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Is The Press Release Dead?
The lowly press release has been used, it seems, since biblical times. In some form or another, we are sure that Moses "hung a release" on the Ten Commandments. Those stone tablets were simply too heavy to carry around.
To be sure, the press release is not dead, though it has evolved. Every marketer and in-house press team should have a better understanding of its limits and, in fact, the liabilities of its uses.
Willard Marketing Monthly has five tips to help companies deal with their public relations agencies:
Don't over-estimate the value of the press release. It is simply a guide, one that should have useful information for the reporter, and include electronic links to more information. By itself, it won't garner headlines, or sell product or services.
Don't insist that your agency include wooden quotes by the company's CEO such as "I am proud we were able to…." Also, don't romance the product with over-the-top words and phrases like groundbreaking, unique, truly historic - or any number of other terms that are patently false.
Don't ever suggest that your agency turn a press release into a feature story. Feature stories are plotted and pitched. No self-respecting editor would reprint a feature story release.
Give your agency latitude as to where to pitch a story. Never insist that a release be spammed to hundreds of outlets when your information could best be pitched to a few quality publications. Yes, there is such a thing as press release spam.
Think of the press release as simply an advisory notice. Don't expect it to do heavy lifting beyond who, what, when, where, why and how
Tough Love with The Sagacious Swami of SpinAmong Ukrainian’s major politicians, who would you say is the biggest PR disaster since independence?
-Political reporter
First, there is a need for a quality, English-language marketing magazine. Secondly, we need to reach out to a larger contributor base to gain more diversified opinions. Thirdly, we need to define the purpose of the magazine more clearly.
The advent of Internet web logs, or blogs, has given thousands of people the opportunity to share their views with the world. Some bloggers find regular and loyal audiences, while most do not. Those that have attracted readers are succeeding because they offer more than opinion alone; they have relevant knowledge and timely information to share as well.The Death of Newspapers
The important word in newspaper is not "paper" but "news", and the sooner publishers realize this, the sooner the angst over a dying industry can be brought to an end.
The Swami was asked the other day by the media if it were true he didn't much care for cuddly dogs, cute children, purring kittens or Bono, the saintly pop and rock singer. His reply was a quick, "Yeah, sure, I like pit bulls."
When I was working my way through university as a deckhand, my shipmates called me Loophole - partly to differentiate me from my father, who they called Louie, and partly as a term of affection and respect.How to be a Great Copywriter
Copy is king.This is the case even in a visual world, where the public grazes through thousands of ads each day, where messages flicker across the TV screen and dangle from or are plastered on every conceivable surface.Four Ways to Avoid Brand Implosion
But Maclaren, a privately held British company that makes children's strollers, attempted to trump common sense with what it obviously hoped was good business sense.The Zombie Generation?
Guess what, mommies and papas? Little Igor is not - repeat not - becoming a social zombie by spending so much time on the computer.
Sergey Detyuk was promoted to information technology director at DTEK, a leading Ukrainian power company controlled by Rinat Akhmetov.
For the average small business owner, marketing research is a personal matter. They are less likely to engage research firms or marketing consultants to conduct opinion polls and focus groups than they are to merely engageThe Great Slogan Contest
You're not going to remember that slogan. It was thought up by a clever ad person in 1929, but our publisher-who insists he wasn't around at that time-says it was the best positioning statement ever for Coca-Cola.
