misTweeting an embargo?

Last week I was mildly amused to watch two well known and respected journalists slate a PR story that - thankfully - wasn't mine on Twitter. "New leader in rubbish PR stunt of 08. Firm gets psychologist to "identify" new net deprivation syndrome they call "discomgoogolation" announced ruskin147 (aka Rory Cellen-Jones - BBC). "@ruskin147 oh, is discomg... a Sunday for Monday? No doubt." replied charlesarthur (Guardian)

What I didn't realise was that this same story actually only broke this morning. You can note also that ruskin147 wasn't impressed with this coverage "cannot believe that even Reuters fell for "discomgoogolation". For shame! Only goes to show how smart PR people are…"

Embargoes are never 100 per cent reliable but Twitterers were reading about this news, albeit in brief, five days before it launched. Although 118118, sponsors of the survey, won't be too upset as they've still secured thirty plus pieces of coverage to date, this could have been potentially damaging if the journalists had been discussing a story of financial bearing.

I'm not a great advocate of placing rules and regulations on things like Twitter, which are intended to be informal social networking arenas, but I think it is something PR's need to be taking into account and addressing when pre-selling news to journalists who are active in this sphere.

Call Waiting

I was having a mooch through the blogosphere and visited one of my favourite sites, Bad PR. Tech PR is full of some very lovely journalists and some journalists who are a little easier to annoy and Bad PR never fails to entertain me. One particular blog stood out 'I shall say this only once' regarding leaving voicemails. I was actually horrified by the fact that The Finisher even had cause to write this post. I'm going to put myself out on a limb here and pass on my five golden rules for talking to journos, rules that I go to pains to ensure my colleagues also not only believe in, but follow and enforce in turn.

Rule #1 - No Voicemail - Ever
We may as well start here. Why on earth would you leave a voicemail for a journalist? If they don’t answer you keep trying until they do (but be sensible, don't just punch redial for four hours solidly), try a colleague or email and check if you get a bounce back. If they are on holiday, talk to someone else. The reasons for this are simple; as The Finisher points out, journalists rarely have time to return voicemails, let alone listen to them all and they are extremely unlikely to call you back to say "Why yes, thanks so much for checking, I did receive your email. What with email working as it does and your well honed press list I was a great target for that well structured release."

Rule #2 - Don't ask if they got your release
Leading on from Rule #!1 - you should not be calling simply to ask if someone got your release. You should have the correct contact details in your press list - kept up to date via good relationships with journalists at publications so the targets and email addresses are correct. In fact, I'm a big advocate of pre-selling press releases (although I know this isn't always possible). Pre-selling means you can't ask if a journalist has got your release, as you won't have sent it. You have to pitch the story for what it is - news. And it gives journalists time to get all the information/interviews they need before the story goes live, giving you a chance at better coverage.

Rule #3 - Talk to people
Funny this one - but it does need to happen. PR is all about communication and talking to your colleagues as well as your journalists will help you stay abreast of what publications are and are not interested in, who is on holiday and who is moving jobs. It always surprises me the amount of people who pitch for inclusion in features and suggest articles over email rather than in person. Journalists rarely give feedback over email so if you embark on a conversation it gives you a chance to talk through your ideas/angles and understand why it will or won't work for a journalist/publication. This is key for giving good feedback to your clients in turn, and the only way you can be a truly consultative PR.

Rule #4 - Learn how to say NO
We've all had the client who thinks their product is the most interesting thing since the iPhone and that it should be covered everywhere from the Economist to Sky News. These are the clients who need us most, and the clients the journalists need us to save them from. You should always reality check your clients. Of course they have aspirations for the big papers and broadcast coverage but is this really their target audience? Of course their product is interesting...but for whom? And why? I've worked with PR's who don't say no and it’s only setting yourself up for a fall and creating an unhappy client if you don't offer them your expertise on how to best impact the market. Journalists need stories that they can use. Things their audience is interested in and can relate to. If they say no - it is because you aren't giving them something they can use. This is what we are paid for people.

Rule #5 - Make sure the spokesperson gets it
You've done all the ground work, made the product/service interesting, tied it into current news so it’s timely, sold it into the right journalist at a relevant top publication and lined up the interview. Only one thing stands in the way of your client making it into a news article or into a feature (well aside from an editor but that one is out of our hands) - the spokesperson. It is imperative that spokespeople understand what a journalist needs to create a story that will be printed. If you lay all the ground work and the spokesperson comes on the line and talks about widgets and nuts a bolts when he should be talking about business issues then you need to get your coat. Game over. Give them briefing notes to read in advance, talk to them before the call - tell them in person what it is that needs to be communicated and ensure they are happy with that.

