's a Scoop.It page I created on Instagram. But Delicious is powered only by your links. Scoop.It has behind the scenes functionality that helps you curate your topics, bringing you sources and stories you can add to your pages. Scoop.It also allows followers to suggest links to add to your topic.

Work Smart(er)
All three of these sites provide "analytics" and while each one has pros and cons, they all make it easier to leverage work you're already doing. You're already online scanning what's going on in your industry, above and beyond even Google News Alerts. If you're saving this content for use later, you can use one of these sites to do more than simply bookmark the content. It's an easy way to become a broader source on topics by showing the fourth estate that you're up to date and well-informed.

:: Follow Kevin on Twitter, LinkedIn or visit his online home

New Year, New Content

2012-01-03T09:15:00.005-05:00

Help The Bad Pitch Blog suck less in 2012.

If you want more trending, less trailing and no tired* content in 2012, we need your help.

Leave us a comment on this post, drop us an email or send us a tweet if there's a specific topic you'd like to see us discuss in the future. Richard and I try and give you what you want to read vs. what we think you want...or what we want to write about.

It's All About You

We're knocking the dust off this blog in 2012. The best way to give you what you want is to simply ask. So thanks in advance for your comments and feedback.

And yes it really is all about you. That reads cheesy, but what's a blog without readers? IMHO, it's the sound of one hand clapping: well-intended, but not reaching the intended audience.

*Trending, Trailing and Tired is an homage to Ad Age's Pop Thermometer
Image created using lolcat translator and lolcat builder

5 Reminders of Word Choice's Importance

2012-01-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

What's in a Word? A lot. A chain of links this morning reminds us of the importance of word choice.

A Tale of Two Cliches
You're thinking, "But we also say, 'don't sweat the small stuff.'" There's some substance in this trite phrase as well. Word choice shouldn't paralyze us or slow us down. But there's a happy medium between clear, concise Hemingway-style writing and writing that helps differentiate us that also makes sense.

So here are a few reminders of how important word choice is, starting with this video from Good magazine on URLs.

2) The best invoice terms to get you paid faster: Freshbooks Blog -- I was using the (NSFW) Goodfellas approach to accounts payable. Perhaps this is a better approach. Seriously though, this speaks to using math to determine what your best words are. Big data is everywhere. Hug your calculator in 2012.

3) The 10 Most Annoying Management Terms of 2011: Business Insider -- Word choice is a news generator. We always see articles on words we love to hate, along with the Word of the Year.

4) 10 Buzzwords to Take Off Your LinkedIn Profile Now: Time Magazine -- Words can help you get hired or ignored. This is also a teeny tiny reminder of the importance of word choice as it relates to paid and organic search marketing.

5) Share Your Knowledge and Help a Younger Writer Succeed: Minneapolis Star Tribune -- How often do you see writing advice in the business section of a daily newspaper? This writer suggests we pay it forward.

Word choice is something I've blathered about before on "that other blog." And there are plenty of resources a Google search away for anyone that wants to brush up on their skills. This post is a reminder as to why you should brush up.

Connect with Kevin Dugan on Twitter or LinkedIn

Ocean Marketing's Emails Are NOT a PR Fail

2011-12-28T15:49:00.004-05:00

Yes, the author of Ocean Marketing's email exchange turned meme is an idiot -- at best. But is this a public relations mistake or is this a customer service mistake?

I'm dead serious. Paul has zero credibility and I'm not trying to give him any. But I also refuse to become a part of the pile on. It's too easy and Paul's already being fossilized by the weight of the online pile on alone.

At the same time, I also refuse to let our industry accept this failure as one of our own.
Just Do It (Your Job)
According to Know Your Meme, Ocean Marketing "was contracted to handle customer relations for the Avenger Controller." So the question becomes: is Customer Service and PR the same thing?

Customer service, according to Wikipedia, "is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase." Customer service personnel interface directly with customers and handle their questions, compliments and complaints. PR people certainly have more access to customers than any other marketing discipline. But have they ever been expected to duplicate or somehow replace the customer service function?

A client outsourcing customer service to a public relations agency is a misstep. But for the agency to over reach and take the job? That's the real fail as far as I'm concerned.

Reality PR or Just Poorly Scripted Reality?
Serena Ehrlich, PR smarty pants and Bad Pitch Blog bestie, inspired this ~~rant~~ post with the following quote: "This meme makes me so sad. I love reality TV, but not reality PR."

Maybe I'm splitting hairs. But I really don't think this is on us. The light from what Paul did takes years to reach public relations gravitational pull.

Discredit Where It's Due
Richard and I started this blog to call out the few giving the greater industry a bad name. I cringe when I see reality PR play out, from the year end lists to the individual media pile ons through the year. But I accept them as PR fails -- when they are PR fails.

Ocean Marketing has fail sauce all over it on this one, but PR does not.

-- Kevin Dugan is also known as @prblog. He's been known to write for some other blogs, but will always be dedicated to stopping bad pitches.

Plus Or Minus? Let's Not Get Crazy About Brand Interaction On Social Networks

2011-12-12T10:05:00.013-05:00

Today Bad Pitch takes aim at Google+. It is, indeed, the newest toy. But it’s not the newest technology or anything that is so amazing that it should change the game. In fact it’s just another experiment to get us hooked in. (Search for the phrase “Google Wave Game Changer” and you see what I mean.)

PR people are not using Google+ in huge ways—and the business profiles added in are not helping PR people. In fact, it’s too early for any of us to be thinking about this new soc-network as a place for our clients. Although it appears everyone seems to think now is the time.

Q: Should there be this much fuss - this early - about getting our clients on Google+?

Facebook is ubiquitous among consumers, and brands have fallen over themselves to create Pages, or Likes! Brands want to be social, be “out there” and, of course, get the all-ecompassing buzz. But these Pages aren’t as beneficial as many expect them to be.

According to a recent study by Constant Contact and researchers Chadwick Martin Bailey, only 17 percent of respondents interact with brands on Facebook. That’s an alarmingly low number considering how much effort is put into making sure customers know brands are on The Zuckerbook.

Turns out that Facebook brand pages are about brand awareness rather than engagement. Almost three-quarters surveyed said their interactions with brands on FaceBook came through reading statuses or updates from the brand.

A: If business pages are not driving action on a site that would be the third largest country in the world why are people so anxious about establishing profiles on “+”?

My own friends joined Google+ but none have stuck around. And in the last weeks of September users averaged 5 minutes and 47 seconds per week on Google's new network while we spent an average of 12.30 minutes per day on FB.

So we already know that hardly any Facey time is spent “interacting” with brands. Most people are still talking to one another--or broadcasting. What makes anyone think business profiles are going to be successful on Google+ while the masses spend so little time on Facebook doing so?

Despite the rationalization above, Google+ business profiles have been one of the biggest topics in the major news media for a while now. Why? They (and we) are desperately seeking the coolest, newest tech and they (and we) jump to bigtime conclusions in order to rationalize its impact. Which means we’re all suckers.

And yes, one day we’ll all be owned by Google. So I suppose we have to prepare for that inevitability.

I look forward to the day when social network sites convince folks to buy whatever crap is peddled there (hopefully it's good crap). It hasn't occurred. So before you make the big pitch to the higher-ups about why they have to be on Google+ maybe find some proof that it actually works....

In my opinion there is a lot of life left for influence inside older media—you know, like blogs!

@laermer

This rant had assistance from Pete Axtman.

Burn Baby Burn -- Or Not

2011-12-05T12:02:00.006-05:00

We have all been there. Have we ever. The figurative gas can is in your right hand and the match is in your left. With heavy heart and heavy hand you prep to splash the accelerant all over the well structured, painstakingly-built bridge. The smoke from the flaming embers stings your eyes as you triumphantly walk away from the tenuous relationship/partnerships/business venture. Of course, participants, this is mere vivid imagery.

In a utopian moment of clarity I would like to explain why burning any bridge is out of the question as the world shrinks to Twitter size. With the rapidly shrinking landscape, rise of social media, and the overpowering effects good old fashion word-of-mouth, a strained bridge needs to be placed under construction. If we truly examine these moments, miscommunication—and the subsequent hurt feelings—are often the root cause for the breakdown in most professional and personal relationships.

Meaning to start a lively discussion here on BPB, here are some thoughts avoiding relationship demolition.

Don’t personalize or internalize: In times of stress, insults and personal attacks are easily tossed around. A guessing game of who’s who could leave you as the one to blame. It is critical to not take it personally. Stand firm in your abilities and competence. Do not allow those all-intensive unkind words or actions of another to crack your self worth.

Listen to Mom ("If don’t have anything nice to say, don’t just sit next to me—shut your mouth dear"): When a relationship has taken a turn, take the high road. Exercise maturity and avoid bad mouthing the other party. In direct communication with your nemesis ("Newman!"), keep to the facts and keep the past where it belongs…in the past.

Operate with humility: Understand that we are all humans and as humans we are prone to errors. A simple apology when you are “mistaken” (notice that is not wrong) goes a long way. Also as fallible creatures, we often forget the value of a genuine appreciative phrase. A well-placed “thank you” can get you out of many a pickle.

We may meet again factor: If the smooth it over fairy does not sprinkle magical dust over the strained relationship, bear in mind you may just meet again. In this rapidly shifting marketplace, the sides of the boardroom often flip flop.

Value time: It is much easier to mend a fence when you make yourself available and open to constructive discussions. Yeah construct something worth saying and then say it...

Practice, practice, practice all the way to Carnegie Hall, y'all: Professional and personal relationships take a ton of effort. There is no true science to salvaging connections gone awry. Maybe this post will spark self-evaluation instead of the flames around failing bridges. We would love to hear your feedback on reconstructing/repairing bridges. Are there some you'd rather light up? We're @laermer and @badpitch

Deirdre Breakenridge on 3 Things You Need to Know about Social Media

2011-10-20T10:27:00.000-04:00

As we noted in an earlier post, Deirdre Breakenridge did a quick guest post for the Bad Pitch blog. She talks about the need for an inside-out approach to social media, having a purpose behind social media efforts and the need for PR people to step out of their comfort zone to truly assume the role of the hybrid PR professional. As the skill set continues to broaden, "complacency will not get you to the strategy table."

Be sure to catch Deirdre on Twitter.

Hybrid PR in a world with less time & attention x more tools & messages

2011-10-14T12:29:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, I enjoyed (finally) meeting Deirdre Breakenridge and attending her presentation on the "Hybrid PR Professional" with Cincinnati PRSA. Deirdre is addressing how the skill sets in our industry are expanding and changing along with the myriad of changes we see every day across journalism, public relations, consumer habits and technology. It's an important discussion and she's agreed to continue the conversation here. Look for that in a couple of weeks.

These skills are critical as the tools get cheaper and yet more powerful. This results in more messages and less consumer attention. Deadlines? They don't change. But the point is that without these skills PR professionals won't be able to truly do their job. This extends beyond telling a story and the quality of the story to how, when and where we tell it.

Conducting a Twitterview
Below is my recent example of hybrid skills in play. Working with NPR on a story, I learned they were having a hard time contacting a source -- a CEO of a Fourtune 1000 company. This CEO is active on Twitter and, as a result, I had context with him. Below I've charted how this unfolded -- from ask to interview 140 characters at a time.

As the Storify embed is wonky on Blogger (hint, hint), I'm linking to it here too.

UPDATE: Related Links around the #NOCincyBananaSplit story, include
NPR's "A Twitter Push to Keep Chiquita from Splitting" -- note NPR's use of Storify.
Delicious Stack of all #NOCincyBananaSplit activity.
should you be interested in joining the cause.

Visibli Bites the Bad Pitch Apple

2011-10-07T17:01:00.000-04:00

We predicted someone would send us a pitch tying into Steve Jobs (very unfortunate) passing. And, less than 48 hours later, Visibli takes a bite out of the bad pitch Apple.

Here's the pitch.
---
Date: Fri, Oct 7, 2011 at 3:14 PM
Subject: STUDY: Over 50% of 'Steve Jobs' tweets came from Apple products
Hi everyone,

Hope you're doing well. Wanted to tell you about a study we just conducted.

Since Steve Jobs' unfortunate passing on Wednesday, a lot of people (including President Obama) highlighted how a fitting tribute to Jobs is how many people learned of this news on devices he invented. As our own tribute to him and the impact that he's had, we decided to study this.

We looked at over 3 million tweets, and turns out > 50% of the tweets came from Apple devices, 42% of which were iPhones. You can read the whole report at )DELETED BY BPB( I've also attached the graph here for your reference.

Thought it might be something that you and/or your readers would find interesting, as a way to measure his impact on our world.

---

OK, here's the thing, Visibli may not understand why we're calling them out. And that's because EVERYONE handles death differently. But that's also exactly why they should not have pitched around Jobs' death in the first place.

Maybe it's a stretch to wonder if one person's attempt to process comes off as opportunistic -- at best. But I'm an optimist. I have to assume this wasn't calculated. But I did try to pull my Visibli account. Sadly, there's no obvious way to delete your account. So I turned it off as best I could.

We've had to point to bad pitches tying into a death in the news on an annual basis for the last five years.Daryl Toor is a Tool
Good Morning America Says WTF?!
Ken Lay's Dead? Let's Pitch the Client!
Mommy, We Get Dead Pitches

It seems like something we wouldn't have to point out. Yet opportunistic pitches around others misfortune still take place. Learn from your mistakes. I did.

BPB Gets Dynamic & Data Becomes Content

2011-10-07T13:23:00.000-04:00

Thanks for Reading
So our landlord, Blogger (read: Google), unveiled "dynamic views" recently. This gives YOU, our gentle readers, the option to view The Bad Pitch Blog in as many as seven different ways. So if you're reading this via email or RSS (technically the 8th and 9th way to view the blog), you should click through and check it out.

To be honest, we were playing with it and didn't realize there's no way to preview this slick change. Don't get me wrong, our old layout sucked. But now we have to figure out what happened to our sidebar.

BBC Is Big on Data -- You Should Be Too
In the meantime, check out "How Many Really" -- a site from the BBC. It's smart. And it's another example of how content is changing. We all look at metrics, data and analytics as research or success measurements. And that's true. But data is also, more than ever, compelling content.

We've drooled over Mappos in the past. The simple site took a map, zip codes and SKU number to create "shoe fireworks" that give visitors the impression that Zappos is a national company doing serious business. That's another example of data as content.

Many of us are down with infographics. Visual content is wonderful. But also consider examples like Mappos and How Many Really. Created correctly this interactive content takes your target audience to a new level of engagement.

Follow Kevin on Twitter. Fine. Follow Richard too. Oh and while you're at it...follow Bad Pitch Blog. It's like 280 characters with one feed!

Saying “No” Is Better Than Saying Nothing

2011-10-05T12:08:00.009-04:00

[Guest Post by Jonathan Rick]

All we are saying is: practice deftness, not deafness!

In a recent post, Chris Brogan describes one scenario familiar to anyone not living under a well-hidden rock: “Today I sheepishly deleted several e-mails ... that were waiting for a quick response ... maybe 100 overall. So that means almost 100 people got my attention, got me to read something,” and then never heard back."

Why does this happen all the time? Brogan has a quick diagnosis that is pretty convincing: “We don’t fully understand the syntax of saying no.”

He offers a graceful example of how to construct the sentence that seems elusive to people on the receiving end of requests: “What you’re doing is important, and I’m supportive of you, but I’m not able to take on what you’d like me to do because of my own full plate of commitments.”

In other words: Thanks, but no thanks.

Amen.

Whether in business, romance or friendship, most of us would prefer the certainty of being rejected to the uncertainty and looming false hope of being ignored. To be sure, not getting a reply is a reply, just as postponing a decision is a decision mot in our favor. But there’s no getting around the fact that silence stings.

This brand of pain is a daily occurrence among people you’d think already know e-etiquette by heart: PR pros. As workday spinners we’re paid to “frame the conversation,” and help a client’s perspective prevail. So it’s pretty bemusing when we confront this challenge in our own lives and wispily shrink from it instead of viewing the opportunity ahead. After all, what better way to demonstrate our savvy and our tact?

No one likes to deliver bad news—this is unpleasant and messy. Yet it’s also the hallmark of a professional to do so. And as Brogan demonstrated, you can apologize, explain, and decline in a mere 32 words.

That in effect is the opposite of rude. That shows character.

Jonathan Rick, a well-informed, well-armed communications consultant in Arlington VA., is chief blogger at No Straw Men and tweets via @jrick

Follow Kevin and Laermer at @badpitch, dammit. And on a pleasant note: Have a nice day.

Gee, Beav, Isn't PR Just Like Advertising?

2011-09-18T05:46:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since we first discussed this topic here and I think it's time it returned. I have toiled in Public Relations for around 95 years now and it still seems as if most of my friends — not to mention immediate family — have an innate trouble understanding exactly what I do. When I am speaking about a media interview, say on television, they assume I’m on camera. When I say I am working with a newspaper reporter on story, they ask me why my clients don’t just advertise in the publication because: ”PR and advertising are the same, right?” If it's a blogger I am helping with a post, they ask why I'm not the name on the homepage!

Many share these misconceptions because advertisements are familiar to them (thanks Mad Men) and PR is not. (In the new Hank Azaria show Free Agents , he works as a "publicist" but it's a prop--and it'll be gone in a few weeks.) Our friends and family definitely see that when a company wants people to know about a product or service they buy an ad in a magazine or piece together a TV commercial.

They anticipate ads aired during the Super Bowl and are aware how many millions are bet on these; most wait in anticipation to see and mock these less-than-creative spots during the event and then read nonstop chatter on which ads made the biggest impression. They understand advertising, but they don’t for the life of them get that the hype surrounding those ads is pure PR.

Shortly after starting in the trade, pre-Internet, a lady I knew told me that she could no longer watch cable news or read a periodical to relax and unwind. She claimed every time something came she found herself comparing the piece to her clients; thinking about stories that covered topics of interest; looking at mastheads and bylines for reporters that may be covering a new beat; listening or watching for ways to phrase a message or shoot B-roll footage.

She decided – not me – that advertising folks had it “easy” and that the primary difference between the disciplines is the position of the word placement (ahem). In some weird way she felt that advertisers have it easier because they “place ads” (place being the first word of the phrase). PR folks have to “secure placements,” indicating the intense upfront work required to get that secured.

She resented what we did and claimed it had little value and that the advertisers were America’s clear favorite. She whined a lot.

I explained that while advertising is more socially accepted among consumers and businesses, PR is more beneficial for those companies that did it right and for the consumers they targeted. [This lesson took some time to drive home.]

Through PR we do paint a bigger picture of the product, service or issue at hand. In the science of advertising, the time and space through which a company can communicate is limited to 30 seconds or a few column inches. Consumers view an ad and might consider it funny or clever, but if asked probably can't remember the product or service — just the awesome tagline or over-the-top graphics. In contrast, when the same consumers read an article in a newspaper, they remember the problem and the solution; experts quoted, and the publication in which the article appeared.

That’s power.

PR is also more than ever about education. As professionals, our job is to teach the media and the consumer (once we get to them) about a differentiator they are not aware of. More crucial to our economic safety is to educate our clients and/or bosses on why we make the choices we do and why subtlty works more than slapping people over the head.

We communicate with editors and reporters and bloggers and podcasters and bigmouths on behalf of folks who pay us. They should learn our process--and perhaps our Moms should too: We explain, forecast, and spot trends to see what the next big thing will be in technology, healthcare, fashion, politics or other buzzworthy topics. We build relationships with the media and others based not on the number of ads we buy but through accurate, honest, timely and relevant information (and education) provided by the professionals. No strings attached, except maybe a tweet in return!

PR is not about impressing people with witty taglines or state-of-the-art multi-media wizardly; it is not about entertainment or pizzazz. PR provides knowledge through which our targets can make decisions.

I’m glad it took me 95 years to figure this out. Do you get it now, Mom?

Tweet us: @laermer @badpitch

Bad Pitch is Teaming up with HuffPo & Reuters for SXSW 2012

2011-08-29T01:56:00.006-04:00

We're headed down to Austin in March for SXSW Interactive -- but we need your help.

SXSW requires a voting process to ensure SXSW attendees get access to the content they want. It also helps SXSW sort through the 3,200+ proposals submitted for 2012.

Only 500 will make the cut. So, as much as we hate social voting requests, we're teaming up with Saul Hansell -- former NY Times tech reporter and currently Huffington Post's Big News editor -- and Lauren Young -- former BusinessWeek reporter and currently Thomson Reuters' personal finance reporter -- to help stop bad pitches.

After "being subjected to pitches for nearly 25 years" Hansell is looking forward to this "dance between hack and flack." We're all looking forward to the discussion in fact.

Our proposal and voting instructions are below. Your consideration is appreciated. Your vote is appreciated even more. Just sayin'. Voting ends on Friday, September 2nd at midnight.

