PR Spam & Campaign 'An Inconvenient PR Truth'

Background on the Issue

The Internet is affecting Public Relations in both positive and negative way. PR professionals (PROs) can research, communicate, listen, monitor and engage with their key stakeholders in much faster, therefore more convenient way. There are arguably many benefits of using the Internet but this brief is devoted to one of the negative aspects of the new PR practice: use of emails to send out irrelevant and often untargeted press releases and pitches to long lists of journalists, without considering the consequences. PROs have been spamming the opinion formers (journalists, bloggers and other non-traditional journalists) this way, and therefore the PR Industry is facing damage to its reputation and ability to achieve the influence it desires.

Recently, key PR industry figures have launched a campaign named ‘An Inconvenient PR Truth’ that aims to cut PR spam and help PROs and journalists work together better. The campaign includes a ‘bill of rights’, which is a list of demands on behalf of journalists and bloggers about how they want to be approached by the PR community. Prior to the launch of the campaign, several blog posts were published revealing the names and email addresses of PROs who had been spamming a particular journalist or blogger. This can be seen as a controversial step but it reinforced the debate about inappropriate targeting. The campaign was launched on the 28^th January 2010 by Realwire CEO Adam Parker and is backed by Borkowski founder Mark Borkowski, Speed Communications MD Stephen Waddington and Umpf founder Adrian Johnson.[i] Since its launch, the numbers of supporters, such as the 3WPR founder Stephen Davies, have increased and even the CIPR published a statement of support.

The research that contributed to the launch of the campaign has found that “78 percent of press release emails are received by recipients to whom they are irrelevant and more than half (55 per  cent) of recipients have taken action to block a sender of news.”[ii] This is shocking and potentially damaging to the image and reputation of the PR Industry.

 

The Importance of this Issue to the PR Industry

PR has gradually gained respect as one of the most cost effective and impactful marketing tools that are available to any organisation. The fact that some PR professionals have been spamming their key target audience – the media – may have a negative effect on the reputation and image of the PR industry. The media is central to PR activity. PR is about building relationships and should aim to achieve ‘balanced dialogue’ and ‘mutual understanding’ by the use of open two-way symmetric communication between PROs and the media (Grunig & Hunt, 1984). “Truly effective press relations starts with effective targeting” (Theaker, et.al., 2005). In order to establish and maintain good working relationships with the journalists, and therefore gain valuable media coverage, the PR “messages have to be tailored to the wide variety of media available, being clear about the target audience” (Theaker,et.al.,2005:59). There is a potential threat that if PR professionals don’t change their habits of sending out irrelevant and untargeted press releases and pitches, their key target audience may block their incoming communication, and as a result of this the PR message will not be received and published. PROs shouldn’t focus on”...filling up [journalists’] e-mail inboxes with unwanted material, but instead [provide] specifically targeted and relevant material” Theaker, et.al., (2005: 37). This practice will improve their relationships with the journalists and positively affect their success rate.

Time schedule

Week 1 (01/032010 – 07/03/2010)

Conduct initial research: “An Inconvenient PR Truth” campaign, media coverage (focus on the media side and PR side separately). Is that a PR stunt? Create a list of key journalists & PROs for a survey.

Week 2 (08/03/2010 – 14/03/2010)

Prepare two short surveys (media & PROs) based on the previous findings and seed them on LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Send them directly to the key PR Practitioners and the key journalists.

Week 3 (15/03/2010 – 21/03/2010)

Conduct research on potential reasons behind PR spam and what actions have been undertaken to stop this bad practice (CIPR and other educational bodies). Who or what is to blame? E.g. lack of skills and education, laziness of PR professionals, technology (Internet), payment by results oriented pay structures (problems with measurement and educating clients), etc.

Week 4 (22/03/2010 – 28/03/2010)

Evaluate and analyse the outcomes of the surveys. Look for the real reasons behind sending out untargeted press releases and pitches, and what steps have been undertaken on the media side to stop this bad practice. Do the journalists and bloggers really mind?

Week 5 & 6 (29/03/2010 – 11/04/2010) EASTER BREAK

Start putting the information together & suggest possible solutions to achieve two-way symmetric PR.

Week 7 (12/04/2010 – 18/04/2010)

Summarize the data and create first draft of the reports and presentation.

Week 8 (19/04/2010 – 25/04/2010)

Create presentation – select the key information and decide on the correct structure.

Week 9 (26/04/2010 – 02/05/2010) GROUP PRESENTATION DUE

Practice presentation presentational skills as a group.

Week 10 (03/05/2010 – 07/05/2010) REPORT DUE

Edit the report (individually) – Introduction, Conclusion, Executive Summary, Appendix, etc.

