Monday, March 29, 2010

Green Thoughts

Clients beware...tis the season for rip-offs


It’s that time of year again when every company, organization, and individual suddenly becoming incredibly environmentally conscious. When we all clamor to outdo each other to openly express the shrinking size of our carbon footprint…as well as the use of little understood scientific cliché's like “carbon footprint” and “global warming.”  When ironically more trees are sacrificed to the press release gods than any time except for financial earnings announcements…or mea culpa’s for stupid decisions or the cover up of same.

It’s also the time when the media…national and local…develop their own environmental consciousness through increased editorial coverage of this annual rite. Unfortunately it’s also the time when various rip-off artists disguised as PR professionals decide to prey upon these same companies with “special limited time offers” and promises of inclusion in their “Earth Day Campaigns” for a sizable fee, of course.  Campaigns they state, that will reach the likes of “Good Morning America, Today Show, New York Times, Elle.com…as well as Ellen DeGeneres, and Martha Stewart and Extra TV.”  What of course isn’t stated (other than “your company or product line will be included on one release with other eco-friendly, but non-competing products”) is any guarantee that any of these outlets will even bother to pick out or care about this press release amongst the thousands they are about to receive in the name of being “eco-friendly.”  Better to use the funds…usually anywhere from $500 to $5,000…to make a contribution to any number of legitimate environmental organizations, then write it off on your taxes and feel privately good about the act.

But if you’ve got a genuine story about impacting the environment in a positive manner, have a legitimate PR firm take it to specific media outlets that will determine if it’s newsworthy…and hopefully use it. The media is inundated this time of year with “green pitches”…most of which come from over-hyped print and electronic press releases extolling their green side. An individual would have a greater chance of winning the lottery than a company would of gaining valued media recognition through a “shared campaign” con.





There is no short-cut, nor cut rate way to media coverage, but you just might actually save a tree this Earth Day…and get some coverage with the right decision.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Virtues and Perils of Virtuality

Some thoughts from the virtual world...

Ok, I recognize that “virtuality” does not exist in Webster’s dictionary, but it does have a nice way of rolling off the tongue, and seems so descriptive of the modern work environment. We’ve been practicing it at my PR firm (INK inc.) for the last thirteen years without really aptly describing it. We’ve described ourselves as a “virtual agency, but with a brick and mortar headquarters.” Or more aptly as saying, “most of our people work from home offices around the world.” Cool...very “global”...almost like Burson-Marsteller or Edelman, except without the pomposity and burdensome overhead. And most importantly for our clients, we learned long ago that a fancy high-rise office has nothing to do with the effectiveness of a media pitch...only the news value of the pitch itself determines this.

Virtuality not only has been the infrastructure of my company but also is apparently the wave of the future. The trend had clearly started prior to this current recession, but with the severe cuts in budgets, overhead, and consolidation of job responsibilities since 2008, virtuality almost has become the goal of many organizations as they reorganize to survive. Undoubtedly, the virtual office structure can and should save a bundle in overhead expense by eliminating the need to “house” employees in a leased building space with the attendant utilities like telephone, electricity, and heating and cooling costs thrown in. It saves the employees the costs of commuting in whatever manner, and possibly even clothing. And importantly, it saves the psyche from much of the stress of family separation and sometimes office politics as well as an occasional overbearing boss.

All of that said, virtuality has a few shortcomings as well. No communal water cooler or office coffee room to gather and share morning insights or a laugh or two.
Thus, making it difficult to catch up on TV shows or sporting events from the night before, or the latest on internal gossip. No external discipline setting the rules for workplace behavior or attire (if at all)…and no company storeroom to snitch some pilot pens or a work pad or two. And of course, there’s the conference calls that seem to be constantly scheduled just to keep that newly free and independent employee tethered tightly to home base. Conference calls, teleconferences, and now even more invasive…the webcast calls...all supposedly necessary for collaboration and synergy…require certain rules of etiquette. A recent forum in MyRagan, clarified two of the most important…learn to use the mute button to keep other participants from the extraneous noises of barking dogs, children or mates, and…very important, never initiate your call from the bathroom. Very uncool.

However, given those few exceptions, I’ll settle for virtuality’s lower overheard and increased productivity…just don’t forget to hit the mute button.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Pay-for-Performance PR

Not getting credit when credit is due....

For the sake of full disclosure, I have been a proponent of pay-for-performance PR, or more specifically, paying after-the-fact for media placements, for nearly twenty years now. I believe it is the fairest and most accountable way to charge clients for media outreach. Yes, there are many PR services that are time-intensive and not as easily quantifiable where a fee is appropriate, but media outreach can be easily judged by tangible success and should be charged accordingly. While obviously in the minority in this profession, I continue to believe that fat hourly fees or fat retainers based upon hourly fees are not in the client's best interest. The temptation to abuse this time-honored (pun intended) practice is simply too great for most PR firms, global or local boutique, to avoid. If exaggeration doesn't take place in the original cumulative estimate, it certainly occurs at the bottom end on the weekly time sheet.

However sometimes a weakness can show itself in this compensation model...no, not to the client...but to the practicing PR agency. The soft spot lies not within the professional effort nor within how or how much a placement might be charged, but within the media outreach process itself. Like the proverbial needle in a haystack, landing a great story for a client, even with the established contacts and resources we all share, is more often than not a series of trial and errors, of contacts and hand-offs, of starts and stops, of steps and missteps, ...and, of luck. Then finally after all this activity and effort that may consume a few days to several months, a commitment is made, an interview is conducted, and a story appears...or maybe not. Under a traditional retainer or hourly fee model, the PR agency is compensated regardless. "Good job, Brownie, you gave it the old college try....here's a check anyway." Under the pay-for-performance model that story must actually appear before a check is issued.

But every so often, another weakness of the model shows itself when three-fourths of the way through the process, rather than a commitment being made and an interview being set up, the reporter or producer decides to shelve it or sit on it or becomes distracted...and nothing, silence. Until one day, something extraneous in the way of breaking industry news kick starts that producer or reporter into action...and he goes straight to the client for comment...and a story utilizing much of the original background effort results. If there is not sufficient documentation to demonstrate the winding circuitous route the agency took to find that proverbial needle, and the client so chooses to believe that it simply revealed itself miraculously with a phone call, a check will not be forthcoming.

Fair to the PR firm, not really...but part of this real recessionary world, yes. Worth the trade-off of short-term revenue for a sense of self-respect and knowing it will balance out in the end, maybe. I've never been a believer in that cliché that the client is always right, but I am a believer that every client treated fairly will usually reciprocate. And, it's still a better option than trying to get paid against a bunch of phony time sheets.