Life's a Pitch: Make Sure Yours Doesn't Suck
Whether you're pitching the media, your boss, VCs or a potential sex partner -- bad pitches bring big consequences in our socially-networked world. They can become memes spread across snarky Tumblr sites, Tech Crunch and every single social platform for Google to catalog and archive -- forever.

How do you make sure you’re not singled out for poor pitching? Join Bad Pitch coauthors and SXSW veterans Richard Laermer (author of "Punk Marketing") and Kevin Dugan as they trade stories with veteran journalist Saul Hansell, former New York Times tech editor and founder of "Bits" and now Big News Editor for Huffington Post and Lauren Young, former BusinessWeek reporter and now personal finance reporter for Thomson Reuters.

They’ll mine the tens of thousands of pitches they've witnessed collectively to clearly show how the worst pitches come into being. Then this opinionated trio will fight over what makes pitches sing and what makes them suck. You’ll leave this interactive, entertaining discussion with the key steps required to stand out from all of the noise – in a good way.

We'll answer questions, including:
What makes a pitch bad?
What makes a pitch good?
What are some of the worst pitches the panelists have experienced?

What can the audience do to improve their pitching?

Four Steps to Help Out
The SXSW PanelPicker accounts for 30 percent of the decision-making process, so we need YOUR help to pull this off. Here’s what you can do to help.

1. Create a FREE account so your vote will be counted.
2. Give the panel proposal a thumbs-up vote if you see value in the topic. It's above and it's here.
3. Consider commenting on the panel proposals. The comments can help even more than the vote.

4. Spread the word. If you’re willing to help us in our mission to stop bad pitches, share your vote with others via the social platform of your choosing.

Let us know if you're planning on coming to Austin, we'd love to connect live with as many readers as possible. And thanks again for your help!

The Secret World Of Enthusiasm

2011-08-20T09:17:00.010-04:00

There’s a breed of PR people out there that can get the meeting, do the interview and chat the darn thing all day long on the phone with journalists, email every producer and blogger on earth and yet....they have an anemic list of coverage, though, and the buzz-o-meter isn’t reporting the faintest blip. The shortfall in coverage usually reflects a disinterest in following up. Getting the meeting is exciting, even one online, but closing the deal and getting the coverage is where the big payoff is. To get there, you have to be creative and aggressive with the followup.

The lack of genuine followup is the biggest failing of this business.

One of the secrets of great PR is knowing that if you want to read what you’ve pitched, you’ve got to work it until it goes down! If you’ve got the best three-point average in the NBA or you’ve just run down a dozen people in suburbia, don’t worry, the press will want the story. No pitch needed to prep. If you’re the one asking for the coverage though, you have to follow up to keep the journalist as excited in your big idea as you are to get the story filed.

What can kill your story after an interview? Hundreds of factors. One is that a journalist, blogger, or producer might like your story, but he or she has to do so much research to make it happen and there's not enough time to do it. How can you help? Make sure that at the conclusion of any interview, you get a list of deliverables, the data/knowledge/trends you can send that reporter so their job can be done. By doing the legwork--and doing it till they're satisfied (!)--you’ve increased the likelihood of the story running tenfold.

Another pitch sinker is when a similar pitch crosses the transom and that PR person is just a better sales person. This job is a battle of the personalities. You need to stay in front of the person you/your client interviewed with so they don’t forget you, so that you’re top of mind. Never give them enough time to be distracted. It they are, the first three paragraphs they’ve drafted will land in the “must eventually get to” pile and die a painful, miserable death.

More times than not your story dies because journalists expect you (or your agency) to keep on them. If you don’t they figure it wasn’t as important as they thought it was. Key word: thought. You need to be thinking of new ways to keep it fresh. Getting through the interview is just one step of PR, not the end-goal. After your conversation, you need to shift gears to get to that high circulation finish line, so continue to forward the journalist or whoever some relevant material, ask them no-BS questions and stay firmly in touch. Don't be a pain, but be enthusiastic!

Question: How do you keep "things" afloat in the minds of people you pitch? Let the two of us know. More new posts coming: one on the mid-August blues in media and how PR people should go for it... Watch this space.

@laermer @badpitch

Sound the Bell on Pavlovian Marketing

2011-08-18T08:58:00.003-04:00

Normally, I dislike cross-posting between Bad Pitch and "my other blog." Then I remembered, you don't read my other blog. (maybe my Mom reads both?) So here's a cross-post from Strategic Public Relations.

--

A professional association in the online industry sent me a white paper -- via postal mail. It’s a printed piece (thick stock with an even thicker cover stock). And it has two small visuals in the entire 12-page document.

What was the white paper about? I’m not sure because every time I tried to read it, I fell asleep.

To be clear, I don’t begrudge anyone from creating, and mailing, a printed piece. There are a lot of good reasons to create a print experience. And even in a world teeming with tablets and e-readers, a print execution can help content stand out – in a good way.

Reflex Marketing
My issue is with Pavlovian Marketing. This is when we use the same old ways to talk about the new -- regardless of how ill-fitting thesee ways might appear – because that’s how it’s always been done.

There are planning rules and guidelines worth their weight in gold (audience/goals/measureable objectives/strategy and tatics). Keep them. They’re valuable. And sometimes there’s a need to leverage new rules for new tools (social media as engagement vs. broadcast).

Pavlovian Purgatory
Pavlovian Marketing is somewhere in between these two extremes. As if on command marketers spit out the same tactics. In this case, a rather academic looking white paper.

Wikipedia claims a white paper "is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem" or make a decision. "In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to documents used by businesses as a marketing or sales tool."

But does the above definiition mean a white paper has to look like the business equivalent of a college research paper? PSFK publishes white papers I'd like to print out and hang on my walls as much as I want to read it.

Far too often, marketers let formats serve as rules instead of guidelines. Take the news release. (No, please, take it. >rim shot<) The start up Square used Instagram to publish a dead simple news release -- with actual news in it.

There are a myriad of ways to reach the same goal. I’m not suggesting everything can be snack-sized into a bumper sticker, tweet, infographic, top ~~ten~~ five list or a ~~60-~~ 30-second video. I am suggesting that we need to practice what we preach as communicators.

White Noise Paper
As far as the white paper that inspired this post, let me ask you this. If you’re audience is, by default, online and you’re trying to impress this audience with your point of view on the inner-workings of a niche in the online industry, would you use printed materials to accomplish this goal?

A wise then-client once said he knew a colleague with more than 17 years of experience. The only problem was it was a single year -- repeated 17 times. Tune out the din of the marketing bell that sounds clearly as pile after pile of examples bury you (online and offline) ultimately suffering you into a fossil. Take a deep breathe and make sure you're next work is your best work....not simply a rehash of your last work.

A PR Time Capsule Can Take You Back to the Future

2011-08-04T17:07:00.004-04:00

Some PR anthropology on my part has me fascinated with William G. Werner. I’ll spare you the back story on why I’m digging. But I will note it’s required me to use something other than Google and the Interwebs to unearth information.

So who’s Werner and why should you care? In 1941, he founded the PR department at Procter & Gamble. And, while Edward Bernays is considered the Father of Public Relations – even helping P&G in the 1920’s, William Werner took up where Bernays left off and helped standardize the practice of corporate public relations. Some might argue Werner had a more arduous task than engineering consent.

During his 50-year tenure at P&G, Werner also served as the sixth national president of PRSA. But this post is inspired by comments I found about Werner (in italics), and from Werner himself ("in quotes and italics") about public relations.

Lost in the Archives*
Werner was perhaps the first advocate for the need for basic public relations thinking in any business, civic or charitable effort.

He urged public relations people to stimulate deeper and more continuous public relations thinking throughout their organizations, to apply the results of that thinking more broadly and skillfully in their external dealings, and to do their best personally to make the significance of the words, “public relations,” more widely understood and respected.

Today’s Takeaway: How often do you consider how to franchise PR thinking throughout a company? And how broadly are you considering this when you do? This is more than simply explaining PR and merchandising the results of PR efforts. It's arguably a constant state we could be in.

The Power of Public Opinion
Key to any worthwhile public relations effort, Mr. Werner believes, is getting to facts about what people actually think about an organization, product or cause. "They are ingredients which are far more important to an organization’s standing with the public than all of the tactical stunts of publicity that stick out and create attention as a program.

"The north star of your course should be other people’s opinions. Walk across the street and look at your store as other people see it. Instead of thinking about a broad, hazy public, think rather in terms of the many different publics your organization meets and serves, their differing needs, likes and dislikes.

“Good public relations thinking – two-way thinking – digs up the reasons why the public feels as it does about a business.”

Today’s Takeaway: This was written by someone that started his career at P&G 100 years ago. A century. And it could not be more applicable today. Following his call to action, understanding public opinion, couldn’t be easier to accomplish through search and social media.

Werner's opinion focus is clearly an influence of Edward Bernays. But the ability to decipher public opinion – to some degree even without primary research -- is something we tend to forget or we simply don’t invest the time. But it’s a big miss when we do.

Perhaps this is a side effect of using machine vs. humans in some of our work. We can view the automagic tools using math to make their decisions as time savers. They are time savers. But sometimes we should roll up our sleeves and invest instead of save.

Counsel: Think vs. Just Do
“Not only a creator of publicity material, but also an advisor, suggestor and coordinator, the public relations (person) and (her) thinking deal with the most precious property of a business, its reputation

“In fact, while a company’s advertising usually highlights its products or services, a time may come when another brand of the company should be advertised. That other brand is the most important – it’s the name of the company itself.”

Today’s Takeaway: Always keep the bigger picture in mind -- where your work fits into the brand and most of all the business. One way to ensure this happens is to always ask or consider “why?” first before even considering "what?"

Think Visual
“(Public Relations) requires specialized talents in communication, in creating visual material such as house organs, bulletins, movies, slide films, training pamphlets.”

Today’s Takeaway: Werner created class projects and films for use in classrooms on topics like cleanliness, personal grooming, baking and laundering, “which teachers countrywide in appropriate school grades welcome and use.”

Werner stressed the need for visual content then and it’s still needed today. Arguably we need it more than ever as consumers are bombarded with 34GB of information daily. We’re getting there thanks to an influx of tools and trends like infographics and video, but we can always do more.

100 Years Later
So was William G. Werner ahead of his time? Or does this simply show PR people have ignored great advice for 80 or 90 years now? Meh, I think it shows that we can learn from history -- even if it’s just a friendly reminder. I know I just learned a thing or two from Mr. Werner.

We Are Not The Customer

2011-06-13T15:42:00.004-04:00

A common trap we can fall into with our work is projecting our own feelings, habits and beliefs about a brand/client onto the target audience.

This is dangerous for a variety of reasons but most importantly it takes the customer out of the center of the work and leads work astray.

Never Assume
When it comes to the target audience, never assume. McDonald’s dealt with an unfortunate hoax recently that shows how susceptible people can be online. "If it's on the Internet, it must be true."

The above hoax image would seem to be pretty obviously false. I’ve been to many McDonald’s and I’ve seen a few of its executives speak. And even if I hadn’t? Based on my experience with the brand would lead me to assume it's a hoax.

Not everyone did. McDonald’s used Twitter to help address the situation. That's where the misinformed conversation took place. A measured response makes sense.

Hot Dogs & Soft Drinks? They're a Good Thing.
A few times after posting on Strategic Public Relations about a brand, it’s risen to the top of search results for that brand. As a result, consumers have found my blog and complained about these brands in the comments. You would assume that anyone coming to my basic, unbranded blog would not confuse it for a corporate blog or branded web site.

Never assume.

Perhaps the most extreme example is a Tumblr dedicated to Facebook posts from people that seemingly assume the spoof news site The Onion is reporting on real news stories.

Paid & Organic Search
How many consumers click past the first page of results? How many question the results they find or the content waiting at the end of these links? Perhaps not enough. But if the average consumer is the target audience, it's something to keep in mind.

As communicators we need to compensate for this and not capitalize on it.

While PR people by nature can impact organic search, the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Paid Search becomes apparent based on the above examples. Based on some searches around the McDonald's hoax, I think McDonald's has done a good job of ensuring news results tell its side of the story, but it's a missed opportunity to not enlist paid search as a tool in their efforts.

Delta Troop Fail - Consider the Bigger, Less Popular, Business Picture

2011-06-08T09:59:00.005-04:00

UPDATE: The YouTube video has been pulled down. But I'm leaving it in the code below. Delta has increased its allowance for checked baggage for military personnel. And I stand by my post. What do YOU think?

First let's note that I'm not here to defend Delta. But I'm also NOT here to join the Delta pile on. That's too easy and I don't need to add to a PR echo chamber that's sure to set off an avalanche creating enough pressure to turn one of Delta's PR people into a friggin' diamond.

"What was Delta thinking?" Wow, that's bold insight. Thanks. So while hate steeps its powerful brew, let's look at the bigger picture.

The White Zone is for Loading, Unloading & Assuming
Anonymous sources I know that have dealt with similar situations at other airlines note the following:

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First of all, spokespeople don't set policy. But they're sure to suffer personal attacks from this. Media, bloggers and customers are sure to repeat the false, heated and personal accusations thrown at me back in the day:

"Admit it, you hate soldiers! You wish they would all just go back to their bases and leave the country to you civilians."

Nothing could be further from the truth. But here's the deal: the Army sets the number of bags that a soldier is allowed to carry. Back when I dealt with it, each soldier was allowed two bags by the Army. We waived all weight and size restrictions. If the soldier needed a third bag, the Army had to approve their request. Upon approval the soldier would cover the cost of the third bag. It would then eventually be reimbursed by the Army.

This policy has been in place since before 2001, and there hadn't been any issues in all that time. My experience involved one soldier, in 2009 I think. He neglected to follow the policy and get approval and he had to cover the cost. When he was charged for a third bag, he decided to alert a local newspaper. The public reacted as they are now.

We eventually had to waive charges for all military personnel with a third bag. Ultimately, it didn't save any soldier any money -they would not have paid for the third bags. It did cost my then employer what the government was previously paying for.

I highly, highly doubt that these soldiers were given Army permission to travel with a third or fourth bag. The military will also ship excess items on its own transportation. Personnel should just be traveling with their personal effects.

Essentially, Delta is getting heat for something that is not their fault. But no one would ever blame soldiers for not following the rules.

This makes the airlines choice pretty straight forward. Take the heat for playing by the rules and not empowering employees to lose $2,800 in revenue on behalf of the company or make a poor business decision to avoid the ill-informed public outcry.

----

Can Fact Beat Emotionally-Charged Fiction?

It's easy to dislike the airlines. You have plenty of others doing it. And travel's a pain in the butt.

But travel is also a business.

Prior to learning the above, I already assumed it was not the spokesperson's fault. But I wondered if Delta could have avoided this problem by aligning marketing more with customer service.

Pete Blackshaw (now with Nestle) has been talking about the need for customer service to be aligned with social media efforts by companies for years. Jet Blue is a stand out in using social media to spot customer service issues, including being stranded on the tarmac. Zappos chose to focus almost solely on customer service as its social media platform. Best Buy’s TwelpForce, the list goes on. But not much longer.

Blackshaw recommends appending customer profiles with social information. Thereby they will know that while Joe Smith is not a big customer for Delta, Joe posts to three blogs and has a strong Twitter presence. So, while it’s not in their financial best interest to do anything for Joe, if he’s pissed it would make more sense to escalate the issue than if financial was the only weight used to asses the priority.

Breaking down company silos and aligning more closely to the customer through customer service is still valid. Many support Blackshaw's POV.

But in hindsight my take would not have helped in this situation. And if you argue that Delta is at fault, are you confident enough that you'd spend $2,800 on behalf of your employer in a similar situation? Perhaps. But our jobs require us to consider the bigger picture -- a picture that is based in the realities of business. A picture that's not always a pretty picture to paint for the media.

Initially inspired (in a very good way) by this post from Steve Woodruff.
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Add “Welcome to the Fifth Estate” to Your Summer Reading List

2011-05-31T15:03:00.005-04:00

Like it or not, summer is the official season for book reading. And even though I’ve reviewed a couple of books recently, I always have a pile to get through.

The pile’s a bit shorter now thanks to Geoff Livingston’s PR-page-turner: “Welcome to The Fifth Estate.” Geoff was kind enough to get me a review copy as I reviewed his last book, “Now is Gone.” He’s a friend of The Bad Pitch Blog -- even Richard likes him and he's been a guest blogger here in the past.

“Welcome to the Fifth Estate” officially launches today and, as I suggest above, it’s a good read. The book picks up where “Now is Gone” left off – and it provides a more substantive point of view. Geoff walks through many of the shiny new distractions out there and provides a smart, pragmatic view of the changes shaping our professional landscape.

Strategy & Tactics/Theory & Application
Of note is that Geoff provides the bigger picture and a more hands-on view with summaries at the end of each chapter and helpful cases throughout. Some of the cases are from brands we’re tired of hearing about. But all of them are relevant and it was good to see a broader than usual selection of brands, including InvisiblePeople.TV, Network Solutions, Miriam’s Kitchen, Plum Village, Gordon Jewelers, The Republican Party and charity: water all featured. There’s also a chapter on “a common approach to measurement” written by “guest author” Kami Watson Huyse, APR.

Broadcasting To & Engaging With Consumers
Media convergence is top of mind for me right now. And this book has helped me with this focus. Consider the impact of this convergence to media relations – messaging has morphed from a tightly-controlled process to more of an unknown as brands participate and use content to start conversations vs. dominate them.

Geoff reminds us that sometimes participation means knowing when to simply shut up and listen. This is not second nature for most people -- regardless of their profession. But consider the impact on PR professionals and content creation. Media stories were so well-defined in the past that we could easily define content types (news release, photo, video) and take a one-size fits all approach. Now we must create a starting point and adapt.

Content, Consumers & Convergence
The Bad Pitch Blog has been talking about the need for a new approach to media relations, well, since day one. But more recently, we’ve focused on the unique approach needed to blogger outreach when compared to traditional media relations.

Even traditional media relations has become anything but conventional. “Welcome to the Fifth Estate” outlines what organizations need to consider – and reconsider – to engage with the new landscape of paid, owned and earned media.

Print or Digital?
So are you reading any industry-related books right now? Regardless of the format, research shows consumers are reading more than ever. Between that factoid and the season, odds are good you're reading something other than this blog post. Let us know what you like and why in the comments. It'll become a crowd-sourced PR reading list. Or something that sounds a bit less shiny.

wtf PRSA? - a Friday f-bomb

2011-05-13T14:41:00.005-04:00

Typos. They happen to all of us. We usually embed some strategically on Bad Pitch to see if anyone's reading.

No, not really. We make mistakes. Just like everyone else.

Even professional societies can slip up. In this case, the typo in question (above) belongs to the Public Relations Society of America.

h8r?

This is NOT a pile on. It's more to tell PRSA -- we feel your pain. A typo is bad. A printed typo is worse. The typo running on a headline on the front page of an organization's print vehicle? Ouch! But let she who is without typo cast the first stone.

Proof EVERYTHING
When you're working with designers, you sometimes focus so much on the words that the design elements escape your eagle proof reading eyes.

Proof headlines and sub headlines. I worked on a newsletter in which the company president included a note to customers. It was a standing item in the newsletter. As it was an established item, I neglected to proof the sub headline identifying the company president. If I had proofed it I would have noticed his name was misspelled.

My president wasn't happy. I was mortified. He also didn't want to spend the time and money to fix the print version. We updated the electronic version and moved on.

Not everyone in these situations is as lucky.

Prooflooking

Do you proof photos? Even when there's no text in them? You should.

As I noted a few years ago, we need to prooflook too.

>>>Proofreading needs to be more than simply reading copy. Graphics, photos, page numbers and other details we take for granted always need to be reviewed carefully.

This reminds me of a now legendary typo. NCR printed up large quantities of an important, corporate document. It included a full-length portrait of the CEO. Once it was proofed, it was printed and distributed.

It turned out the CEO’s zipper was down; his fly was unzipped; his barn door was open. And someone promptly lost their job over this proofreading mistake. Ouch.<<<

So to recap: PRSA? There but for the grace of spell check go I. And to you, gentle reader? Proof. EVERYTHING.

Kevin Dugan, @prblog

The Bin Laden Spin

2011-05-04T08:44:00.004-04:00

While we've weighed in via Twitter on some unfortunate typos as well as Twitter serving as a breaking news conduit -- once more, we haven't discussed the recent news storm around the death of Osama Bin Laden on this blog.

To be honest, it's such a polarizing topic, we've hesitated to call out the ham-fisted pitching we've seen tied to it. We'd be justified in doing so. If you thought some of the pitches tied to the Royal wedding were bad, you've not seen bad. But we've done this in the past.

Good, Bad, Indifferent?