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[i] http://www.prweek.com/news/bulletin/UKDaily/article/980491/?DCMP=EMC-UKDaily

[ii] http://inconvenientprtruth.com/research/

Assessment Day at Diffusion PR

OMG! I’ve been shortlisted for a PR Grads Scheme at Diffusion PR! Yey! How exciting! After hours spent on filling in Grad Scheme applications and then days/weeks of waiting, I finally received an email saying:

“I am delighted to let you know that you have been short-listed, and are therefore invited to our Graduate Assessment Day at our central London office on Saturday 27 February 2010.”

Triple hurray!

Ok, what now? I was shaking for the rest of the day trying to deal with the news and also trying to figure out how to get ready. The last thing I wanted was to look like a complete fool. This may sound like an action of a complete control freak, but I started creating this document on PR, news, PR disasters and Social Media. I know everything by heart but once my nerves start working their way, I can easily forget my own name. Don’t laugh it’s a true. Unfortunately... (I think I could share the document with you – let me know what you think and if you are interested.)

I was so anxious on my way down to the office. The situation of tube lines closures didn’t help at all. What I found quite ‘funny’ was that the moment I arrived ... the anxiety was gone. All the fellow candidates were nice people and even though we were ‘competitors’ of some degree, the atmosphere in the office was great.

The day started with a short presentation about Diffusion PR as a company and the benefits of joining as a PR Grad. I think that the hidden reason behind this initial step was to motivate us. The “I am delighted to let you know” email didn’t enclose much information about what was going to happen so we were all quietly waiting for the big news. We found out very soon – it was a team work on a PR campaign creation and a presentation.

I was assigned to the Hackney team (team names based on London Boroughs – quite funny but great idea). It was interesting to find out that my team consisted of 6 girls. I think that once there is ‘a girl-only team’ the productivity can be either high, if we all work toward the same goal, or quite off-putting, if some girls become more pushy and competitive. Luckily, our team was great. Based on the Belbin’s Team Role assessment, we had all the key roles covered: the implementer, plant, coordinator, etc. I think that we have all delivered a fantastic piece of work, even though we didn’t know each other prior to the assessment day.

Once the assessment was over we were invited for drinks to Diffusion’s favourite bar. Oh God, I really needed a beer or two! The task of creating a PR campaign was both engaging and challenging in the same time and made my brain works really fast.

Feelings about the day? It was great! I definitely benefited from being put into a situation of working with other students on the campaign. It wasn’t entirely new experience for me but the speed of decision making and moving forward was really shocking and made me see what I was capable of.

Feelings about my chances to be hired? Positive but.... There were so many talented people so the team at Diffusion PR may possibly have it very hard to pick the top 8 candidates for the next stage.

The Web Behaviour Test

I just love this. There are 8 different animals: Bear, Elephant, Fox, Hedgehog, Leopard, Elk, Octopus and Ostrich

These are either:

- social or solitary

- fast-moving or slow-moving

- adaptable or specialised

I turned out to be a Web Elephant.

©BBC

'Slow and steady sometimes wins the race'

Hurray! PR girl started using SlideShare.net...it was about time.

BP Corporate Strategy Brief by Kat4PR

I finally found the time to upload my BR Corporate Strategy PR Brief presentation on SlideShare.net! Yey! I am really excited about it!It is an example of the way I work I suppose – I am a perfectionist who focuses on details and spends lots of time doing research.

The presentation has unexpectedly improved my personal SEO too, which is just a cherry on the cake. I was encouraged to upload more of my work by some of my Twitter followers - BTW thank you all for you support. I intend to do exactly that ;)

 

And here is the link to the presentation again. Let me please know what you think! I appreciate any feedback.

The incredible rise of Facebook

The world's favourite social network Facebook turns six. There certainly is a reason of two to celebrate.

Mark Zukcerberg launched an experimental little website out of his student room at Harvard University. Today, he is the world’s youngest (he is just 25 years old) self-made billionaire. 

What started as a small Harvard only social network soon expanded to include other colleges and secondary schools in the US and then from across the world. There are over 350 million active users today. This makes Facebook the most popular social networking site in the world.

Facebook has turned out to be a hugely successful idea. The Dragons would be more than happy to invest their money if Mark Zukcerberg came to the Dragons’ Den to pitch for money.

The question is: Can Facebook retain its position as the world's ‘darling’ social network?

Social networking has changed our culture and the way we communicate. We tend to TALK to our friends by updating the: “What’s on your mind?” tab. We also use status to say that we are engaged, messages to say Hi!, wall posts to share the YouTube video we like, and then we send out party invites, share and tag photos so all our friends know who is who. We join groups, become fans of our favourite brand, look for jobs and sell old books via marketplace. We do all the things we would do anyway just in a perhaps more interesting digital way. 

