Apple’s new Get a Mac ad: “PR Lady”
By Jill Pyle
David Jones just pointed me to one of Apple’s latest Get a Mac ads, “PR Lady.” Linda is right, PR really does get a bad rap.
PR’s bad rap
By Linda Forrest
PR gets a bad rap. Why? Because of bad pitches, misdirected or poorly written announcements being spammed en masse to writers and editors, hyperbolic claims of world-altering developments by companies that lack self-awareness or an understanding of what the media really needs. Experiences like these have soured some decision makers’ thoughts on media relations. Those in our industry who don’t take a best-practices approach have earned this reputation for the rest of us and it can be a challenge for us to have to communicate that we’re different.
That said, we are constantly surprised that our approach is seen as novel, when we feel it is the only effective way to engage with the media based on a process that has been honed over time: An objectives-based program that targets specific results and relies on expert knowledge of what the media need from us in order to derive mutual value from our engagement with them.
We feel that a best practices approach is one that presents information to the media in a definitive, easily understood way that doesn’t include spin or hyperbole. The consistent and sustained effort against the proper targets will deliver the full news value the story deserves. Period. There is no magic bullet, it’s not all about the relationships (Francis will surely address this fiction in a post in the days ahead); it’s just working smart and working hard that gets the results that our clients are looking for.
It’s disheartening to see companies suffering from their PR mistakes or to see the media’s collective eye-roll at the latest outlandish news release that crosses their path. When companies see little or no results from their media relations “programs” – that often consist of nothing more than sending out news releases and not taking an integrated approach – it creates an unfair portrait of the potential of media relations to move their market.
Media relations is not the right tactic for all companies; other marketing activities like advertising or direct mail might make more sense based on your companies’ customers and their buying habits. But it’s such a shame that so many companies are soured on PR because of bad experiences, poor guidance.