The pic above is a screen grab from Yahoo.com. If you think it's a coincidence that women and children are shown in a picture referencing Osama Bin Laden's neighbors, I have a sweet deal on a bridge you simply must call me about.

I'm posting it less to make any kind of statement about what went down. It's not important how I feel about this event.

But this does underscore the importance of visuals in detailing any story. It's more than eye candy or to break up a block of gray text. This one might seem subtle. And I might be reading into it too much. But it's important. This underscores and reinforces messaging The White House is clearly scrambling for right now.

Newsrooms don't have it any easier. They're already grappling with decisions on whether or not they'll ultimately publish photos of Osama Bin Laden after his death. There are some smart folks at Poynter Institute that will tell you that it makes sense to do this from a journalistic perspective. I'll simply note that there's no single, easy, right answer that will address these questions...if only because it's been almost 10 years since 9/11.

What do you think about the topic of visuals helping to reinforce messaging? You're welcome to comment about the nature of this example. But please note if this discussion gets off the rails and political for the sake of getting political? I'm closing comments.

>>Kevin Dugan, @prblog

A Royal Pain in the Arse

2011-04-29T11:31:00.005-04:00

You have no choice but to know about "Billy and Katie getting hitched." And if you got up at 4am in the states (edt), you're a sucker or anti-DVR. Ever heard of time shifting?

Pitch Much?

I'll just note that, while I'm all for having a knees up, events like this make media relations of any kind, well, impossible. It's been genuinely entertaining to watch nearly every media outlet under the sun try to make a unique relevant angle to the nuptials.

The media are so focused on talking about it, they've run out of sources to comment. I'm waiting for Burger King to be tapped by Epicurious as their Royal Wedding reporter. How bad ass would it be to see that spooky King head bobbing around the various royal to dos?

How-To

Lucky for you, I'm 400 years old. As a result, I can point to really old content I've written in the past that is suddenly, briefly and potentially relevant. It is a reminder of what we can/can't/might do during a media relations eclipse like the Royal Wedding.

---

The Recall Eclipse

Public relations professionals everywhere are sighing relief as the California Recall comes to an end. The Recall seemingly eclipsed other news in the past few weeks. USA Today notes it has received "unprecedented national TV coverage for a statewide election, receiving more airtime on the Big Three networks than the White House race." The Tyndall Report claims it came in fourth place last week.

But there are public relations lessons to learn from the Recall. Media relations campaigns should be run like political campaigns.

Story of the Day: Whether we liked it or not, there was *always* a new story to be told each day of the campaign. Most of us will not have a new, newsworthy story to tell about our company, client, product or service each day.

But we should establish a steady rhythm of communication with our media contacts. You establish yourself as a source and you get in the habit of digging for relevant news to send them by doing this. Current events and industry trends often hold a follow-up story opportunity. If you have established yourself as a source, media will either approach you to do a story or pay more attention to your pitch for a follow-up story.

Shaping Messages: A lot of time and attention is spent on the messages we distribute. But we should not consider them sacred cows once legal has *finally* signed off on them. Your industry might not be as fast-paced as politics, but you may need to change your message based on external influences.

Candidates' messages changed accordingly as the field shrank from more than 130 candidates down to two. Post-debate, when it became clear it was a two-horse race, Arnold and Davis went from discussing their party contenders to focusing solely on each other. All promotion turned on a dime to support this new strategic focus.

Instant Feedback: An army of pollsters provided instant feedback on the success of the candidates' every move. We cannot tap into this Herculean resource, but we have plenty of intelligence we can use to determine the need to change our messages. Top early warning systems include customer feedback, or lack thereof, and response from influencer audiences.

Thought Leader: Positioning your CEO or other spokesperson as a thought leader puts steak behind the sizzle. When Arnold unveiled his 100-day plan, his campaign gained credibility and momentum. An opinion is worth 80 IQ points. If your CEO or spokesperson does not have a point of view on key issues, you need to establish one with them and reflect it in your work as appropriate.

Don't be fooled by the three-ring circus political campaigns become at times like this. Even a circus has a ringmaster orchestrating the spectacle.

---

Originally published on my personal blog in 2003. And if you were in grade school when I originally published it? Suck it.

Transparency, QR Codes & LinkedIn

2011-03-25T16:42:00.006-04:00

We're called spin doctors, flacks, turd polishers...a copywriter friend once referred to me as a lie merchant (I replied by calling him a comma jockey). The Bad Pitch blog was created to help dampen the loud examples that seem to punctuate our industry and reinforce the above half jokes.

Has any of this changed in "an age of transparency?" We still have folks astroturfing and trying to game the system. But I'd like to think that trends like cause marketing and transparency are having a longer term impact on an individual's ethics and professional standards.

Does that make me Pollyanna? Maybe. But let's look in the mirror and see if things are more black and white these days or just as gray as ever.

Word Choice: Do you sex up your LinkedIn profile unnecessarily? What about your resume? I'm always reminded of the college student who's resume noted that she waited tables. I was glad she did. Some feel unrelated work experience can harm instead of help. In this specific case, it showed me she had a great work ethic.

How did I know? She also had her GPA on her resume. She was helping to fund her education. Anything above and beyond a GPA and a job can instantly make someone a multi-tasker as far as I'm concerned.

But she, or someone reviewing her resume, didn't share my opinion. She listed her role as "Customer Service Engineer" instead of waitress. She also noted she excelled at "suggestive selling." Is that even legal outside the state of Nevada?

If the world is truly more transparent, Hemingway is even more important as an example of the power of simplicity when it comes to word choice and effective writing. I'm not shying away from my Thesarus. And I understand the power of search engine optimization. But we should always be pushing ourselves when it comes to writing and word choice. Always.

Execution: One thing I'll always remember from SXSWi this year are QR codes. It was a sea of QR/Barcode pr0n in Austin. QR codes have their place. Pushing to bonus content has utility, an element of surprise/discovery and can be a smart add to communications.

But I sometimes want to start the Bad QR Code blog for anyone that merely swaps out their URL for a QR code. My point being: are we unnecessarily sexing up the execution of our work too?

QR codes have their place. Most, if not all, of the shiny new has its place. A QR code can even replace your resume...assuming you're also someone with mobile or related skills.

But I think transparency can be extended to our work. Sometimes more is just more. If you build a sound strategy and execute well on that strategy, you don't always need to "turn it up to 11."

Transparent: Simple & Straightforward, Not Invisible
Is this all preachy? It's not meant to be. I'm reminding myself as much as I'm serving this up to you for consideration. But I've been thinking about how concepts like transparency are aligning with topics like office design -- open space, easily reconfigured, more flexible, fewer doors. And maybe even sharing/publishing -- publish the idea to, amongst other things, forward concepts with others and improve your ideas in the proces.

Transparency can help inspire a smart simplicity around what we do and how we do it.

We talk about concepts like transparency a lot. We understand them. We apply them in our counsel. Sometimes I think there's merit in extending them well beyond our professional lives.

Maybe this is too deep for a late Friday afternoon. But let me know what you think.

Beware the Ides of McGinley uploaded by prblog

The Bad Pitch Body Slam

2011-03-23T14:36:00.005-04:00

We've adopted a Luchadore theme for our newest Bad Pitch hero. Slick is still the badge of dishonor. But "El Mal Libre" here will help us put the hurt on Bad Pitches. And some friends of Bad Pitch have also been helping fight the good fight. Here are some of our most recent favorites.

Creating a Social Media Monster: David Meerman Scott

I caught up with David at SXSW. Once he made the Bad Pitch connection, he told me about Lady Gaga's social media experts. Here's the full story.

The National Potato Council Wants Kids To Be Fat And Assumes That Moms Are Stupid: Jessica Gottlieb
Unveiling astroturfing marketers or any kind of feigned authenticity is a sport. And, to her credit, Jessica is makes the all-star team. But the moral of the story is, do you really gain anything by gaming the system? Usually it has just the opposite effect in social media.

PR Spam Blogger Relations Case Study: Claire Celsi

Entry-level and non-PR folks have an edge in blogger outreach as they have not gotten the media relations model burned into their souls. Community relations model is the key to blogger relations success. Claire got to the point we did when she did this post. She catches some, uh, flack over it. But the problem is just that bad -- outbursts like this are bound to happen.

Always On? The 24/7 Pitch

2011-03-23T13:13:00.003-04:00

This guest post is from Amanda Duncan, a junior public relations major at Northern Kentucky University. She’s also my intern.

As she prepares for a paid summer internship outside of the greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area, I was once again reminded of the similarities between the cover letter/resume and the pitch letter/news release.

This is Amanda’s recap of what it takes today to stand out for a potential employer. Do you think there are similarities as it relates to standing out for the media? – Kevin Dugan
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Remember the days when you sent in your cover letter and resume and hoped for the best? You probably don’t as those days are long gone.

There are so many channels now for networking that relying solely on your cover letter and resume is a mistake. With Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, online portfolios, networking events and more you are essentially pitching yourself 24/7. Not only are you constantly selling yourself but now you must think about how you will maintain those networking relationships and make yourself easily accessible.

Make it Simple
Don’t make a potential employer hunt you down to find out more about you. Kevin once mentioned in his cover letter pitch post that he has scanned thousands of cover letters over the years. If all you have a just a cover letter and resume what is going to make you stand out? What makes you so special?

To stand out in a pile of cover letters you need to create context, make yourself easily accessible by providing access to your social media life in the channels that potential employers use most.

Keep In Touch
As I said earlier maintaining relationships is critical. The tools to do so are right in front of you. Utilize every medium you have as it makes sense to keep in touch with those you could find potentially helpful.

For example, I met Kevin during a class presentation over a year ago. I used Twitter to keep in touch with him because I knew it was the medium that he used the most, hence making myself easily accessible. When I was coming back to school in the fall I pitched myself via a Twitter direct message -- asking him for help finding an internship in the Cincinnati area. Needless to say my timing was perfect. Customizing my approach based on the person I'm networking with is something I've applied for awhile and works well through LinkedIn.

I think students underestimate the power of social media in creating context, relationships and pitching themselves to PR professionals. It’s a 24/7 pitch! So whether you’re at a networking event or online be prepared to sell yourself at any time in any media channel.

Bad Pitch Takes on SXSW

2011-03-01T09:25:00.003-05:00

Whether or not you're headed to SXSW, we're foisting the news on you that we will both be in Austin for the interactive portion of this 25-year-old festival.

Influencer Throwdown
I'll be channeling my inner luchadore for a panel discussion with David Binkowski, Krista Neher and Saul Colt. Local media are watching closely in case I do a stage dive or folding chairs are thrown.

Digtial Marketing Horror Stories

As if my panel isn't scary enough, Richard will be on the dais with BIGfrontier's Steve Lundin.

As the picture above suggests, SXSW is a bit of a creative explosion. This is my first trip to the event. But having attended Mardi Gras three times, it's beginning to sound like nerd carnival...more wifi and fewer beads.

We're looking forward to converging with fellow nerds for a few days. If you'll be in attendance, let us know in the comments or via Twitter (via @badpitch, @laermer or @prblog). We may try to hold a last-minute, spontaneous tweet up.

Legos at SXSW uploaded by Steve Hopson

Pay it Forward Friday

2011-02-18T08:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I visited my alma mater, The University of Dayton, and spoke to Professor Irene Dickey's Internet and E-Marketing class. It was kind of surreal. While the campus has changed significantly in 20 years, it really hasn't. I realized I presented in the same auditorium when I was a student -- a teacher's assistant for Speech 101.

To anyone younger than me, please realize I know that this not only makes me seem 500 years old, it also makes me feel 500 years old too.

Follow Meagan and Amanda
I inserted myself into the curriculum thanks to Meagan Marion. And I'm glad I did. Meagan is a networking ninja. She initially reminded me of myself back in the day. But, as she shared her insights with the class, I realized she leaves the former me behind in the dust.

As part of Meagan setting up the presentation, I forced her to present with me. This is an idea I got after doing a similar presentation with my current intern, Amanda Duncan, at Northern Kentucky University. Amanda is also a ninja. And she became my intern, indirectly, after I spoke to her class.

Pay it Forward

Both Meagan and Amanda have, at times, seemed surprised by my level of interaction and collaboration with them. What they, and most students, don't realize is that professionals get as much from this as the students do. If I feel 500 years old, what better way to make sure I'm not thinking similarly? Working with students -- people who don't know about the client baggage or the office politics -- can impact your thinking.**

But, more importantly, I'm able to do this today because when I was a student professionals at the American Red Cross and the City of Dayton marketing department did the same thing. I would not be where I am today without my internships.

So today is international Pay it Forward Friday. If you're already part of groups like HAPPO, you can probably check this off your to do list. If you're not a member of HAPPO, check it out. It's a tip of an iceberg of organizations like PRSSA designed to make it easy for professionals to help out others (be it their first job, a new career or their academic career).

Pay it forward -- online, offline, on campus and at work. If you do blogs like this one will be rendered irrelevant. Richard and I are cool with that.

Linkage:

Follow me on Twitter/LinkedIn

Follow Richard on Twitter/LinkedIn

Follow Bad Pitch on Twitter

Don't Forget to Lead

In 2011 The PR World Puffs Up Its Chest

2011-01-28T12:36:00.006-05:00

The media is and will continue to be a mess...forever. For starters, the landscape is no longer dominated by a bunch of white wealthy guys smoking cigars, but by that 17-year-old with a blog about electronics read by 20,000--or the stay-at-home Dad who writes eNewsletters about techniques for other stay-at-homes...

How does this affect us? For one, content now moves upstream. Anyone can affect, drive or create news now. The upshot of this We The Media paradigm is that as The New York Times shrinks to matchbook size, anyone with tech capabilities can deliver stories, unfiltered, to whoever wants them -- a sure threat to the erstwhile big guys, and one with significant implications for those of us who practice what used to be called "media relations."

Welcome. We now exist as practitioners who rule—as opposed to being the ones who send out information we “hope, cross fingers,” will take care of our needs, or our clients’, or our bosses’. Over the next decade media will begin turn to us as actual sources, rather than just as conduits for facts or spin. What does that mean? How will this manifest? The following are Bad Pitch Blog’s six rules of effective future media relations to illustrate what it will take to become the source journalists will depend on in the months/years ahead.

* Releases (must feature reportage). From the beginning of PR time, our folks have been tasked with writing releases and distributing them. Sounds good, right? Not anymore. The material we put out will need to have real knowledge ("intelligence") reporters can use in stories-not pre-crafted material that, well, just sounds good. One factor driving this will be continued newsroom downsizing, with journalists becoming desperate for help with original reportage as they do triple duty.

* Relevance (must drive every pitch). When we pitch in the near future, everything will be about relevance. Filter,man. We must carefully consider our own words; it will no longer be about the perfect quote or comma placement. Now it's the facts as they're relevant to specific, niche audiences online (and off). Since we are placing our own words into a vertical repository (e.g., narrowcasting versus a wire service release), personalized thoughts will be paired with other relatable messages-so we reach micro-targeted audiences, as well as those you never even considered. Unlike now, when throwaway lines disappear into the ether as rhetoric or vapor, we will now need to have a tailored, audience-specific tale to tell.

* Research (must occur online and off). We will need to comprehend a lot more than we do today about clients, their businesses and customers. What's more, we will need to reach out and touch actual consumers. Translation: For the first time, we will have to climb out of our comfy ivory tower ("We deal with the media") and get our hands super dirty. Consequently, we have to get to know customers and discover what they're saying about products firsthand. As "the PR person," we need to be able to solve customer problems by bringing them directly to those who can make changes in the company. That's new. How will we find them? Really? It’s so easy to do this – easy to find people, easy to see how good they are—and don’t rely on Klout. Just saying “hey that person is popular” equals shit.

By going online and forming groups and asking people—that’s another way. Unlike today, where real world focus groups are so coldly depended upon, soon (real soon) will be in virtual worlds where customers, will bitch us out like they do our customers-or hopefully compliment a beloved products' nascent features and cool developments.

* Response (must be rapid and brief). People who report, blog, post or write in any way about a company or client will respond only if you're speedy-and terse. That means no next day call backs. That means constant access. It also means words have to make its absolute point on someone's device without having to scroll. If what you say is too long for a window, it won't translate into a strong sell for a reporter, blogger, cyberjournalist or whatever you want to call that online influencer.

* Rankings (must inform outreach). Everything will be more than ever about 1s and 0s and how they are spread around. If we can get your words onto a single screen, the PR person will drive revenue-in the form of more clicks for the reporter. Definition of viral: we are not only spreading a message or brand, but we are also working WITH the big cheese spreader (blogger, publisher, journalist, newsletter biggie, guy who talks a lot) so he stays in business-and the way he will do that in the future will be via clicks, and more clicks, and even more clicks. You eat what you kill and if you're up in the rankings, it means you got results!

*Skillset (must do more). We need to be multimedia producers (format and quality content), we need to understand search, we need to understand analytics on the back end, we need to be strategists, we need to be tacticians, we need to be story tellers. Holy sh!t. Bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan and put your spouse and kids to bed! Master a core set, but understand how they all work together.

And yeah right above I used the word easy. But if you find someone who seems too easy….they are probably not doing their job. It's fast and easy for Disney to send Chris Brogan on a cruise. But how in the fu(k is he going to sell cruise tickets?

On the other hand if someone is passionate about “a” subject, you need to be in touch with her if she happens to cover YOUR field.

It’s a new world, baby! As we get to the bottom of the first month of the new decade (the world did not start at 0), changes are afoot faster than ever before.

Take advantage. Add to the list above and let’s start the freaking debate.

@laermer and @badpitch (and thanks to @prblog for adding some crucial crap!)

Can You Pass The Social Media Relations Quiz?

2011-01-09T22:49:00.004-05:00

In 2007, I wrote a post called "Ready to Pitch a Blog? Take This Quiz First." Three and a half years later, I'm revisiting it to celebrate the Bad Pitch blog's Fifth Birthday.

While I thought I'd be noting how much has changed since it was written, it still holds up. But I've edited it a bit to better reflect 2011.

---

Everyone wants to know the secret formula to pitching blogs. The secret is it takes more than pitching.

While many approach bloggers and journalists similarly, there's as much different about them as there is similar. From the amount of time needed to pitch and where each group fits in a strategy to the materials and approach taken, there's a difference.

As blog-savvy firms forge ahead, here are six questions you should be able to answer in the affirmative before you start pitching a blog. Have you...

Read more than the most recent post of the blog?

Searched the blog for your client or relevant product/service/industry terms to see if they are even covered?

Subscribed to the blog’s RSS feed or e-mail delivery to make it easier to follow over time and to boost their audience metrics?

Left a comment on the blog that continues the discussion and is unrelated to your pitch?

Looked for posts and links from their home page telling you if/how the blog author likes to receive information?

Sent the blog author an email unrelated to your pitch?

Does this read like a lot of work? Keep in mind you're building a relationship, not "puking swag all over bloggers and expecting them to clean it up."**

If your news doesn’t merit this level of effort, don’t pitch it to a blog. This will eliminate a few of the irrelevant news releases many blogs receive.

If you answered no to any of the above, you may need to ramp up your approach to mainstream media first. Here are four tips.

Send a reporter a relevant story idea or a lead that has nothing to do with your client. It builds the relationship and turns you into a source. This increases the odds you’ll be sought out for a story in the future.

Set up a Google News Alert on a specific reporter to follow their work more closely.

Seek out a reporter on Slideshare, Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or Twitter to learn more about them and connect with them as relevant. Just make sure it’s in context. Do NOT pitch a reporter using these channels unless they specifically request it. That's just skeevy.

Study up on current events…news is media relations jet fuel.

Does this read like a lot of work? Well as the definition of a media outlet morphs, so must our approach to engaging with them. And as more and more bloggers extend the olive branch, the price of a bad pitch is increasing -- less coverage, whiny bloggers, angry clients and amused competitors.

**This is a paraphrased quote from blogger Andrea Deckard when she noted successful brands and agencies are building relationships. But "many brands still puke swag all over bloggers and expect them to clean it up."

Cross-posted to Strategic Public Relations

Should I Pitch Your Mom?

2011-01-09T13:38:00.000-05:00

Web 2.0 forces us to challenge long-held truths. Change is a constant; we need to (pragmatically) consider ourselves in a constant state of iteration. So let's challenge two long-held truths here: targeting media and influencers.

Amorphous Media
The state of media is, uh, "dynamic." Even during the late 90s dot-com era, print was always preferred over online coverage. That's changed as sharing tools have become ubiquitous across news content and the ability to syndicate content became increasingly automated.

Even the definition of media has expanded to include citizen journalists/bloggers. They're extending the length of the news cycle as they sometimes break news on the front end of the curve and dissect mainstream media on the back end.

All the while traditional media has become resource-strapped. So even public relations role has increased in importance and brands have taken sponsored content from the purgatory of advertorials to a more credible level.