Now, Facebook is due to introduce a full featured webmail product. How great is that? I love my Gmail but having it incorporated into my Facebook profile would save me so much time.

The benefits of new apps and features just keep on coming so let’s see what’s next.

Third year – busy busy busy!

Third year in a PR course is always tough. It is no longer only about delivering assignments, chasing deadlines and sitting exams. The new addition to the busy life of soon-to-be-graduates is the hunt for the dream job. Most of us decide to focus on the PR Grad Scheme applications and some start using Twitter and blogging to enhance their ‘digital footprint’ and ‘PR themselves’... there is a lot to do to succeed!!

In November, I started working on a 2010 Grad PR Scheme list. I found it essential to kick off the whole process of applying EARLY because you never know how busy you are going to be after Christmas.

The first Grad Scheme I applied for was the WPP Marketing Fellowship. I didn’t get in but not because I wasn’t good enough. Yes it was a bit upsetting to be rejected but I always wanted to work in PR so Marketing Fellowship wouldn’t give me what I wanted anyway. The WPP Marketing Fellowship comprises of three one-year rotations through WPP companies – PR, Marketing, Research, etc. Yes I’d have gained a broad experience during the Scheme but what for?

After the initial set back, I had to RECONSIDER my aspirations, desires and preferences. It would be a massive waste of time applying for something I wasn’t into. So since then, I have applied only for PR Schemes that I found interesting and felt that they were ‘right’ for me.

I have discovered a hidden passion for the digital world so started looking at agencies offering jobs/schemes in Digital PR, Consumer Technology, and similar. I’ve applied for quite a few and I am now eagerly awaiting THE phone call.

Recently, I’ve been thinking of the benefits of being in a PR Grad Scheme: team building, training, support, etc. These key aspects are highly desirable by most of the students who need some initial introduction. It is quite interesting to see recent graduates counting only on their social media presence hoping that it will do the trick and get them the dream job in PR.

Don’t get me wrong I’ve been focusing on my ‘digital footprint’ too but still made the time to apply for PR Grad Schemes. Some students only ‘PR themselves and their communication skills’ to the agencies via Twitter & Blog, etc. Is it a good strategy? - Certainly yes. I managed to get my PR Internship this way. But is it enough?

 

Digital Footprint

©canadianmarketingblog.com

To conclude, any soon-to-be-graduate has to do his/hers best to enhance the ‘digital footprint’ they have, select and apply for the appropriate PR Grad Schemes that fits their aspirations and desires, and also finish the University in a decent way – with good marks. It is tough! I am in this process right now and sometimes I had to prioritise what was more important to do – Uni or Applications.

But it is totally worth it!

Reflection on the PR Strategy Module

The two key pieces of my coursework have just been handed in. Yey! I’ve been waiting to say this for a very long time. I must say that the third and last year at Uni is really the hardest. I hope that my hard work on both of the assignments will pay off. If not, I would be really upset.

Strategic PR Plan for Soil Association

This assignment was for the PR Strategy module let by Gareth Thompson. He is a very tough lecturer. You can even apply the Marmite’s slogan here: ‘You either love him or hate him’.

Do you remember the much hated old physic teacher from your high school or college, who considered his/hers subject as the most important in the whole world even though you were more into arts, alnguages and psychology?? I had a really tough physic teacher when at college. I just hated the subject but had to do it as it was compulsory for us all. I felt like I was in a personal fight with her every time. She used to give me ‘the grin’ when she said, ‘Young lady, another F for you’.

Oh dear, these memories are coming back to me now. She made me work so hard. I remember my last exam with her right before graduation from college. (Even though I picked completely different subjects to graduate from, I still had to pass an exam with her – otherwise I wouldn’t be allowed to sit my finals) She gave me some 4-5 questions (one of them on the composition of an atom (!!!!!) and the historical evolution of the opinions on how the atom looked like – this dates back to the Stone Age!!!!) And I answered them all correctly. I was so relieved! And what more, she smiled at me and waved me good bye and good luck in life! Can you believe this?

Gareth made us all work very hard. His expectations always seemed to be much higher than those of other lecturers. I already admitted that I am passionate about PR, so going the extra mile didn’t cause me any problems but I know students who just couldn’t be bothered and dropped the module once they could.

The module was quite well designed. First we worked in groups to deliver a “Brief to a PR consultancy” – my group picked BP. And then we were asked to become a PR consultant and respond to the Brief – individually. I did the Soil Association. Previews can be found in my PR portfolio.