This creates more than a few questions--from measurement/impact of our work and the time it takes to pitch to the models of outreach (media vs bloggers) and the need to create content that's more applicable for the online space.

Without getting into each of the above points, let's just say that as it gets easier than ever to get the word out, it gets noisier with competitive, irrelevant and/or distracting messages. So it's "kind of a big deal" to pay attention to these shifts.

In The Perfect Storm, You Can Be All Wet
The need for customization has also increased and online tools have sprung up to help us get the job done -- or botch the job. This brings us to the elephant in the room: the industry hasn't changed expectations around how long it takes and how much it costs to conduct outreach.

If anything, the assumption is that it's easier than ever and takes less time so media relations efforts should be cheaper and faster than ever before. But the opposite can in fact be the case.

Influence ≠ Popularity
Influence may seem broadly defined, but like any buzzword, it's simply used incorrectly. One thing is for certain -- influence, the ability to impact the actions, opinions or behavior of others, is not popularity.

Furthermore, influence may differ depending on your goals. If your goal is to impact awareness vs. generate donations or sales, you're impacting different behavior. And as a result you're likely targeting different audiences.

There's a lot of discussion in the echosphere about targeting consumers directly with public relations efforts instead of targeting individuals that can impact their behavior. Last I checked, we used other forms of media/marketing disciplines to achieve this goal.

Should I Pitch Stacy's Mom?
So the answer to our headline is a trick question. It depends: on goals, target audience and a better than usual understanding of their media consumption habits.

The sphere bounces around a discussion about settling on one, well-intended definition of what influence is and who influencers are -- it's not that easy. So if you're looking for a silver bullet, keep looking.

Media is Changing, Is Your Approach?

2011-01-03T16:21:00.005-05:00

Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? They're well-intended, but health clubs around the world will attest that, on average, they're really two-week long promises.

No worries though. We have a trend video** to kick off your year instead. It shows how much media channels, and the paid, owned and earned media running across through them, are changing.

Have you changed YOUR approach to content and the media?

No Channels is a project I helped create to help track the media convergence trend throughout the year.

Stop by and join the conversation -- if you're so inclined. And feel free to share the video, check out the infographic and generally consume the content. We'll make more.

**I created this with folks at Empower MediaMarketing, my employer. So it is a work-related link foist, but it's relevant content. Disagree? Let me know.

Oh and Happy New Year! :-)

Uh Uh We Won't Vote For You

2010-12-29T10:57:00.010-05:00

Guest post by Geoff Livingston

There's a new bad pitch that's taken over the interwebs. It's called "Vote For Me."

It's an epidemic. From the Washington Post's DC Tweeps, to Pepsi's Vote for My Idea Contest, to get my panel "accepted" for SXSW (sorry Kevin & Richard), we are getting spammed in every direction. We, the marketplace at large, have grown weary of all this screaming for votes that land in our feeds, our emails, our message boxes, and in comment spaces. (Facebook statuses? Forget about it.) And while it's a part of our social networking craze, it's nothing but noisy clutter.

For the magazines or products behind it, this is complete self-promotion--and for the request-makers, it feels like desperation! If the Post isn't bad enough, there was Fast Company), Pepsi Refresh and nonstop pleading for panels on SxSW are committed through the present to this kind of format, it's time to voice our frustration. This kind of spamming cheapens the person, the charity and the events, our feeds, and worst of all, it cheapens our relationships. Even when it's a charitable organization you're working for, it is still made to seem cheap. It’s time for popularity-based vote for me craze to evolve into a more productive form of crowdsourcing.

If people want votes, they need to start focusing on the people that care about them or their beloved causes rather than taking shotgun approaches inside a ton of handy social networks. How will this make this for a better society? What kind of results do you anticipate? Why should I care about you over the next guy? Or at least give me a pitch besides same old sad old "Vote For Me Please."

Hopeful panelists, tell us some detail about your content? Is there content? What's in it for us and the rest of the crowd? Is there learning or is it just promotion for your product? Why is this panel going to be any better than the thousands of others that pass before our eyes online every single year? You better let us know in 140 characters or less.

Just because people are social, doesn’t always mean they will support every contest or panel, even if it's for a good friend. Quid pro quo, dudes. Show some value or no votes for you. Or cheeseburgers...

Twitter @badpitch and @geoffliving

Bad Pitch's "Bazaar" Holiday Present

2010-12-17T14:26:00.006-05:00

Richard and I were reminded recently of why we continue to write this blog thanks to an email from Bazaarvoice's Social Media Manager Ian Greenleigh:

---

I just realized I never thanked you for setting in motion what is perhaps the biggest accomplishment of my life: getting my current job. Here’s how it happened, in exec summary form:

1. I happened upon your post about Grant Turck and his Facebook Ad, saved it for later.

2. About a month later, I found myself in desperate need of a stable job. I read the post, and decided to contact Grant.

3. Grant gave me some wonderful insider tips; what was working, what was not, etc.

4. I put up my own ad, targeting by both employer and by title/bio. I linked it to an ad-specific landing page on my blog.

5. I blogged about the entire process (1, 2, 3).

6. I landed more interviews than anyone else I knew in the job market in a matter of weeks, one of which was with Bazaarvoice. Several offers were on the table, and I was in an incredible position.

7. I was screened out in my initial Bazaarvoice phone interview, but then I blogged about it. The CMO at the time saw the Google alert and called me back in.

8. I spent less than $200 total, and I got my dream job.

And it all started with your post. Thank you.

Gratefully, Ian Greenleigh
---

Well you're welcome Ian. But to be honest, we appreciate you reconnecting in with us (nearly a year after we wrote the post that kicked this off). And thanks to Grant as well for helping out.

This? THIS is why we do this. You may think we enjoy dealing with all the cotton headed ninny muggins out there. Well, we'd rather see more emails like this one.

Open Letter to Peter Shankman: HARO was for sale, Christmas is not!

2010-12-09T12:05:00.027-05:00

In a press release the likes of which the two of us have never quite seen before, it turns out that Peter Shankman, “creator of Shankman.com,” will be hosting an “exclusive holiday party” for the “movers and shakers of the social media world.”

No, we did not make that up.

The fact is, Peter, as he likes to be called, is now a “social media socialite.” That's what a thousand Cosmos in a thousand cities will get you.

We will give you a minute to take that in. I guess it could have been worse and he could have opted for Social Media Socialista.

According to something potentially resembling a release (the kind we advise against every frickin' day), and distributed yesterday over PR Web, he’s hosting an “over-the-top holiday bash with the most influential Twitter and Facebook personalities in attendance.” Somehow, the Fail Whale lost his invitation.

Let's just say that influence has never been so costly. And we want to be clear: influence is not to be confused with popularity. According to the release, which reads like The Onion on a meth binge, “Guests of the first-of-its-kind party will be personally-chosen specifically by their social media influence and engagement.”

Engagement? Where’s our ring!

Twitter and Facebook are talking about this. In fact, on a small but eager group I belong to on Facebook, people have been talking for a week or so about this ridiculous invitation (we did not get one, of course) that came from Klout, saying in fact…… You! You! You’re so big and girthy that you get to come to a party at (wait for it) the Hudson Terrace, which hasn’t been hot since the mood ring was in fashion.

So are you big enough to hang?

Quoth the really big fish: “We’re changing how people are invited to talk about brands and share information. By using the rich analytics of Klout, a site that allows companies to know and interact with the most influential names within their industry, only those most engaged industry leaders will be invited to attend this exclusive event.”

Here’s the kicker. Peter once owned a company, Help A Reporter Get A Buzz On [disclosure: my firm RLMpr represented HARGABO for two long months], now owned by Vocus, a gigantic corporation that cannot be loving the release in question:

More quotes. “The holiday party’s sponsors including The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas, Haworth, Jet Blue, Vocus [an offer they couldn't refuse?], and Nolcha will invite their high-profile industry influencers to celebrate the holiday season in the Big Apple.”

Then comes a quote from Haworth. This is one I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when someone made it up for her: “What fun this will be, to join Peter in exploring social media, especially with some of the unique opportunities he dreams up,” said Julie Smith, PR Manager for Haworth, Inc. (@haworthinc) [let’s tweet her now!]. “Haworth has a unique interest in how social media influences work environments and new communities. Corporate cultures are active participants in social media – willingly or unwillingly – and we are researching the workplace changes can be a result of this social shift.”

If this were any more off-brand, Haworth would start selling these

Gosh. The buzzwords above forced the throw-up onto my keyboard.

In case you haven’t had enough, here's more: “ Additionally, JetBlue Airlines will be flying in guests from other cities for this landmark event.” But I thought all JetBlue's parties took place on the escape hatch. I'm confused...

Sponsors? Did I say sponsors? “The party will include cocktails by Don Q Rums, Riazul Tequila and Pristine Vodka; a fusion of Mediterranean and Southern hors d'oeuvres by Mojo restaurant and lounge; pastries by award-winning Pastry Chef [well duh, he makes pastries so must we say it twice?] Henry Masterov; gift bags by GlobalFashionBrands.com and Nolcha, and sounds [who the hell says "sounds" today except Tony Orlando!?] by the world-renowned DJ Gravy.”

The gravy boat has arrived. The only thing missing is a Grinch, the Ghost of Christmas Present, a few reindeer, lizards a-leaping, my aunt who always falls asleep at the Christmas table, the cast of Glee, and Bob Dylan singing “O Tannenbaum” with a nasal intonation. What? Tannenbaum wasn’t a Jew? Now you’ve got me all ferklempt.

Please remember that social media is all about anti-elitism. It’s about connecting people…authenticity, transparency, meeting in real life. This flies in the face of social media…well when your arms are too busy holding a handmirror and beating….your chest, it’s tough to fly. But you know what we mean, Klout is a tool. Klout is being used to keep someone’s ego inflated in this specific application. This event is not about social media. It’s not about the Xmas spirit. It’s about Peter, whose Hanukkah spirit seems to have grown to a proportion even he hasn't realized. Alas, brands are on board so he doesn’t have to foot the bill. And it’s a shame.

Now back to work, you fools. And don’t wait for your invitation in the mail. Cause you know Peter’s flying in some really big ass-kissers for their trip of a lifetime, but unless you worship at his altar or add fuel to the Shankman fire, you're going to be waiting at the gate for a long, long time!

Don't Forget: Kevin and I are available, too, but not for a shindig at the Hudson Terrace, which is so "opulent" (the release claims) that we note it got a measly 2 stars from 151 reviews on Yelp! Anyone else got a party for us--you know we'll be there. Heck, we show up at the opening of a gold-plated envelope! Tweet us @laermer @badpitch and of course the reputable, clout-ish @prblog

CORRECTION MADE: Both of us saw a low Klout score when we first posted. We thought Peter was @shankman, score of almost nothing; turns out that's not his account on Twitter. He is @petershankman, which is indeed Klouty. We are happy for him. And his followers.

Twitter and What's Your Thing?

2010-11-09T06:11:00.005-05:00

We personally loathe anyone that holds up social media, a web site, gadget or latest shiny new flavor of the month and becomes an "everything person."

** EVERYTHING: You know the type: they're blinded by the shiny new and confuse that for evangelical fire in their eyes. They want you to know how "Flash in the Peter Pan" is going to change the world and as you read this? Pete 2.0 is even cleaning my oven -- amazing.

** SOMETHING: Richard and I are something people...chilling in the pragmatic middle. Oh, we're known for getting our geek on with the early adopters. But we're forming an opinion. So if you think we have our head in the cloud, we don't -- just our data and our apps and and and...

** ONE THING: And as much as we rail on the aforementioned everything people, they're more fun at a party than "one thing people." One thing people find that one thing that allows them to dismiss the shiny new altogether.

They don't have time for Twitter because they don't care what you had for lunch (Pad Thai btw and it was A-MAY-ZING!). They also didn't have time for blogs because they were angst ridden journals. How'd that work out for them?

We'd love to tune out the buzz with these folks, but we'd rather be sifting through it all and panning for gold than looking for gold by putting our head in the sand.

OK, the Cliche Council just literally rang me on the phone, I need to make a point now or my computer will explode into a giant blob of Velveeta cheese.

Twitter - It Doesn't Suck
Twitter has grown on us over the years/months/weeks. We've always known it was a most helpful utility. To the everything people it's one half of social media...sharing that space with Facebook. But Twitter has proven to be a handy resource for news, a communication channel (in particular for live, in person events) and more recently Twitter-only events.

Like-Minded Conversation
We've promoted #PR20Chat here before -- in no small part because we asked if we could hang out and Heather and Justin let us.

But consider how often you have a chance to talk shop with people from throughout your industry, from throughout the world. Twitter-only events seem to be a bit like speed dating. Lots of activity in a short period of time, but you usually come through it with more than one good idea, contact or you learn something altogether new.

In addition to #PR20Chat, there's #JournChat #PRStudChat (think student, not The Situation) and many more for nearly any other topic of choice. It's a great add to your professional development ecosystem. You won't get by just attending conferences or just reading blogs or just attending Twitter chats, but a smart mix of them and you'll be a few steps ahead of the above average PR person.

A Compass to Guide You
Find a Twitter chat, use a device like TweetChat to follow along and participate more easily and use What The Hash Tag after the fact to create a transcript of your event. Especially if you plan on turning someone else onto this. Twitter events are all kinds of awesome sauce. And they're absolutely free. So make time for this. Just do it. Carpe Diem...sh!t. My phone is ringing again, gotta go.

Take a page from political campaigns -- and set it on fire

2010-11-01T14:30:00.005-04:00

In the past, I've noted how media relations folks can learn a thing or two from political campaigns. Seven years later there's still truth to this post.

The approach to messaging, and changing it via instant feedback, is smart. And it's even easier to do in 2010 thanks to things like social media. But this year, when more is being spent on political advertising than was spent in the 2008 presidential elections, I've also witnessed what not to do.

And endless number of robocalls to my phone and to my mobile phone, attack ads saturating TV and radio as my mailbox overflows with a serious waste of paper. Even YouTube preroll ads are of a political nature right now.

Why?

Studies show this noise pollution works. And maybe that's what angers me the most.

I'm not going to give you examples of what NOT to do when it comes to media relations lessons in a political campaign. Those lessons are obvious.

And to be clear, this has nothing to do with any political party. It is about all politics. But I do hope you will rock the vote tomorrow. And leave the polls relieved knowing we'll settle back down to the usual 34GB of messages a day.

My name is Kevin Dugan. And I approve of this message.

Insofferenza all'Uso uploaded by Alessandro Pinna

Join us for #PR20Chat w/ the Bad Pitch blog on 10/26 from 8-9 pm edt

2010-10-25T01:22:00.004-04:00

Richard and I will be guests on this week's PR 2.0 Twitter Chat. It's a weekly conversation about public relations 2.0 held every Tuesday, from 8-9 pm edt. We'll be joining moderators Justin Goldsborough and Heather Whalen.

From their Facebook event description:
**Want to know how to effectively pitch bloggers? What are the secrets to media relations stardom? Unsure about pitching reporters on Twitter? How can you avoid being "outed" for a bad pitch on the infamous Bad Pitch Blog?

Join #pr20chat this Tuesday, when Kevin Dugan (@prblog) and Richard Laermer (@laermer), the bloggers behind the Bad Pitch Blog, will share their insights on media relations, blogger outreach, pitching and more.

Got a question for Richard and Kevin? Post on Twitter using the hashtag, or send it to your co-moderators, @prTini or @jgoldsborough.**

Tweet Your Questions

We're excited to participate in this event and while Heather and Justin will have some questions for us, we'd love to hear your questions as well. So as noted above, just tweet them with the #pr20chat hashtag. We'll compile all of them and pick a few for use in the event...giving full credit of course.

And in the meantime follow @badpitch, @laermer, @prblog, @prtini @justingoldsborough, @pr20chat and/or use Tweetchat to follow the conversation. We hope you can join us. It'll be a...wait for it...piece of (cup)cake.

Twitter Cupcakes uploaded by Bakerella

Writing is like Exercise

2010-10-21T13:02:00.005-04:00

Social media is changing the skill sets needed to succeed. That said I think writing is more important than ever. From long form to short form, from using text speak to fitting something into 140 characters -- the better you can communicate, the more successful you will be. This applies to any career.

We've foisted writing links on you before. So we've been reticent to merely repeat our favorites or force the issue with an endless number of link-laden lists you'll check out once if ever.

But when pharma PR ninja Sarah Morgan brought one page per day to my attention, I knew I wanted to post about it.

One Page Per Day is great in that it challenges you. And it also eliminates excuses by being an easy to access spot for writing. Add to that the fact that all these pages stay where you create them and its utility makes One Page Per Day a great writing habit to form as it eventually will have some payoff above and beyond your skills.

Or maybe not. It doesn't have to turn into the next great American novel. What matters most is that you always continue honing your craft.

Extreme Sports & Blogging uploaded by Will Lion

Bad Pitches Go Grassroots

2010-10-07T06:11:00.005-04:00

We sometimes highlight bad pitches offline -- in real-life presentations. We aim to educate and entertain so this guilty pleasure is always a top request from industry friends that welcome us to the dais. Who are we to disappoint?

If you haven't broken the three strikes rule, we still keep it anonymous. But it's just one more way a bad pitch can haunt you. Reporters often joke that, while some pitches may not merit news coverage, some bad pitches win a spot by the water cooler in their point and laugh hall of shame.

Are you "slide worthy?"

So we're not just online. We're grass roots -- PowerPointing, live tweeting and video shooting. After this second wave of content is uploaded, it inspires a third wave of content generated from blog posts inspired by this content...this post is an example...not to mention the tweeting and general sharing that usually follows. Bad pitches can live on forever, quite literally in syndication. Do you recognize your work on these slides?

Kevin Dugan on Bad PR Pitches at #coprsa from Nate Riggs on Vimeo.

At a recent Central Ohio Public Relations Society of America event, I stepped through some of the worst pitches we've received. The video above highlights a couple of them. If you want to line up the slides below with this video, I think the entire clip takes place on slide #9 -- after the pr0n pitch and discussing the merits and newsworthiness of adopting AP Style. Thanks to Nate Riggs for taking and sharing the video.

Bad Pitch Paradox

View more presentations from prblog.

Once again I'm discussing the perils of using e-mail marketing software to pitch media and bloggers. Yet we get TONS of irrelevant pitches. And even email marketers will tell you the strength of email marketing is based on the quality of the list. /soapbox

The Imma Be (Making a Tenuous Link) Pitch

2010-10-06T05:07:00.004-04:00

This pitch is bad enough that we considered breaking the three strikes rule and outing the sender. It's getting passed around the PR back channel and may not have as much traction as Cigar Guy, but here's the email subject and lead:

----

Story Idea: Nike’s Nightmare: Battling Bedbugs and Bloggers

Nike has bedbugs? Eww, gross! Nike’s flagship store in New York City was closed after an infestation of bedbugs was discovered, but they be just the start of Nike’s problems. Another, and potentially more disastrous, “bug” may be looming in the recesses of their computers.

----

So if you had to guess what the pitch is about, you'd be safe in assuming Nike was somehow involved. And you'd be wrong. The brand and the bugs are a red herring. Just like my Black Eyed Peas reference in the headline.

It reminds me of a dot com machination known as ticker spam. "Publicity hungry companies" would stick stock symbols in their news release...another nefarious use for the boilerplate...so it would get picked up by online filters looking for news about that company.

"A million plus with binoculars..."

Red herrings aside, "eww, gross" aside, let's assume this pitch was actually about Nike. Let's assume it was relevant to my coverage and I was interested in the pitch. The grammar is enough to stop me cold.

The sender breaks the deal for me with this error. It's an error that a Microsoft Word spell check would pick up. Instead this error inspires posts like this one. Admittedly other egregious errors like using who vs. whom would be noticed, but they would not take me down a similar path.

This "be just the start" of bad grammar we've seen in the past. Should we handle all of them equally? What grammatical errors leap to the top of your pet peeve list?

Using Twitter to Pwn an Event: Four Tips

2010-10-05T00:07:00.014-04:00

This post builds on some tips from Nate Riggs on making sure your next presentation becomes serious Twitter pr0n.

Using Twitter at an event back in 2007, I realized how handy it is for communicating offsite in real time. Twitter is very versatile at an event. It can help you optimize your time and get more out of the day. All you need is a device of your choice and some kind of Internet access.

Whether you are attending, presenting, organizing an event -- or you're unable to leave your desk*** -- here are four tips.

TwitterPoint: Wanna suck the energy out of the room at your next presentation? Launch into a lot of text-heavy slides. Or do the exact opposite and think in 140 character slides. I recently started out with a 140 character summary of my presentation. And then went on to explain and prove out that summary.

Another good idea is to add Twitter Tips to the bottom of key slides as @prtini does. Both approaches ensure you know the content. It also cuts down on the number of slides and the amount of text. The bonus is that it usually increases the number of folks sharing your content through live tweets. Don't forget to include the hashtag as part of the 140 characters. It also acts as a prompt to tweet.

Attend a Twitter Event: Twitter events are a great way to engage with like-minded folks via Twitter. And you can do it for free from the comfort of your own home/office/mobile device. No swag or name badge, but that's ok.

Try out PR 2.0 Chat -- "it's a weekly conversation (Tues 8PM EST) that focuses on public relations 2.0 topics." In addition to #PR2.0Chat, there are Twitter events for many different topics. Pick one and sit in on it. Listen, learn and engage with other folks. You'll learn something and you'll have a Tweet trail of content that can usually increase follows from like-minded individuals. More from Buzz Bin on different types of Twitter events.

Live-Tweet an Event: If you're attending a conference, you can take notes. Or you can live tweet. It generates a permalinked list of conference notes. And it's another great way to meet folks via Twitter assuming you include the event hashtag.

The secret to live tweeting is to expand your access to event content, along with your circle of friends and followers, by using TweetChat. It filters out any tweets that don't have the event tag. And it automatically adds the event tag to your tweets. It's helpful for managing the cacophony of your next Twitter event.

You can tell if someone is just using their own Twitter stream to follow an event. It's tougher to expand your network this way and using TweetChat gives you more options for re-tweeting someone else's comments. There have been a few times people have nailed a summary of an important point that I've retweeted during a conference. This is content I would not have seen in a timely fashion without TweetChat.

Bring The Gift of Twitter to an Event: Using Twitter as a back channel at events has been done for some time now. It's because it's easy, it's helpful and it also encourages people to tweet.

This public display of Twitter affection projects tweets using the event hashtag on a screen during the event. Beware of which site you use to do this. Inevitably someone in attendance or someone that sees the hashtag will revert to grade school antics and post something NSFW using the hashtag. So use a site like TweetRiver to filter or moderate.

A little bit of Twitter can go a long way at events. What are your tips for getting more out of events using Twitter? What should you avoid?

***There's never a good time to attend events. But they're like oxygen to you, you're continuing education and your network. Are you one of those folks that can "never seem to get away from the office?" Don't forget to breathe.

On the flipside, don't hyperventilate. You've seen folks that seem to be at every single event. It seems like it's their full-time job...in that they don't have a real job.

So attend and learn. But then apply. And you'll revise and build based on your own experience -- then repeat.

Magnalight.com's Rob Bresnahan and the Dim Bulb Pitch

2010-09-06T19:15:00.003-04:00

Rob Bresnahan is being outed for bad pitches. After seven pitches, distributed via email marketing software, I can assume that Rob is an Iditarod sled dog. These dogs are bred to run. It's literally part of their DNA. If you let them, they'll run until bones are sticking out of their fur. Luckily the Iditarod mushers take lots of breaks and take top notch care of their sled dogs.

So this is my attempt to do the same. I'm willing to overlook the fact that he sent news releases on some of the following products to a blog called Strategic Public Relations.

* "Non-Corrosive High Lumen LED Spreader Flood Lights for Boats, Rigs and Equipment"

* "12 / 24 Volt LED Explosion Proof Light for Rigs, Remote Locations and Paint Spray Booths"

* "Solar Powered LED Area Light with Rechargeable 12 Hour Battery"

* "Lightweight, High Powered Portable LED Light Tower"

* "Dimmable 30 Watt LED PAR 38 and 40 Watt LED PAR 46 Bulbs"

* "Magnalight Lights Used in HBO’s True Blood and the new Green Lantern Movie"

* "Explosion Proof LED Paint Spray Booth Cart Light"

I've done my share of business to business product marketing. The above is of possible interest to lighting trade publications. But Strategic Public Relations focuses on, uh, public relations, communications strategy, marketing, social media and related tangents.

From there, I'll note that none of the pitches contained anything more than a news release. In fact, they were all attached. If you're using email marketing software to send out news releases and you're attaching news releases to the email...and NOT including a pitch? You're not the brightest bulb in the lamp store -- or is it the fastest dog pulling the sled?

Email marketing software also makes it harder to contact the person sending the email and last I checked media relations works best when we have two-way communication with the media.

Rob is Lazy. Are You?
As we move from summer to fall, check your media list. Has anyone changed beats, changed publications, changed careers? If PR people are going to use email marketing software to pitch media, they should understand that the email lives or dies based on the quality of the list.

Spend time building the list. And spend time keeping that list up to date. Once Rob got my no thanks email, he should have realized his initial mistake. Instead he turned on his high beams and kept telling me about magnalight's bright future. Yeah, I said it. You don't think someone there made the same horrible joke?

Help Call Out Bad PR at SXSW

2010-08-18T06:10:00.001-04:00

SXSWi is many things, including inspiration, participation and celebration. And then there's that unseemly underbelly of bullsh!t, blathering, broadcasting of self-importance and bad pr.

And that's where we come in. Richard and I have split up to do twice as much ~~damage~~, uh, justice in Austin this year. We're sitting on different panels -- assuming they make the final cut.

And this is where YOU come in. Please check out the following panels and vote with your heart. Comments are also encouraged as we want to know what you think of each topic.

Richard Laermer: PR Eats Its Own: The Worst of 2010
We're told Chris Anderson will be attending the web's funeral during SXSW this year, so someone has to out the PR folk.

Kevin Dugan: Influencer Throwdown: Proving Influence Once & For All
I'm joining David Binkowski, Krista Neher and Saul Colt on the dais as we ~~call bullsh!t~~, uh, clarify a few things about influence. It's important to note this panel will not be the usual death by powerpoint and we'll also have some constructive conclusions. It won't just be a "clarification session."

You'll have to register to vote and comment But once you do, you can also consider these PR savvy panels.

Serena Ehrlich: The Social Media Dilemma for Publicly-Held Companies
@Serena is a Bizwire veteran cum social media sophisticate. And she’s been immersed in IR since before Sarbanes and Oxley started pushing legislation together. She knows things.

Colin McKay: Trust and Control -The Future of Privacy Online
@Canuckflack is forging the future of Canada’s privacy. He’s in a section of the online world that changes every minute. And I can’t wait to learn more from him.

David Armano: Why PR’s Future May Not Look Like PR
@Armano is to PR as Jane Goodall is to ~~gorillas~~ chimpanzees. ]UPDATED: thanks to the reader that corrected us on the error.[ Armano’s presentation will provide a new view of public relations and hopefully give the audience a push towards said future. Or he’ll just hand out bananas.

Sarah Evans, Jason Kintzler: Spin Doctors: Best Practices for Social Media
@SarahEvans and @pitchengine on the same panel?! ‘nuff said.

Alan Weinkrantz: Why PR Should Own Social Media Initiatives
The key is that SOMEONE needs to own it, but multiple silos in a company need to be involved. @alanweinkrantz puts forth his take on why PR should indeed own it.

Lucretia Pruitt: “Killing Clark Kent; When You Outgrow Your AlterEgo”
The cottage industry that’s sprung up around the “personal brand” – from its lovers to its haters – is just silly. Some very level-headed professionals are getting their knickers in knots over what I consider to be semantics. That said, @LucretiaPruitt will hopefully set aside semantics and give some clear cut advice so folks can navigate this concept without coming off like a schmuck.

So weigh in with your thumbs and your comments. And in your scads of free time, feel free to tick through some of the other 2,300+ proposals that have been submitted for your consideration.

Tory Patrick's Bad Pitch Field Report

2010-08-17T23:39:00.004-04:00

When Tory Patrick noted on a recent post that she was undertaking one of our challenges, I asked if she'd be willing to blog about it. To be honest, I want Bad Pitch to be more of a community...we learn from each other and we (Richard and Kevin) should do stuff like this more often.

Tory rocks. Here's her post...

My Summer Field Trip
When Kevin Dugan threw out a challenge here last month, of course I wanted in!

It’s time to think outside the box…

The post that inspired Kevin.
--
Stale. One thing that I never want to be.

We all have a tendency to learn up to a point, we get comfortable and keep chugging along rarely investing in our ongoing education. 

I call it the slow but sure path to irrelevancy. 

Let me share my prescription for avoiding irrelevancy: Try new things.|

Simple right?
--

My takeaway after reading this post? I realized I was "stale" when it came to my daily reading. *shudder*

But it’s true. I click on the same websites every day. This is fine, for the most part. And while I may not know every last details of a news story, between Facebook and Twitter, I feel I’m pretty on top of current events. But what am I missing?!

Crowdsourced News
So I opened it up to a group of my PR friends. Some work at an agency, some are in-house, and some work in public affairs. I asked them to throw me a few links. And I got responses. Lots of 'em. Some sites I knew about, others I had heard of but never really taken a look at, and others were so far out of my comfort zone I wasn’t even sure I wanted to click on the links.

But I did. And for the past week and a half I have been tackling these links and my brain feels ALIVE! My brain is on overdrive with ideas. Why haven’t I been reading ‘The Hill?’ I mean, I live and work in DC…on Capitol Hill, no less. It’s basically like my neighborhood rag! And I’ll tell you this, while most of what’s covered in ‘The Hill’ has nothing to do with my “everyday,” I’ve found inspiration just in reading some of the articles. And I found out where to get my fix of gossip, Hill-style.

Know the News (via the channel of your choosing)
By far my favorite response, and perhaps the most intriguing, was from my colleague Catriona.

"I read CNN everyday for real news, but get my news mostly on Twitter. Sad?"

I thought about this for a minute, and sat back in my chair and laughed. Here I was trying to expand my horizons and all I needed to do was dive a bit deeper into Twitter. With approximately 600 posts PER SECOND, it’s tough to filter through the noise. But maybe the source of my “read-aissance” lies within just 140 characters.

>>>EDITOR'S NOTE: Read-aissance?! You just unlocked the rim shot badge.<<

I still plan to challenge myself through Labor Day, when summer officially comes to an end. While I can't take a different route to work (unless I walked up the stairs to my home office backwards, which could prove dangerous), I plan to switch up my routine. Maybe I'll try drafting a press release while sitting on the exercise ball. Engaging my mind AND my core at the same time!

So what about you? What was your A-HA moment this summer?

Tory Patrick is an Account Manager at Vantage Communications. See what else Tory and her colleagues have to say on their blog, Vantage Points.

The Press Release (a rant. for immediate release.)

2010-08-17T06:38:00.003-04:00

Should the press release die? Or should it just become a social media press release? Hey, a press release and social media are like peanut butter and chocolate folks. Are you going to pass on a Reese's?!

Um, who cares?!

OK, I understand there's a sh!t ton of money tied up in the distribution of press releases --from the agencies writing them and the blogs, conferences, workshops, e-books and teleseminars offering tips on how to write better press releases to the wire services and media databases helping to push them out (more than 2,000 each day on average I'm told).

The press release represents its own ecosystem of content and some of that content might even be newsworthy. Even the Bad Pitch blog recommends the topic as part of a balanced diet. But when the topic eclipses the industry discussion, is that balanced?

There are plenty of times the press release is a worthy topic of discussion. I'm not overlooking the obvious need to teach, practice and hone our craft. But the current and steady level of discussion around the press release I'm seeing in the industry is comparable to a group of world famous artists constantly talking about which type of frame is best for their paintings. It's well-intended, but it misses the point.

Rant, Party of One?
At the end of the day, if it's newsworthy, it doesn't matter what format it's in. Serve it up on toast...there are more than enough creative options. But the more the public relations industry talks about the press release, the more we have an answer as to why PR doesn't have a seat at the table.

The public relations industry needs to spend as much time on critical thinking, where we provide more value, as it does on the nitty gritty of the tactics. Maybe this rant is telling me the industry needs to spend more time on critical thinking. Perhaps it's the challenge of a discipline that must scale between thoughtful strategy and detail-oriented execution. But that's more of an opportunity than anything else.

The Impossible Dream uploaded by Sagesnow
Cross-Posted to Strategic Public Relations

Fire The Client (Or, The Kiss-Off On My List)

2010-08-15T16:49:00.033-04:00

  This post has been a long coming. And not a moment too soon.

  Every now and then we are fortunate to have dreamy clients – the ones that appreciate the work that you do, listen to hard-earned advice and pay heed to well thought out guidance. And then there are the others: ungrateful customers, depleting you of every ounce of patience, energy and tolerance. While getting rid of business is not in the handbook on How to Make Money During Tough Times, calling up your worst client and saying, “Go,” might just be the best thing that has ever happened to you.  

I have been doing the client/vendor dance for a whopping 19 years as the ever-excitable head of RLM PR; a firm that's had its ups, downs and sideways! But prior, I was head of PR for Columbia Business School and my main client, the long-gone Dean, treated his shoes better than his employees. So I know, first-hand, what working for The Disrespectful is like. Oh boy.

I can see a sucky client coming from a mile way. I know when one is going to be trouble early on. Signs are so obvious, but you hope you can make them better.

And in the last super-tough year, I've seen the worst in customers, ones that create -- and make - more unhealthiness in our own lives than money should mean to anyone. Some clients still think they “reign supreme,” making unreasonable demands by the bushel. For those who respect you, act within reason, don't question your every move, and pretty much accept that you know what you're doing…give them your absolute best 24 hours a day, every day.  

The rest--give to the history books.  

Service businesses are in a tough predicament these days. Everyone is in service now. The days of manufacturing a product are far and few between--and even those come with service round the clock!

As Peggy Noonan said in the WSJ this weekend, the problem with business nowadays is we're not selling anything but ourselves--uh oh. "We're always in touch, in negotiation. We interact so much, we wear each other down. We wear away the superego and get straight to the id, and what we see isn't pretty."

  That's why making money has to be more about taking whatever you can get...no matter what the economy feels like outside. Sometimes losing money is better than working with someone who just a) doesn’t appreciate your talent; b) is tremendously difficult to be around or c) is a complete ass.  

An "ass" is someone who treats you or your teammates like some kind of punching bag. They lo-o-ove to see how far they can take it. It's a game to these fools. (Normally, if you push back hard they stop acting the fool. But, again, it's a game.)

What can you do? Forge ahead with those who deserve your hard work and tell the others to take a hike. You know who you are, but some clients are so ridiculous in their expectations that no amount of money in the world is worth one more call with them.

So here I go:   In Lettermanesque style, I proffer the Top 10 List of when to jump the ship and dump the client. Feel free to add your own below (or privately to me), since I only know from my own experience, that of sleepless nights leading to jumping out of bed and acting decisively!

10 Ways You Know It's Time To Give a Client Notice  

  10. You don't trust them as far as you can throw them!

Look, you want to believe their day-to-day meanderings ("We can't give numbers but they really are terrific....") but in your heart you know it's all Kool-Aid being drunk by people who are not succeeding in the least. Their hope is they'll get enough attention to get bought before they're caught. And you can't fix this. Ask the local divorce lawyer: Without trust, there IS no relationship.

  9. Everything they demand is in direct contrast to what you know to be right (and by “right” I mean "please don't do that, it will kill your momentum").  

Why should you promote (or do anything) for a company that is merely going to do what it wants and never listen to counsel? It's a lose-lose situation and ultimately, you’ll be the one held responsible. Get out while you still own your dignity.

  8. Client company is on its way down.

  Yeah, sinking ship and all. If you could, you'd help them. But, in their own short-sightedness, they can’t see the helping hand right in front of them. There is a saying I live by: you can't "wisen" up a chump!

  7. You keep sitting in on meetings with them that are at once pointless and breathless.  You could be doing laundry. Or sticking pins in your eyes. Both are more fun and profitable.

In fact, daytime TV can be better than a client meeting. CNBC has fine programming these days and it is, again, a better use of your time. (Day trading is especially exciting.)

   6. You get the creeps when an email from this client crosses your in-box.  You'd rather be reading spam... Or writing it?  

5. You dread their responses to your questions because you know, once again, they aren’t paying attention to you but instead, are following their own agenda.

My advice--avoid them like two plagues coming in at once.   And, you wait hours before you open them. That's no way to live. Who wants to fear the next depressing correspondence from someone whose satisfaction is impossible (and at this point you don't care if you get)?!

  4. Getting their bill paid is tougher than the toffee at carnivals.

  The amount of time you spend having to "ping" someone who avoids paying you is wasteful and disrespectful--and time not spent doing great work for good customers. You entered into an agreement to deliver a valuable service and they agreed to pay. If they aren’t, they aren't worth the time.   

3. The client keeps making you think about going into a new profession.  

I think I missed the boat on brain surgery. It has to be easier than this, hey? When a client begins yet another baseless rant toward me, I happily muse about the 10 harsh years of med school that await me.

2. You daydream about working with their competitor(s).  

I usually know the client is history when the list-making process is underway.    
>And the number 1 reason. The person paying you is sure that everything they do is fantastic, despite having no notion of what fantastic is. And no vision whatsoever.
 
You want to feel a fantastic sensation? Making the call to a bad customer and saying "Guess what? You, my friend, need to find a new agency. Stat!" 

In the era of we're-all-providing-services, the customer is not always right. We possess expertise that does not reside within the client’s C-Suite, where we jump to solve every type of quick-flash crises, even those the company creates purposely. If we don't take a hard stand and TELL our clients when they are simply messing up (and if they can't handle the truth) then you're just yes-men and yeah-women. It won't work!

So there: a cheat sheet for X-ing out bad people. Read and rejoice. Let’s get through this second recession without acting desperate. Those untrustworthy/non-trusting people who question your judgment and act suspicious about the hard work you do forget why they agreed to give you money in the first place. It's a healthy idea to question the suggestions your clients give you; they do not have training in your field.

  Do you ever wonder where constant lack of trust emanates from? Confucius once said to his disciples: "A man never looks under the bed who has not been there himself."  

Enjoy the rest of this nutty year. Call me with your results. Or just exhale, fire the bastards and move on!  

Twitter @laermer 

A Bad Pitch Has a Real (Bad) Impact

2010-08-04T06:46:00.005-04:00

People sometimes ask us why we out our own on The Bad Pitch Blog.

There are two reasons.

We’re tired of our entire industry taking a hit for the actions of its minority.
It’s for their own good.

Don’t believe the second reason? Well, before I explain myself, let me give you some background.

Our readers (you!) enjoy the guilty pleasure of seeing fellow practitioners f-up. Why? Because coverage, reputation and ultimately business is at stake.

Our traffic logs show that bad pitches get more traffic than our how-to articles. In fact, the average daily site visits increase by 100 percent (thanks in part to sites like Twitter). Twice as many people see the mistakes. And twice as many people can share these mistakes with their own social networks with just a click of a mouse.

When a pitch is outed, it’s being cached in Google…multiple times…as people pass these stories around like joints at Woodstock.

Consider the various outlets that send us pitches, and promote, our content. From Businessweek to Gawker, print to online, old to new outlets – everyone is tired of it. Here are three recent stories we’ve seen on bad pitches in the last week -- outings that have nothing to do with us.

MediaBistro: Pitch of the Day

WIRED: Yours is a Very Bad Press Release

TechCrunch: How to get our attention: A Case Study

Out, damned pitch! Out, I Say!
So why do I think we’re outing people for their own good? How else are they going to learn?

We're not outing the "innocents" who make one simple mistake. Anyone worried about being outed, on the Bad Pitch blog or elsewhere, is probably taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen.

If someone is outed by us, they earn it via our three strikes rule. We're outing the chronic laziness, bad writing and even worse strategies -- from people that should know better. We tell our bad pitches when they’ve been outed. We offer them a platform to defend their actions. Engaging us is the smartest approach that’s never been taken to date, by the way.

Extreme measures are required to get their attention....or at least to try and do so. We're hoping for a bad pitch intervention. Even if we don't change the offenders' habits and someone else learns from these mistakes? This blog is doing its job.

Bad News uploaded by Shotbart

Make the News

2010-07-14T07:26:00.004-04:00

At least twice before I've mentioned a mentor's media relations mantra: you have to know the news to make the news. It got me addicted to NPR. An awareness of current events is critical.

But what do you do when you know that the news is all about Brad Pitt's hygiene and Old Spice commercials (I'm on a horse!)?

There are rare instances you can make your own news. Ryan Lytle is one of those examples.

Ryan is competing to become MTV's Twitter Jockey. His hometown is my hometown: Cincinnati. And some folks here are helping him secure his gig. That's how we roll.

Once you announce the local tie to a national competition, you effectively have told the story. But as we all know, online voting competitions happen in waves and you usually need more than one wave of publicity to get the word out.

Lytle's team had a local park, Lytle Park, temporarily renamed @rlytle as part of the promotional effort. It gave the media another reason to discuss the effort and encourage people to vote for Ryan.

Taking a sleepy park (with free public wi-fi access natch) tucked away in a corner of downtown and making it a reason to promote MTV and Twitter is creative. It's smart and clearly it was a good pitch.

It's also a specific example. You won't always be able to make the news. But this was a second wave vs. a first wave pitch. This clearly had a role in the pitch's success.

Disclaimer: Over the years I've worked with a few of the folks that made this pitch happen. But I had no knowledge of this pitch until the article ran and have had nothing to do with Lytle's support effort.

Summer Field Trip

2010-07-06T22:22:00.002-04:00

Summer. Consider the opportunity. Holidays. Vacations (fwiw, Laermer is in Tel Aviv. In two weeks, I head out much closer to home). Nice weather (alongside hellish weather). It's the perfect storm for slacking--or for a little creativity.

This post excerpt inspires me:
Stale. One thing that I never want to be.
We all have a tendency to learn up to a point, we get comfortable and keep chugging along rarely investing in our ongoing education.
I call it the slow but sure path to irrelevancy.
Let me share my prescription for avoiding irrelevancy: Try new things.
Simple right?
Read more here.

With Magoo like luck, I tried blogging in 2002. Fast forward to 2010. That sure as hell paid off.

So let's pay it forward. Whether it's just you or a band of co-workers, here are three fast to-do items for a little trend field study.

1) The Road Less Traveled: We get so used to things; we don't even feel our shirts hanging from our bodies. Ever get to work and not remember the commute? Take a new/different route to work. Try a meeting with no chairs in the room. Just don't ask anyone "hot enough for ya?"

2) BE the Customer: This could be your client or your client's customers. Have you really walked a mile in their shoes? This can be tougher for BtoB with the average considered purchase costing six figures. But you get the idea. Figure out a way to be the customer for a transaction, for an entire day. Shadow an existing client/customer. Just bring mints.

3) Media Immersion: This is arguably similar to #1. But completely stop your current media consumption. Rebuild it from scratch. This is most helpful if you have RSS feeds. For one day, what do you miss? Build it back up (no bionics though Steve Austin) pulling out the waste you did not miss. Add in some new sources.

If this freaks you out, make a map of your current consumption before you do it so you're not totally screwed. The more modest way to do this is to pick three outlets you consumer now to stop following and follow three new ones -- for a week.

OR just head out to your nearest place of print media commerce (news stand, book store, corner joint with all the mags n papers and JOY!) Buy three mags that do NOT directly relate to your current interests, clients, field of career.

What Did You Learn?

The big thing I challenge you to do at the end of any of the above is to report back...to me, your blog, your coworkers...whatever. Pay it forward!

Hiding Behind Vocus

2010-06-17T09:21:00.003-04:00

A quick rant...

Got another "pitch" sent via an email marketing platform. I won't go off on the tangent explaining why I so loathe this approach with every fiber of my being multiplied by infinity with the intensity of a thousand suns -- on a stick. But I will share with you a DISCLAIMER that was at the top of this particular piece of spam:

This press release was sent through the Vocus PR platform. Should you no longer wish to receive these communications, please unsubscribe through the link in the footer. If you do not want to be listed on the database, please contact Vocus directly to request for your details to be removed: PHONE NUMBER

Shambot, Lazybot, Spambot, Lamebot
If you're not taking the time to validate your lists whatsoever and think the above disclaimer helps your case? You're content to spend life polishing turds. Fine, I'm in a mood. But to hide behind Vocus (which BPB knows, loves and uses from time to time) is lazy.

At the risk of making too much of a big deal out of this, what if we did a find replace with the same phrase above?

This BULLET was sent through the SMITH & WESSON platform. Should you no longer wish to receive THIS AMMUNITION, please MOVE AWAY FROM THE TARGET. If you do not want to be SHOT, please contact SMITH & WESSON directly to request for your LOCATION to be removed.

Yeah, it's overkill. But my point is that you cannot blame Vocus for not doing your homework. You're not buying an email list. Email lists (the good ones) have scrubbed the addresses, made sure there are no dupes and made sure they've opted in to receive info from related third-parties. You do not even get to see the list, just send to it. Vocus is a starting point for ongoing media relations when it comes to the actual list. Obviously it's more akin to CRM than email marketing.

SANY0204 uploaded by eelke dekker

Emerging Media and the News

2010-06-10T13:15:00.004-04:00

Brad King interviewed me for Emerging Media and the News. It's an audio series he's producing for his Ball State University students. King has worked for Wired, MIT Technology Review and he is also part of the SXSW Interactive speaker selection process.

Prior to this, King created a video series at SXSW-i catching up with folks from Harvard Business Digital, Telegraph Media Group and Tweetdeck to name a few.

So I'm pointing you to both series for some great content. In Emerging Media and the News, King and I discuss the Bad Pitch Blog. But more importantly, check it out for interviews with author Dan Gilmour, Technology Review's Jason Pontin, as well as folks from SpotUS, Time Magazine, The Times of London and more.

The Synchronator: Video and Audio from both ends of a Remote uploaded by Josh Bancroft

More on "When THAT Story Runs" | part two

2010-06-09T03:22:00.006-04:00

Some great comments on the previous post compelled me to create this follow-up post.

Anon: Any advice on what to tell [the client] when they come to you with the article and say "well, why weren't we in this?" They have a valid question when their competition might be included, but how do you explain that it's not humanly possible to know about every round-up or every article that a publication has planned, or to know and have a relationship with every single writer out there?

To which Mollie adds: Anonymous has a good point. I once had a client that paid $10G to bring a triple gold medal Olympian to speak at his event. I invited reporters to interview him after his morning workout the day of the big event - he was training for trials - and provided them with all sorts of background details on my client, and his connection to the Olympian, as well as the goal of the visit, etc... FYI: my client was training with him and was also interviewed.

A two page article ran without a word about my client.

This was 6 years ago and it still troubles me. Unfortunately, I've run into many situations since then wherein the editor likes the story - but neglects to appreciate the value of my client's participation in making the story happen.
---

It's tough to suggest one approach here. Every situation is different. But, based on my experiences, here are some general observations.

Interviewed...No Ink.
Let's assume your client interviewed for the story and never appeared in the article. Was the client interviewed at the beginning of the process? If so, you probably became background information vs. a quotable source. This could mean your source needs to think in sound bites to make it to the final story. A round of media training and/or general messaging can help with this.

Beginning, Middle or End?
If the client was interviewed towards the end of the editorial process, the journalist probably had the story nearly finished with just a few very specific blanks to fill in. Your spokesperson perhaps did not fill in the blanks so they did not use them.

To prevent this from happening, ask where the journalist where he/she is at in the process. And ask who else they've interviewed for the story. You may not get an answer to the last one, but you don't know unless you ask. These answers help you focus when discussing messaging strategy prior to the interview.

Now let's consider Mollie's situation. It's always risky when you bring another element into the story to draw media attention. The case above is common -- whether or not you spent $10K to get media attention.

Once Removed, Twice As Likely to Not Get Coverage
When constructing media relations campaigns and discussing messaging, it's important to construct a message and angle that truly has the client baked in. Oddly enough, I've also promoted an event with an Olympian as the media draw. The client was sponsoring the appearance, but it was the finale to a half-day event where the client's employees had at risk kids shadow them. So the Olympian was there to inspire the kids based on their experience that day. It also helped that we invited client-relevant media vs. sports journalists.

But even if you're pitching your client's case study you may only get a single mention. Don't forget the story is about the client's customer, right? If your client wants more than that, you should manage expectations accordingly. Similarly, if you're doing a joint story with a partner company about a client case study? You need to work even harder to make sure there's a clear strategy.

Blind Sided?

If the story literally was never on your radar and it caught you off guard? Be honest with the client. And then do some homework.

Who wrote the story? If you already have a relationship with the journalist, get some back story from them as to why they didn't involve your client. There are ways to ask that are more effective than others of course. Ask in a productive manner that shows you want to make sure you're considered for the next one vs. hating on the journalist.

If you don't have a relationship with the journalist, you now have a great reason to start one. Make some lemonade with those lemons. As strapped for resources every corner of the fourth estate has been, you might think you have your bases covered. And for reasons outside your control, they assigned the story to an off beat reporter. Off beat as in not covering your topic normally vs. eccentric.

Onward

Please feel free to bring some more questions if you have other incidents the above thoughts do not address. We're happy to keep discussing in the comments. And don't forget to check out Clay's great ideas on how to get your client attached to a story that's already been published.

When Life Gives You Lemons uploaded by the fabric of my life

For more of the above media relations with half the fat of ordinary blogs, bring it to me (@prblog) or bring it to Richard (@laermer). And we guarantee you it'll be brought-en.

When THAT Story Runs...

2010-06-04T01:11:00.004-04:00

You know the one...the story your client should have been in. Whether it was a trend piece, industry roundup or some other piece of news -- it's never a fun situation. From landing an interview only to wind up as background, to the article totally catching you off guard, we've all been there.

Sometimes the client will want us to pitch a follow up story...essentially an extension of the first article. This reminds me of other unrealistic requests, including asking the media outlet to run a correction.

You have some options as it relates to your next steps with the journalist. But first, I offer up some advice from a very wise (very anonymous), ex-journo:

"The odds of a media outlet revisiting a subject, one that's not a big or ongoing story in its own right, is unlikely. Not to say it's not worth making the writer aware of the client for when the subject rolls around again. But the likelihood of coverage without a completely new angle is pretty slim."

My BFF from the Fourth Estate is right (per usual). But there is a reason to contact the journalist that unintentionally made your life "interesting."

** It puts you on the journalist's radar for the next story.

** It gives you an opportunity to pitch a different story.

** Depending on how the first article transpired, it allows you to get insight into why your client was not included in the first article. If your client was interviewed it could be for any number of reasons.

Just make sure when THAT story runs, you manage client expectations accordingly. If you don't, you're just postponing an even more uncomfortable phone call at some point.

# # #

badnewsbaby uploaded by Naoko E.

For more of the above, 140 characters at a time, follow me (@prblog) or follow Richard (@laermer) but even if you follow on Twitter you can still lead...do not go gentle into that good night.

Retrevo’s Good ‘n Plenty Pitch

2010-05-20T23:29:00.003-04:00

Jennifer Jacobson knows no fear. Or at least, her Twitter avatar leads us to believe that’s the case.

We’ve been receiving more than a few pitches from Jennifer on behalf of Retrevo. And she uses the same formula every time. And for this she’s getting a good pitch seal of approval from the Bad Pitch Blog (we used to call it Glinda the Good Pitch, but how cool is that, really?)

How does a long line of pitches following the same formula get you a good pitch seal of approval?

Relevance: Jennifer has targeted my blog with research she knows I’ll find of interest based on the topics I already cover. She does not ask me to write about Retrevo, she merely asks me to credit them for the content.

Snack-Sized Content: From short URLs for easier sharing to links to very specific content based on my needs, you’ll notice in the pitch below that while Jennifer could create a news release and blast it out, she creates a pitch and groups together information to make it more of a palette of relevant content from which I can plug and play.

Visuals: Research sells the story, but visuals get passed around online like an iPhone 4G left in a random bar.

Before we post her pitch, we asked Jennifer a few questions.

Give us Retrevo’s elevator pitch. Retrevo.com is one of the largest consumer electronics shopping and review sites in the world, helping people decide what to buy, when to buy and where to buy it. Retrevo uses artificial intelligence to scan the entire web, daily, bringing people the most up-to-date, comprehensive reviews and buying guides for consumer electronics. We also have one of the largest collections of free downloadable gadget manuals in the world.

How long have you been taking this approach (research/visuals)? About a year ago Retrevo was known as a site for matching people with consumer electronics but we wanted to go beyond that and establish ourselves as, "the consumer electronics experts."

Our goals were to stay top of mind and play a more active role in educating people about all things gadget-related. We knew whatever Retrevo did on the PR front had to compete in the crowded space of tech-related news pitches, ideas, and stories, which are often dominated by companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Amazon.

We looked at Retrevo's position of strength; our ability to synthesize volumes of gadget-related data, and decided to track trends in two areas; industry trends looking into how people were spending money and shopping for consumer electronics (Pulse Reports), and the psychology of human behavior, gadgets and tech, (Gadgetology Reports).

We experimented with different chart styles, graphics and methods of reporting and found that reporters liked short and easy-to-read summaries that link to a more detailed online report. Our pitch emails follow our standard "Retrevo format" so they're instantly recognizable, get straight to the point, and provide study "highlights" that we think will be most useful in a story. Then, if a reporter is interested, they are welcome to click through to the full study on Retrevo.com. Most of our outreach is conducted through very targeted emails and phone calls. These days it's rare for us to send out a press release, as we just don't see the same results.

Has it been successful? Give us an idea of scope vs. results if possible. This approach is a very successful component of Retrevo's PR efforts. Our studies are featured regularly throughout the media, and the majority of the stories are not reprints of our commentary; they are actual stories, where the reporter discusses our findings, provides their perspective and publishes our charts.

Retrevo's highlights include stories in: Forbes, The Huffington Post, Elle Magazine, The New York Daily News, Reuters, The Boston Globe, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg,Yahoo! Tech, The San Francisco Chronicle, VentureBeat, Men's Fitness,CNET, Mashable, PlayBoy Radio and many more.

What's your strategy and advice for others?

Do Right By The Reporter. The biggest secret to running any successful PR effort is to be a real, professional human. Good PR professionals listen to what reporters want, deliver what needs to be delivered, and don't waste the reporter's time. If someone asks to unsubscribe from Retrevo's PR list, I do it. If a reporter tells me they don't cover the beat my database says they do, I fix it in my database, and tell them how to contact Cision and MarketWire, so they can have their public information updated. If a reporter has questions about Retrevo, I try to answer them as quickly and as openly as possible.

Technologies like Twitter enable you to connect with and even befriend people in the media. As Director of Public Relations for Retrevo, and a one-person PR department, I frequently monitor what reporters and industry authorities say on twitter, (many of them vent there and when a PR representative does something they don't like, Twitter is the first place they talk about it).

The relationships between PR professionals and reporters should never be an "us versus them" struggle. Because I have a background in broadcast communications, I know what it takes to write a story, shoot a video, edit and work under deadline. Understanding what the person on the other end of the equation goes through, I think can make a person better in any profession, especially public relations.

Pitch What Is Relevant, To The Right People. A great campaign needs to have good timing, content, and relevance. Reporters don't want random pitches, they want to hear about companies, insights, services and sources that are going to fill out and support the stories they are already working on. As a PR professional, you need to find reporters that cover topics related to your company or client, and you need to find a way to give them what they need, in a way that they can use it. If this means doing extra research, and going the extra mile, go for it.

Retrevo's stories, while tech-related, are also pitched to people covering other industries like the "green" industry, psychology, commerce, finance, and even relationships. I hand pick people that receive Retrevo's PR stories. Sometimes it means pulling a list from Cision or MarketWire and then, filtering through contacts in Excel by beat, and position. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it, to make sure our stories get to the right people. When I have a story that I know is relevant and timely, it’s not uncommon for me to make fifty or more calls in a day. I trust this method far more than I do a standard press release distribution system.

Timing is Essential; Timing and Gravity. Align the timing of your pitches and stories with significant trends, events or industry announcements. If you're pitching a new winter resort, in the middle of the summer, it's not going to work (unless you're pitching a media outlet with a six month lead time). If the media is heavily reporting stories about a specific person, product, company, or trend, find a way to align your company’s current pitch with it. The gravity of “hot topics” is powerful, and if you think creatively, you can often make it work for you.

Good Organic Stories Trump Re-Prints. Successful media relations, in the long-term, is not about press releases, launches, VNR's, Mat Releases, and word-for-word reprints; it's about giving reporters something that will make a great story. It's about making your company or client a valuable resource to the right reporters and being available to them when they need you.

About Jennifer L. Jacobson: Jennifer L. Jacobson is the Director of Public Relations at Retrevo.com and the author of 42 Rules of Social Media for Small Business. Follow Retrevo on Twitter: @retrevo. Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @jcommunication

||| THE PITCH |||

Hello Kevin

I thought you might get a laugh out of Retrevo's new (humorous) article about "unintended" possible iPad-related careers. You are welcome to reprint it or cite it and use it's graphics, so long as Retrevo is cited.

Article and downloadable images: http://www.retrevo.com/content/blog/2010/04/six-unintended-ipad-careers

Shortened URL: http://bit.ly/95QCGg

Story: Six Unintended iPad Careers
By Jennifer L. Jacobson of Retrevo.com

You've just bought an iPad. Maybe you're holding it now, reading this article on it. Maybe it's still on order. Either way, now that the iPad is an actual, hold-able, own-able device, and no longer a unicorn concept, we thought we'd get you up-to-speed on some of the possible upcoming "unintended" job opportunities sure to come about from the adoption of this magical new device.

1. The iPad au pair or "iPair" Are you tired of "baby sitting" your iPad? After all, it does require a significant amount of attention. You can't just set it down on the counter at Starbucks while you put creamer in your coffee, and you certainly can't throw it into a handbag or "man-bag" as the case may be. You need a 24/7 iPad attendee, so why not consider an iPad Au Pair? Similar to traditional au pairs who serve as domestic child-care assistants living with host families, the iPad au pair or "iPair" is a technologically skilled Mac enthusiast who is invited to live with an iPad owning family, so long as they have their own room, a reasonable allowance in iTunes credits, and at least two full days a week off. The iPair's duties include holding your iPad while you eat greasy foods like french fries or pizza, holding your iPad while you talk on your iPhone, holding your iPad while you're driving, and holding your iPad while you take your kids to the park.

2. iPad Smudge Station Attendant If you've used your iPad for more than two minutes, you've quickly realized the importance of clean hands. But inevitably, you're bound to build up natural oils, apply moisturizer, or perhaps eat something with your hands, and when you do, your iPad will go from sparkling to smudged. Not to worry. Simply drive your iPad to your local "iPad smudge station," usually found at gas stations and car washes. Once there, simply hand your iPad to a trained smudge station attendant, and watch them make your iPad look like new. Remember, it is customary to tip them, which can either be done in cash or the purchase of an app for their own mobile device.

3. iPad Fashion Designer Sure, the iPad is a great mobile device, but it can also be a wearable fashion statement. If you're a budding designer inspired by the visually shocking and unusual accessories worn by Flava Flav, Bjork, and Lady Gaga, consider a career in wearable iPads. Not only is it a bold fashion statement, it's a flexible one that can be modified to match the color, style, and mood of its wearer.

4. The iPad Custody Lawyer Unless you are the only member in your household, chances are, everyone in your family will want to use your iPad, and who can blame them? However, if your home only has one magical device, there are bound to be quarrels and turf wars over who gets to surf the web, send emails, and play Scrabble. Who you gonna call? An iPad Custody Lawyer of course. This trained specialist will help bring peace to your family by mediating who gets to use the device, when, and where. Just don't be surprised if they don't accept Apple Store gift cards as payment.

5. The iPad App Matchmaker or "AppMaker" Like so many people, your life is packed with important activities, and finding the latest iPad apps to stay ahead of the crowd can be time consuming, and if you're caught not knowing what' in-now, even embarrassing. That's why you can hire an iPad matchmaker; a personal consultant , to pair you with apps that will actually help you in your own daily life, or at least apps that you can brag about to your friends in the book club. Need to know where to find vegan restaurants in New York? Get the app. Need to know what you missed in your favorite TV series? Get the app. Need to find out what apps you need? Get an AppMaker.

6. The iPad Addiction Counselor As with the introduction of all new technologies, there are bound to be people who "overdo it," and the iPad is no exception. Whether you're playing AirCoaster, telling your Facebook friends that you're updating your Facebook status, tweeting what you ate for breakfast, or making a poster for your yard sale in Pages, if you're spending "too much" time with your new and shiny iPad or spending your rent money on iPad apps, it may be time for an intervention. You'll need the services of an iPad Addiction Counselor. These people are trained to recognize the signs of iPad addiction, like expecting non-electronic objects like doors to open, with the flick of a finger, or talking to your kids with your thumbs. A good iPad Addiction Councilor can help you regain your connection to the people, not the things, that matter in your life. Once you've come to terms with your iPad addiction and completed iPad addiction program, then you're free to tweet to everyone how far you've come.

Thank you,
Jennifer L. Jacobson
Retrevo - Public Relations Director & Outreach Specialist
Jennifer on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jcommunication

Social Media
Retrevo on Twitter: http://twitter.com/retrevo
Retrevo on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Retrevo
Retrevo Resources for the Press

Press Page: http://www.retrevo.com/content/media
Management Team: http://www.retrevo.com/content/team
Partners: http://www.retrevo.com/content/partners
Media Kit: http://www.retrevo.com/content/mediakit2010-who-we-are

What is Retrevo? Retrevo http://www.retrevo.com is one of the largest consumer electronics review and shopping sites in the world, helping people decide what to buy, when to buy, and where to buy. Retrevo uses artificial intelligence to analyze and graphically summarize more than 50 million real-time data points from across the web to give shoppers the most comprehensive, unbiased, up-to-date product information they need to make smart, confident purchasing decisions for electronics. As a thought leader in consumer electronics, Retrevo publishes regular studies around industry trends (Pulse) and also around psychology and technology (Gadgetology). Retrevo is a Silicon Valley based company that was founded in 2006 and has recently been featured in Advertising Age, SmartMoney, The Motley Fool, MacWorld, PC World, Fox Business, The UK Register, and more.

Malcolm McLaren, RIP: A Story for Marketers

2010-04-22T05:15:00.008-04:00

Malcolm McLaren passed away several days ago and as you may know he invented punk. As a guy who is a punk follower from way back when, I followed his career avidly. But I think MM's greatest invention was Sex Pistols which, if you think about it or take a listen, was a band that wasn't great musically yet was so raw that if you got a whiff of it you needed to have more. Quickly.

Here's one exemplary look back at the Sex Pistols from only a few years ago:

When the Sex Pistols were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, they behaved exactly how we expected them to. They didn’t just snub the ceremony by not showing up, but took a metaphorical crap on the establishment in a grammatically challenged letter read at the ceremony by Rolling Stone founder, and ruiner, Jann Wenner. The band’s statement was simple: “Next to the Sex Pistols, rock and roll and that hall of fame is a piss stain. Your museum. Urine in wine. We’re not coming. We’re not your monkeys. If you voted for us, hope you noted your reasons. Your [sic] anonymous as judges but your [sic] still music industry people. We’re not coming.”

It finished with this little gem: “Your [sic] not paying attention. Outside the shit-stem is a real SEX PISTOL.”

Wow. After all this time the band that brought an underground music movement to the forefront of pop culture hasn’t changed an iota, and we love them for it. Part of being punk for real is never wavering in your conviction and/or vision. A lot of hard core "anything" has forgotten that over the year. One critic who had written of Sex Pistols actually blogged this...

"You may have thought that The Sex Pistols were a tired old reanimated corpse of a band; reality TV veterans who keep reforming in more and more useless ways to convince the world that they’re still cool. Not last night."

Whew. Well, as you could imagine, the media treated the communique like a harsh statement on the state of rock ’n’ roll or a pox on the corporate know-nothings that have run the music industry into the ground. They also saw it as the continued arrogance of its leader, Johnny Rotten (now lead of Public Image Ltd.) Well, maybe it was all of the above, but the only true message is that the band used a gimmick that worked! It’s the same gimmick they’ve used since day one: as long as it fits who you are don't forget to be memorable, be outrageous, get attention.

Who knows if the Sex Pistols put any thought into what they wrote? As a PR guy who learned a lot from these and other public figures, I figure they knew exactly what they were doing. Either way, it sure got them a lot more press than just showing up and saying thank you, we love you, gosh it's the fans that got us here. It’s a risky endeavor to be so anti-everything-we-know-to-work-it. That’s a risk more of us should take to have an impact.

Malcolm always thought so.

Twitter @laermer and @badpitch

Getting Fired Up About Boilerplates

2010-04-12T19:26:00.008-04:00

We received the following words of wisdom from The University of Washington's Director of News & Information, Bob Roseth:

"I’ve always said that boilerplate is fine if you’re from Purdue; anywhere else it’s just empty words."

OK, that read's a bit out of context without the link to a news release in which the boilerplate is longer than the (soft) news. It's longer by nearly 100 words with a 261-word boilerplate shouting over a 169-word news release.

Less Really is More

Much like the oft-abused news release format, Freud could have a field day with the overcompensation that leads to boilerplate abuse. We've written about this tiny detail before. This summer tip release does just fine all by itself. For the first time ever, we're a big fan of shrinkage. Perhaps it should spend some time in the pool to correct the issue?

The boilerplate is the last graph in the news release for a reason. It's the least important. Yet some seem to spend the most time on it. I know from experience that the more you sweat over each word in a boilerplate, the more it starts to read like inside baseball. It reads like brand poetry to marketing, legal and the CEO. But, to quote Bob Roseth, it's just empty words.

Size, Quality, and Perception

2010-04-06T03:19:00.008-04:00

A true capitalist will tell you the definition of business is someone out there waiting to steal your customers. If you’re a big company, it may be the little guy you go “feh” to who seems content picking up scraps from your table but really has a far bigger appetite. And if you’re the small guy, you may be thinking your lunch doesn’t have appeal to the biggies until the day you wake up starving to death.

A good '10s marketer learns to keep looking over his shoulder for that special competitor who wants to eat his meal while a fantastic marketer is constantly seeking ways to do things better and better and better, so the customer’s eventual choice is his brand over the monster’s.

Regardless of whether a company is gigantic or puny, it pays to act small while continuing to think in the biggest possible way. That may sound obvious, but people forget that image matters most. When someone says to us, “I’m not big enough for that,” we think Go away, fool.

Who’s to say who’s ready for what?

Consumers want to feel the company they buy from has their, and only their, absolute best interests at heart; so for them that means being treated respectfully as sole beings and not units in some amorphous lump.

In the past, before we all played on today's lovely equal playing field, mass production was appealing to consumers because they knew the product they bought was identical to all others from the factory. A brand name represented consistency and predictable quality assurance. It was nice.

Some quality was known to be “better” than others, and better remained a differentiator among brands for a while. But better came to be taken for granted and eventually became an issue only when something went wrong.

Today, we live in post-quality America. Consumers don't choose that way any more; they assume (and I do too) that based on the fact the brand got as far as it did that it and competing products will perform flawlessly; they expect swift action if somehow a manufacturer or a distributor screws up.

Mass production has lost its competitive edge and being big for being big’s sake got tossed away. This is a good time to be small, act big, and question the manner in which everything was done before you. Because in the end, you're going to try something different anyway.

*******
Twitter @laermer

Get Real About Media Relations

2010-03-25T21:20:00.007-04:00

Let's face it. Media relations gets a bad reputation in our industry. My totally unscientific theory? It's because so many PR professionals are taught media relations so quickly/poorly/cursorily -- if at all -- that many probably suck at it. As a result, they hate media relations and as they rise in the ranks they're inspired to cast it aside.

Sure the business model doesn't support a VP picking up the phone and pitching Michael Arrington (go ahead...call him on the phone, send him a hand-written letter. Be fearless, just do NOT suck.). But I'm beyond hearing that entry-level PR people are paying their dues by doing the dirty work when they get their first job.

If you're one of said entry-level headed people, there are ways to self-teach elements of media relations. Plenty of lessons can be gleaned from other areas of business. Most notable are sales and job seekers.

I will NOT quote Glengarry Glen Ross
Think about it. Sales people have a variety of sales to make...complex, simple, big, small. And (good) sales people are ninjas when it comes to staying informed on industry news, competitor news and current events, creating lists, qualifying leads and truly listening to customers and prospects. And (great) sales people take what they've learned and deliver exactly what the customer/prospect needs.

So who are the good sales people you know? What do they attack with discipline? What part of the sale is art, science or just plain and simple, organized follow-up? Be nice to the ad reps that come into your office. Some of them could really help you out.

Good Pitch (Job) Hunting
More than a few entry-level employees know more about media relations than they realize. Consider that a pitch letter is to a news release as a cover letter is to a resume. You landed the job you currently have. How did you do it? What did you attack with discipline? What part of the job hunting process is art, science or just plain and simple, organized follow-up?

Smashing magazine has a most-excellent review of the art of the cover letter in the age of txt messages, web form submissions and just general online considerations. And if you replace cover letter with pitch? Most of that article still applies. Check it.

Lemon Aid?
Some may lead you to believe that, by doing the above, you're making lemonade out of lemons. But we say those aren't lemons you're being handed. Media relations is a real opportunity. It's up to you. Photocopying your butt on a Friday after 4:30pm because your boss needs copies -- pronto? THAT'S making lemons out of lemonade. Just make sure you don't break the glass. In addition to being potentially dangerous and definitely humiliating, it's potentially career-limiting too.

Follow me on Twitter?

The Evolution Of Language

2010-03-23T17:21:00.014-04:00

Any discussion about how language has evolved shouldn’t be centered on syntax, linguistics or semantics, but instead focus on ability, prevalence and - wait for it - speed.

Language by nature is about communication. Using it provides us with the capability to convey information, persuade, dissuade, critique, praise, inspire and subjugate. Words we create, therefore, aren’t just symbols, but are tools to be wielded in shaping the things we want to shape.

Technology has blazingly increased our ability to use our “tools.” As we humans have progressed into who we are today, we have developed a wide range of tools to communicate. In the span of about 32,000 years we’ve gone from cave paintings to Twitter and ChatRoulette. It's a short amount of time considering the earth is some 4.5 billion years old.

At no time in recorded history have we had more actual means of communicating. We can speak, write, print, mail, call, email, text, blog, use carrier pigeons, sign, IM/SMS, tweet and record videos or audio pieces with ease and often carelessness. If you are not communicating like a madman you are either physically incapable of doing so or avoiding the matter altogether.

Globalization has helped spread technology and has brought us closer together, so currently the all-encompassingness (my word) of communication has grown in ways we couldn't have predicted. Go to any site where users leave comments or organize a forum, and you will plainly see the fervent way people are talking to, or at, one another in little boxes. It's mind-boggling what people are saying without second thought.

Everyone is talking, no matter where they are on the planet—or in some cases, even if they’re not on the planet. Everyone has something to say.

And yet, while billions of people are trying to be individualistic, or something akin, everyone still finds themselves into cliques—hockey fans, sewing enthusiasts, Pattinson freaks, World of Warcraft-raiding parties, et al —and this fragmentation makes them easier for people like us to target.

What do we see out there? Folks freely chatting away about what they want and dislike. The current way of communicating has brought us to a place where we can listen and respond in real time. The speed by which we are able to talk back is astounding. Want to know what your best friend halfway around the world thinks of your shirt? MMS him a jpeg from your Blackberry and he can give you a sweet thumbs up or a big "WTF" in about two seconds.

Information can be reported instantaneously (there's that handy speed), anyone can disperse it likethat (a little ability) and it can spread quickly (thus prevalence). How has language—i.e., the way we communicate—evolved? We’re now punchier, abbreviated and singularly more influential. (An example.)

Our jobs as PR pros is the same as it always was. We still need to stay ahead of the trends, listen clearly and with an open mind, assess what's out there, strategize, convey, and implement, only now we just have to do it a bitch of a lot faster.

Change, shmange! The more I think about it, the only notable change brought about by these newer methods of talking is that it's now super hard for people like you and me to...wait for it!
****

Richard Laermer is tweeting @laermer. Book is "2011: Trendspotting."

12 News Release Alternatives

2010-03-22T23:51:00.004-04:00

If you keep trying the same thing, expecting different results, you're nuts. So here are some alternatives to the much loved, abused and murdered news release.

1) Infographic: USA Today was the first to own the infographic because snappy visuals help show the news instead of simply telling it. Research results work well in this format and stand out from the other news competing for column inches.

2) Advertising: Paid placement can be very useful if you want complete control of the message, including when it appears.

3) News Story: Your job is far from over after the first editorial placement. Sending a story you've placed to non-competitive media outlets can be very effective, assuming you have a unique follow-up angle. Your news has already been vetted at this point and in certain cases it can help create momentum.

4) Bullet Point: Can you get your news across in a sentence or two? You should. Concise, substantive writing goes a long way in the attention-deficit-driven world of social (SQUIRREL!) media.

5) Haiku: Creative writing might work, but what if you're announcing an acquisition? Procter and Gamble acquired Gillette to grow and be number one. Needless to say, you'll need background material to support news poetry.

6) Video File: We're all hitting YouTube for one reason or another. And surely there is some news that might be more effective pitched in video format. If everyone really looked at their news releases before sending them out, I suspect their quality would improve dramatically.

7) Phone/E-Mail: Phone and e-mail are sometimes used in tandem with news releases, but consider using them to simply continue the conversation you've created with your key news contacts to create bigger stories. How many news releases have landed you on the cover of a magazine?

8) Picture: Well, they are worth a thousand, but consider how a picture might be used as a teaser for your news. You can drop a unique URL into this engaging, visual clue that offers more information. This also allows you to track media interest. Oh and personnel releases? Send the photo with just the cutline and save everyone some time and energy of an accompanying release.

9) Mobile: If your reporters use text messaging, and they know you, you're probably using it to connect with them on important news. The Vatican began doing this in 2003. If your key reporters prefer quick, hand-written notes sent via carrier pigeon, invest in a rooftop coop.

10) Animation: Perhaps animating your next news story will give it more impact. I could send you a fact sheet about the latest internet stats or I could send you to this motion graphic animation.

11) Fact Sheet/Backgrounder/Media Kit: Some of these documents merely save you from one format and serve up the same painful, contrived quote rife with news release clichés that will compete with a metric ton of poorly-written content that chokes the wire services each day.

12) Well-Written News Release: The 11 ideas above might only work with specific types of news (Have you tapped into poetry to announce financial results?) A news release is versatile enough to announce just about anything. It isn't sexy or groundbreaking -- even if it's a shiny, social media news release. But it can be effective.

At the root of all the drama this little document creates is the fact that content quality, not content format, is the real issue.

:: Originally posted on Strategic Public Relations...in 2005. Could you tell?

Chris Stanley of Blinds Chalet, You've Been Outed on the Bad Pitch Blog

2010-03-19T06:00:00.003-04:00

Maybe it's because opening day is right around the corner, but this Bad Pitch seems timely. Our latest pitch falls into the "too much automation may make you efficient, but not effective" zone. That's just the start of this carelessness, senselessness, nastiness. You decide which one.

Off Target: Chris started pitching me in December of 2009. He's sent me six news releases -- despite me asking him to stop doing so TWICE. I write about public relations, marketing, social media, media relations and the various circles with which they overlap. Dude, blinds? Really?

Automatronic: He didn't stop because he doesn't follow up with actual replies to the INFO at BLINDS CHALET email address sending the pitches. At the very bottom of his email, after his sig file, in tiny type: "If you would rather not receive future communications from Blinds Chalet, let us know by clicking here." That's a spam tactic. Not clicking for fear I'll start getting bad pitches from Drapes Chalet. Those guys are really harsh.

ZZZzzz: The pitch is so off-target, it puts me to sleep. I'm more likely to read about a script treatment than a window treatment.

And when people take the spray and pray approach to pitching? We actually see some get pissed at US for replying because we're so off topic. Why would WE bother THEM? Yeah, it's a fine line between chutzpah and stupidity. Perhaps it is just a ploy to increase their Google rankings. Well that's one area in which the Bad Pitch Blog is quite happy to help.

Here's the pitch. It proves a point we've made all along. Most of the bad pitches are not really bad. The people sending them are just ultimately lazy. Even if Chris is in love with his automatronic spam bot, you'd think he'd be tracking replies.

----
From: Chris Stanley
Sent: Thu, March 18, 2010 6:02:45 AM
Subject: Blinds Chalet Introduces 'Ask a Design Consultant��

Blinds Chalet unveils their new ‘Ask a Design Consultant,’ program. Experienced designers are on-call to help homeowners pick the best window treatments to fit their individual style, home needs and budget constraints. Blinds Chalet’s design consultants are available to answer questions about materials, measuring and color matching. This service has been developed in direct demand for businesses to offer more to their customers than products; to survive, businesses must understand customer service.

Interior designers can cost anywhere from $45.00 – 500.00 per hour, while an interior design project may run up to $10,000 or more. Blinds Chalet’s design consultants are available to consumers for no charge. While interior designers can be integral to putting together a new home, or entire remodels, home upgrades can usually be handled without the expensive costs of bringing in an interior designer.

Window treatments are one of the easiest ways to upgrade an older home, modernize a room, or add a splash of color to a neutral space. Blinds Chalet’s design consultants can help guide decisions with regards to complimentary colors, how to create a statement without overwhelming the focal points of a room and how to let a view speak for itself.

The importance of window blinds can’t be underestimated. They protect rooms from harmful UV rays, reduce glare for workspaces and create ambiance. Free samples are available for window treatments so consumers can evaluate textures and color variations that come with natural wood blinds like bamboo.

“We understand the important role interior decorators have in making a house feel like a home,” says Chris Stanley of Blinds Chalet. “Our interior decorators do more than give advice, they know what questions to ask customers to ensure they are getting the best product at the best price for them.”

For more information on Blinds Chalet, window shades or current trends in the industry:

Contact: Chris Stanley
Company: Blinds Chalet 
Website: www.BlindsChalet.com
Phone:
# # #

If you would rather not receive future communications from Blinds Chalet, let us know by clicking here.
--

Bottom Line? If you're comfortable using e-mail marketing software for public relations efforts, you should be comfortable with being categorized as SPAM. And you should not be surprised when off-target media/bloggers/random jerks in your database reply to your emails, and you should always be comfortable with reading replies to email. That would seem to be even email marketing 101.

For more snark, follow me here (on Twitter, not like joining a cult).

The Bad Hitler Pitch (as if there was a good one)

2010-03-07T15:14:00.018-05:00

Sometimes, the work is done for us. Take the pitch we received from our friend Wendy at the Philly Inquirer; it was one letter Kevin and I received in a crowded week of people saying "Help us rid the world of awful letters." This bad use of gimmickry from a U.K. PR concern asks reporters to write about a new book about the trance form that some people have over the great unwashed masses. Using Adolf Hitler as the best example of trance-maker.

The only thing I got from reading it was: “Really? People still do crap like this?” But as Wendy cheerfully pointed out to the pitcher: "Using Hitler in a pitch is the equivalent of tossing a live hand grenade into a crowded room, and that rarely is there an acceptable reason to do so."

With apologies to Mel Brooks' Springtime For…, Wendy’s right on to say Hitler doesn't belong here. And you have to wince as the witless PR person tries to make us believe that somehow Hitler and Baryshnikov are related to one another in a freaky way. So without giving an undue PR to this book, here’s a snippet of what Wendy received and sent on after washing her hands:

"What do Andrea Bocelli, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Adolf Hitler and Svengali have in common? At first glance a blind Italian tenor, a Russian ballet dancer, a German dictator, and a fictional hypnotist seem to have little in common, but what they all share is an ability to transcend the ordinary and put their audiences in a trance."

Now there are more a few things wrong here. First of all…we get the evil that Svengali forced on his disciples, and we know Bocelli’s work from PBS telethons. As for Mikhail, neither his nor Hitler's footwork have much in common, and Misha's crowd will audibly concur. Trances can be made to happen but this particular author wants us (further down in the inanity) to think that Hitler struck his audiences blind with Trek-like mind melding. One fact left on the table: This was a conspiracy of the highest order and while Hitler was in charge, munching away on meth butts in his lair, there were other, less-trance-oriented men who were just as complacent in the murders of millions.

But Wendy, not sitting still, decided to write to the chief of the PR firm and explain that, as a Jewish person whose relatives hd perished in the Holocaust (same here, not incidentally), none of this was at the least interesting nor relevant. To which the CEO, who should have said “Sorry, I’m outta here,” did his best David Paterson impersonation and stupidly pressed on:

"Although considered an unskilled orator, there was something in his cadence and speaking demeanor, some experts believe, that caused this. Hitler most certainly "transcend the ordinary." Is it "ordinary" to slaughter 6 million people?"

A book about Hitler and his horrendous ways, or a new type of war tome, might have attracted this columnist, who reads her incoming pitches carefully. But Hitler as a chapter a book that (PR words) “exposes the unexpected ways trances affect our everyday lives…from getting ‘lost’ in a great book or an amazing performance to super-human acts of heroism, being in a different state of consciousness allows us to move from the ordinary to the extra-ordinary”…?” Not quite.

What’s happening in the land of PR is obvious: The tendency in a crowded media world is to find – it seems – any way to make something "unordinary". But that's a different kind of trance you put yourself in to make something unbelievable work for you!

There is no reason to be gimmick hungry and therefore cause people to disdain you. As Elvis said, "a little less conversation," eh? Just make your point and stop pulling from the absurd! Wendy put it best in her retort, which hoped to wizen up a chump:

Really? If by "the unexpected ways trances affect our everyday lives," you mean, "killed off most of my family through mob violence and systematic murder in concentration camps," then yeah, wow, that "trance" totally affected some everyday lives.”

Leave Hitler back on the History channel. We like seeing him in grainy black and white -- and dead. And leave poor Baryshnikov out of it!

Hit me on @laermer or @badpitch on Twitter.

The Cartoon Pitch

2010-03-02T09:14:00.004-05:00

Social media gives bad pitch recipients an eager audience to witness, with reality-TV like glee, the horror landing in their in boxes on a daily basis. In fact, the tools available to us online now allow us to vent in a variety of ways.

Boing-Boing points us to this all too familiar exchange around embargoes. We have a free and powerful production studio available to us online folks. Press send with care. As Guhmshoo, one of our favorite bloggers, reminds us below, Lists are not PR.

This Post Is For Everyone

2010-02-28T11:34:00.013-05:00

Go ahead and be mad at me. I've been remiss and spent the majority of February thinking about the business of PR, wondering about pitches bad and good (*mostly bad*) and haven't written a darn thing in this box. I've gotten so many letters pitching interviews mistakenly - and they ARE mistakes - sent to me "as cofounder of the Bad Pitch Blog," that I've started to wonder if ANYONE in our industry ever takes a second look at who they're sending anything to.

I mean: think about it. Sure this blog is on the Power 150, whatever, and we are a Cision top 10 blog, and we win awards, and we do interviews, and we're very public, ahem, but that doesn't mean you should pitch an interview with an untested CEO to me--so I can (come on, say it together) "consider" him for our blog! Why? So Kevin and I can make fun of you to your face? Happy to oblige if you are looking to up your quota, but doesn't sound like an optimal use of CEO time. And at the end I'm fairly sure he'll fire you.

Annnyway, here's the thought that has been bugging me all month and it's still with me at the end (which today is, yay): Are we all, as we've been called, just a bunch of list-makers who don't stop to see who we are bothering in the middle of the day?

Let's ponder this one nutty woman from Euro RSCG who sent me something that had nothing to do with bad pitching and had the gall to answer my quirkily-worded "How many did you send this to, lady?" with the following completely pointless paragraph:

Not sure why this is relevant, as it is a nationally issued press release with valuable news, but it went to a targeted list of appropriate outlets. Let me know if you are interested in covering the story, are you a journalist?

You mean, you don't you know who I am? You worded it "Dear Richard." How many Richards do you know!

Her subject was ridiculous and sure it caught my eye, but remember I'm the dude who writes posts on dull, useless PR antics.

It said--and I quote word for word: American's more focused on news and serious issues, less interested in celebrities and antics, since the recession --Expert available to discuss

Even with the embarrassing typo (American's?), that's a heady headline, wouldn't you say? Why not try to get people to take YOU seriously. That is not the point of my essay today.

Kevin and I both looked at this one and realized that a lot of what Bad Pitch has been trying to say seems to be lost by folks who STILL want to PITCH us! Come now. Let's consider without hesitation: she's spending her valuable time (I'm sure they pay her at Euro) swatting my criticism down. That seems like a bad way to make a living unless she takes Ambien CR to sleep at night.

But don't let me stop with "American's more focused on" type pitches. I get these every day and they stopped amusing me about a year ago.

That was the day a woman wrote me with something scientific--not tech, which is my ballywick--and far removed from anything BPB would ever consider. It was so far out that I wrote the (obviously) young person and said "Did you mean to send this to me?" Yeah, yeah, I was in a good mood that day--it was after a raucous night out. To her credit she quickly wrote me back, even though it was Sunday, and graciously apologized while explaining...only making it worse...that this was a mistake from "the company we outsource to make our lists." Whahhh? Herein lies the rub. I told her to cut the crap--stop the lists and save the company money. I explained she could, like the guy in the FedEx commercial, be a hero for saving the firm unnecessary expenditures in the middle of a heavy duty recession. And finally I said:

Lists are not PR.

Lists are not PR.

Lists are not PR.

Especially now, when quality placements mean more than ever before. When the people you wish to truly reach are "a smaller group" (quotes mine) and more likely to need you if you spend some time actually getting to know you.

It's not that Kevin or I wish to get less mail. Heck we love mail. We want more tweets and status updates and emails and USPS treatises that are targeted to US. Like, for instance, the fantastic letter we got - more tomorrow, I promise - from a column scribbler at the Philly Inquirer who was told something fascinating about Adolf Hitler that she should take into consideration.

Did I mention said columnist was Jewish and offended to the point where she turned blue? And the pitch was beyond comprehension, and tasteless in ways that would make Aldo The Apache cringe?

Yep. You got it. A Bad Pitch. Perfect. Or, as Hans Landa might say in Inglourious Basterds: IT'S A BINGO!

That was a pitch we ate up with relish. The others--oh come on everyone. Let's enjoy spring and save time, space, and bad sentiments. Just go and digitally tap the people on the shoulder who need your source or story or idea. You can find them. As we've said for five years, all it takes is research, a read of a magazine or blog (I mean read the whole thing) and a bit of faith in your abilities to make a connection.

I have faith. I have lots of faith. But it's dimming.

...Come see me on Wednesday March 3rd talk about how to stay on target at the Ragan Media Relations event in Con Ed's offices. Should be electric. Email me for an invite: richard@RLMpr.com

Twitter @laermer

Arrington throws down the gauntlet

2010-02-27T21:06:00.003-05:00

We take a couple of weeks off and look what happens.

Our pot stirring friends at MediaBistro pointed us to Michael Arrington's latest pitch fit. Don't get us wrong, we love TechCrunch almost as much as we love Cap'n Crunch. But we take umbrage at Michael's recent statement:

"There's no shaming this industry [PR] into normal human behavior."

Michael, we're trying. And, if you asked around, I think you could argue we're making progress.

But Arrington leveling his statement at the entire public relations industry? Let's be realistic, Michael works with PR people. But none of the PR folks he works with would ever wind up on the Bad Pitch Blog as anything other than a guest post or a good pitch.

Well this is what we get for falling behind on our Bad Pitch homework.

My hero is a Warrior King! uploaded by Hadassah28

Batter Up: The Bad Pitch From HR!

2010-02-03T19:13:00.008-05:00

We all know that PR folk are not the only ones who send bad pitches! As we are aware, our HR colleagues pitch all day, every day. When they recruit, what are they doing: they're pitching. When they announce inevitably negative changes to benefits packages, that's really a pitch. You get the idea.

Late last year, a zealous HR pro (her title is a misnomer: Manager of Talent Development) sent an email to a former employee at my agency, RLM. Never mind that he’d been gone for months and is no longer listed on our site — we forgave her idiocy. But she also phoned, sounding anxious to speak with this individual.

So I decided to write back to her and let her know that her pursueee is no longer here, and we wished him well, yada yada, but that she had to leave us alone. The email (thanks to technology) was sent from his box to hers. Imagine my amazement when this was the response received:

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.

Subject: RE: Networking
Sent: 10/13/2006 6:42 PM

The following recipient(s) could not be reached:

LASTNAME, Mary on 10/13/2009 6:42 PM

You do not have permission to send to this recipient. For assistance, contact your system administrator.
*******

So let's all have a laugh at Mary's expense. And gees...it’s a good thing Mary doesn’t work in PR. Can you imagine: You pitch aggressively by email and the coveted reporter finally responds…only to find he’s been--what's that you say?--blocked!!

We are so sophisticated so that would never happen. But I bet it occurs all the time in PR; we just don't know it. Have you spoken to your I.T. department lately?

Twitter @laermer

Arrogant Brands & Saying No to the Media

2010-02-01T23:31:00.013-05:00

"You're so vain. You probably think this post is about you."

PR Newser points out that Apple only let one reporter, Walt Mossberg, touch the robes of Steve Jobs so that he might be healed. It reinforces some of the opinions I’ve been tweeting about Apple. Let’s face it – they’re an arrogant brand.

The Bad Pitch Blog was contacted by an anonymous source who is calling out another arrogant brand – Ralph Lauren.

Based on the way Ralph Lauren’s PR peeps are handling media relations, it looks like they could use an ego check.

--
Subject: Ralph Lauren Fall 2010 Fashion Show
From: "PRL-FashionShow"
To: More than 50 members of the fourth estate
Date: Mon, February 01, 2010 6:11 pm

Hello,

Thank you for your interest in attending the Ralph Lauren Collection Fall 2010 Fashion show.

At this time, we are currently at full capacity and are unable to accommodate your request. We look forward to working forward with you in the future.

Sincerely,
The Ralph Lauren Press team
--

OK, the text on this one is short, sweet and to the point. But did they have to cc everyone? Why not bcc them? It feels like the email equivalent of quickly ushering these 50+ folks to the corner of the room to meet Mohammed, Jagdish, Sidney and Clayton. ”Grab a seat and make yourselves at home.”

PR Newser, once again, helps us point out that perhaps fashion PR is going to Kell in a hand basket.

Just Say No
We’re not saying you should always say yes to the press (or to the dress for that matter). Richard and I know of one very smart PR person that probably says no to the media than he says yes. But when he does say yes on behalf of his employer - a major brand you all know – copious amounts of national coverage ensue.

My point is that there are ways to say no. The above examples from Apple and Ralph Lauren land in the how not to pile.

The Media Relations Paradox
If you spend time and money establishing a channel of communication with a member of the media, you need to be there for them during good and bad news to keep that channel open. You can't dodge a reporter's calls and emails after your company just released some really bad news and then expect the same reporter to drop everything the next time you have good news.

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s James Pilcher and I discussed this during a recent point/counterpoint discussion (see slide 15).

If we're earning our keep, we’re being strategic about our media relations efforts. It takes more than an all-out publicity blitz to get results for your client. The better you get at media relations, the more often you’ll likely have to decline media opportunities. That’s fine. There are plenty of nice, honest ways to say no. Just remember there’s a difference between saying no and saying bite me.

Bite that Apple Steve Jobs Desktop uploaded by Sigalakos

Kevin Dugan

Richard Laermer

Bad Pitch Blog

Slick’s Twitter Pitch Fit

2010-01-31T13:53:00.002-05:00

Slick’s Twitter Pitch Fit
This is the first pitch wherein I can out the author because they pitched me on Twitter in plain, permalinked view of the world.

This bad pitch shows a clear lack of understanding of Twitter. As we approach Valentine’s Day, I do not have a heart on for this pitch from @twsprfirm. Its only accomplishment is finding how to suck in less than 140 characters.

@NABJ @royaletee @prblog Check out The #UnAgency Approach from Atlanta Based Agency ~ Press Release: http://twitter.com/twsprfirm/status/7647442425" - TWS The UnAgency (@twsprfirm)

How do I hate thee? Let me post the ways.

Mass = No Class
On first view, I have no clue who @NABJ or @royaltee are. This confirms the obvious -- it’s a mass pitch. And using Twitter as a completely impersonal broadcast mechanism is short-sighted.

UnAgency = UnCool
The clear self-importance of this firm is enough to put me off. And telling someone you’re an unagency is like telling someone that you’re cool. If you have to tell someone? It’s probably not true.

Participate = Pitch
If TWS’ claims were legit, they’d follow the Twitter Rule of Thirds.

1) Push Value Links: You consume media in some capacity every day. When you see something of interest, push it out on Twitter. How often have you benefitted from someone else
doing the same?

2) Talk WITH People: Twitter is for conversation. If all you’re doing is talking TO people? It’s like picking up the phone and not letting the other person get in a word edgewise. They will tune you out.

3) Self-Promote: Twitter is fine for self-promotion – even the self-promotion that @twsprfirm is trying to accomplish here. But if it's your first interaction with someone on Twitter...or this is all they do on Twitter? It’s all noise.

Following the above guidelines when using Twitter means you’re participating vs. pitching someone.

Eschew Automation
The pitch reminds me of automated direct messages. Sending an auto DM right after someone follows you is like suggesting you to go to a hotel room on a first date. Slow down there tiger.

Impersonal is intensified when it’s done via social media. So be careful or be prepared to feel the UnLove.

"There Be No Vapor": A Lesson In Good Pitch Practice

2010-01-28T09:56:00.006-05:00

Last week I was quoted in a major (so to speak) publication saying that most corporations put out vapor like it's flowing water. The question reached my messy desk: What is and what isn’t vaporous today?

Let’s review the facts: There are only so many reporters 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 comm and ever-shrinking inner circles, a PR person who cries wolf with a few off-mark pitches is blackballed in a real hurry.

There’s nothing the media dislikes more than vapor (a non-story), so don’t pitch it. Click over to Business Wire (http://www.businesswire.com/) 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 “InterSlice Tech.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 Ken Li, our favorite well-known gadgetry journalist, 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 iPad shake in its boots, Ken 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 darn 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, bloggers or loud-colored tattoo artists may not bite. Everyone at the firm scratches their heads and wonders why. But reporter types and analysts are glazed over from the hundreds of newsless missives shot through that PR cannon. And they are too familiar with firms that cry wolf.

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

Any questions? As Gary Hart once mischievously said: Bring 'em on...

Twitter @laermer or @badpitch

Five Stories About The Media!

2010-01-27T10:38:00.010-05:00

Hello, participants in this experiment. You are reading the premier of a regular Bad Pitch Blog post, “Five Stories About The Media!” I hope you enjoy it and know it’s impossible not to.

De-Hyping David "@carr2n" Carr

In October 2001 I read something in the New York Times that made me think hype was Apple’s only bet—and maybe the brand new “iPod portable music player,” as the Mac device was then known, might not be as substantial as its over-the-top pre-release made it to be. I wrote my thoughts down and it crept into the Times on 11/1/01:

“Hype is of no value unless it's got some substance. Apple may have done a great job explaining exciting products in the past, but the truth is that hype is at an all-time high, so nothing is worthy of secretive media treatment.

My advice: remember that cynicism beats all expectations. The only way to make sure your New Thing gets 'good ink' is to share it with reporters ahead of time. Oh, and make the best product you can because technology doesn't wow 'em like it used to.”

Which brings me to the NYT this week and its David Carr column (“Conjuring Up the Latest Buzz, Without a Word”), which was one long statement about hype—written with a hypester’s eye and a frothing need to disclose the columnist’s adoration for the new tablet machine coming out from those fancy folks from Apple. (Well, I stopped reading Carr regularly a while ago since it’s usually about Google, Apple, Microsoft and Yahoo!, and I can find those opinions on blogs minute by minute.) This column caught me because he decided to jump on the hype bandwagon and I saw a quote jump out at me that has a great lesson for us all:

In the piece, the word magic was conjured up so many times that my eyes never stopped rolling. Everyone quoted says precisely what Carr directs them to: Apple “makes things rather than talks about” them. Never does a beta. Yet Apple product users without stars in their eyes know that a first generation of anything is a beta test that we all take part in. To say that Apple is releasing products in a cloud of openness … is not responsible journalism, even for an opinion creator.

The beta testing of objects is ill-advised these days. You are laughed at heartily if your company claims the test is only for a handful. (It’s even funnier to keep things in phony beta for five years like Googlers!) The idea is to open up everything—“Here we are!”—and make users a part of the progress. That’s what smart PR people do with their company products—kicking and screaming included.

I have no idea what Mac-o-file Steve Levy of Wired.com was smoking when he told Carr that Apple is more disciplined than all other tech firms: “Other companies put things in beta…let people try it out and then bring it out…With Apple, they say nothing, build the suspense and then say: ‘Here it is. You may discuss.’ Other companies don’t have … the heart to do that.”

Say what? This tablet computer isn’t a beta? While it may be on sale any minute, it’ll then be reviewed to death by bloggers and big mouths and by the end of next month all critiques will be taken into consideration. iTablet 2.0 will hardly be recognizable. Let’s call that a “paid beta!”

Want to know what other companies don’t have the heart to do? Not show Steve Levy or David Carr before the product is officially launched! (You can bet both have seen today’s iTablet in one form or another.) Most CEO and PR types are fearful that both will get mad and say they hate it in print. That’s what I call an ego-buster.

Ryan Is Alive & Well

Is this a coincidence or has Hollywood collided with real life? Watching the Globes two Sundays back I noticed that the name of the actual guy who wrote the winning song for Crazy Hearts—Ryan Bingham –is the exact name as the character Clooney plays in Up In the Air. Now, I know Hollywood works from a single kitchen—but this is ridiculous. Or eerie. Or maybe Clooney does have his hands in EVERYTHING. That scares me.

The H’s Have It

A shout out to HBO.com and HelpAReporter.com, two sites needing overhauls that just this past week did so. HBO.com was first launched by my firm RLM in 1998 (!) where we helped design the now infamous Sopranos mini-site, comprising of a dictionary for words like Bada-Bing and gumar … which was cursed in the media by Italian-Americans way before Jersey Shore was (literally) born. Unlike the Shore, however, HBO.com/Sopranos was useful and had longevity.

Alas, back in the go-go ‘90s, HBO was granted no Time Warner money to do a real site and they just got around to de-brochuring it. Gorgeous. Take a good look—you will see it’s not mere listings for once. As for HARO, they needed an uplifting, less homey destination (some of you know RLM did PR for them last year) and now it’s in fine shape, albeit a little wordy. And to both H’s, I say, “We know you when” – and will know you then!

Game On, Boys!

Are you as tired of hearing about the new DC insider’s book Game Change as I am? Thought you’d say you were. I flipped through most of it at an airport Borders (does anyone work there?), and what cracked me up about its incessant “ah ha!” feel was that I, a National Enquirer reader had already deduced most of the scoops inside. I’m starting to think the Enquirer—and for the record, I read anything I can scoop up from those thinning racks—deserves a Pulitzer Prize for having the cojones to pursue "John Edwards: Sleazebag" when not even I took it seriously.

The authors of Game Change have been everywhere, at every turn, but just once I’d like to see them tilt their heads toward the Enquirer for giving them those leads. (The famous line about Mrs. Edwards refusing to believe her husband is “a monster” came from NE.) But they won’t—because it’s a supermarket rag known for some fabricated stories (“a friend said …”).

You know, if you think about it, Game Change’s HarperCollins and the National Enquirer’s American Media Inc. have a great deal in common:

Both are owned by unstoppable egotists who seek scoops inside every garbage can. Both spend a lot of cash reminding people of that first sentence. Both were targets of terrorists (check Wikipedia). And both are corporations that rehash so much inconsequential, by-the-byway news that I wonder if publishing cares more about Tori’s motherhood tripe than anything real anyway!

Brazen Thought

Last year—the number 9 is one I too want to forget—everyone overused the word “woes” until it finally became meaningless. After all, whose troubles were worse? (See me shrug.) But there’s a word in ‘10 that is used even more incorrectly—and often—in both journalism and advertising that it must be dropped. It’s “brazen.” Suddenly every move anyone makes is considered a brazen one. But I don’t see anyone doing anything except tentatively and so with that I brazenly ask every single person to shut the hell up about what’s considered gutsy and unbelievable.

That’s all I got. Watch for the next column. Yes, those are real sheep.

-Richard Laermer

[Tweet @laermer @badpitch @prblog and anyone else who needs it.]

Boilerplating the "About" Copy

2010-01-25T23:27:00.004-05:00

From the "how to end on a lame note department," we bring you the boilerplate. We first wrote about this infinitesimal but iconic news release ending back in 2006.

Bill Sledzik, Associate Professor at Kent State University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, reminded us of the need to revisit this old gem. We complied because Bill practices what he teaches and he buttered us up by noting: "Bad Pitch is a primary read in our Media Relations class. Message: You don’t wanna wind up here!"

"What about a focus on the very worst in news release boilerplate? What triggered this was something sent to me by a former student. This is a classic, and I plan to feature it in my Media Relations & Publicity class. Not sure I’ve ever seen one this bad."

We changed the names of the innocent. Edits are in ALL CAPS.
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About ACME: ACME offers some of the most innovative, highly advanced and superior quality products on the market today.

ACME is developing innovative products every day. We focus on taking an idea and engineering it into an innovative product design. We will manufacture a prototype and test it across many demographics and target markets. ACME patents all the products we produce with knowledgeable patent attorneys. We send the final prototype overseas for cost effective manufacturing. We also implement sales and marketing to ensure the products reach their target marketplace. We specialize in taking a creative idea, and turning it into an innovative product.

All ACME products are produced under strict ISO 9001 guidelines. ACME has recently moved. The company’s new address is STREET, SUITE, CITY, STATE, ZIP.

Call NUMBER or visit URL.
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Bill wasn't kidding. This one sucks enough to have a class study its level of suckness. Especially when you consider that boilerplates are arguably useless. From our original article on the topic, entitled Much Ado About Nothing:

The Bulldog Reporter defines boilerplate as “text that is reused, as at the end of a news release or in a legal document. The fascinating origin of the word is discussed in "The Skinny" book.”

Legal document? That alone should raise a red flag.

The boilerplate means well. It’s provided as background information, a few sentences to quickly define the main subject of the release.

As news releases are written in inverted pyramid style, the boilerplate is always placed at the end. No one is reading your boilerplate, unless you’re Apple Computer perhaps.

What should be the most general, least important information tends to be the most important based on how much time is spent on this throw away copy. The boilerplate tends to look less like a concise description and more like a piece of copy that emerged from a gauntlet of approvals by people focused more on specific words than overall meaning.

So what’s the magic formula for boilerplates? No magic, just brevity. Describe your company in one or two sentences and throw in its URL for more information. Done.

What's your take on this tiny detail that causes so much agita?