I don’t think any of this is rocket science. It's just about understanding what journalists and publications need to work smoothly and how to ensure this comes from clients.

I feel all self righteous now - I shall polish my halo while I sort out some features for my clients!

eRead This

Over the bank holiday weekend I popped into town to get a book on gambling. I'm off to Vegas in October you see, and I want to be able to try my hand at more than roulette and stand a chance at winning. There have been a couple of opportunities in my tech PR career where Las Vegas was a press tour destination but while I've sent many willing journalists on their way, I've never managed to tag along. Anyway, as I was paying for my purchase in Borders, Brit's Guide to Las Vegas 2008-2009 I noticed a sign behind the counter announcing time to launch for the Sony eReader in store - 12 days and counting (as of Sunday).

This made me curious. I enjoy my gadgets - I'm still holding out for our leader, Louise, to sign off on us getting the iPhone as our new work toy - and I also enjoy reading. I'm currently working my way through The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton before I embark on my mission to relive the Jane Austen books. Since I spend a good hour and a half commuting each day, I enjoy passing the time by reading (provided I'm not so tired that I fall asleep). As a result of being stored in my bag each day, however, my books are often a little dog-eared, so in theory the eReader could be a good investment. Having said that, I'm a bit stuck in my ways - Okay I hate change - and I like picking up my book and physically working my way through it - seeing how far I've got and how many pages are left etc. My Twitter friend @lawyermunich concurs.

All that and I haven't even started on the collection of books I have at home. Most people only read one or maybe two books at once and then either give them to charity, lend to a friend or put them on their book shelves for later enjoyment. I fall into the latter category. I often pass books to my friends to enjoy, but they always come back to be put with pride on my book shelves. I like to think I've got a pretty eclectic collection thanks to a degree in English and American literature and the variety of books that lead me to read, and I wouldn't give it up for the world. I also collect antique books and my ideal home would have a whole room as a library - and a walk in wardrobe, but that’s another matter.

So, to the horror of my husband who swiftly shuffled away, I asked the nice man behind the counter what his thoughts were on the eReader and if he thought it would be a big seller. He responded that they had, indeed, had a couple of orders for the device, though he wasn't sure it would be a great seller. In fact, he told me, that they had only pre-ordered four of them!

While this could be a great convenience device for people who commute and want to read hefty books, without having to cart them around, true book enthusiasts are unlikely to embrace this as the sole replacement for physical books.

Have you got the X Factor?

Love it or hate it, the X Factor has returned to our screens and we've already had a corker of an audition fiasco in the shape of Welsh brothers - Ant and Seb.

I also spent a bit of time watching re-runs of Dragons’ Den, something I've never really been into. The whole thing put me in mind of job interviews - just watching how some people came across. You can tell the ones who are going to do well from the second they get on camera - they are the ones who are quietly confident and go about proving themselves. The ones who you just know will make you cringe are the ones who come in completely over the top and over-sell themselves from the outset. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating judging people on first appearances, I'm talking about seeing through the hype.

PR is one of those industries where people often mistakenly think that the more outgoing you appear to be, the more people will believe you are good at your job. Of course the job does require a certain amount of willingness to get out there and talk to and meet new people, not to mention a thick skin, but more than this - it requires the ability to stop, think and take a considered approach to any task.

When meeting prospective employers, colleagues and clients it is important to sell yourself and your skills but you have to be able to translate that in a real way.

Word Up

Today's news tells us that Chambers have released their 11th edition dictionary which includes words such as credit crunch and carbon footprint. How delightful. More nothing phrases, created by companies to capture media attention, are beginning to be recognised as worthy of being passed on to generations to come.


I had to restrain myself yesterday from commenting about Dell's creation of the Digital Nomad, something Richard Millington seems to think is wonderful. I appreciate what he is saying in terms of their creation of an online community, but why not call it what it is, the remote workers forum? Oh right, because that isn't as catchy and the media won't write about that....


I refer you back to my very first post on this blog.


Yes, it is good to have catchy phrases which grab the headlines, but they don't actually mean anything. There are often arguments about how bad text speak or "txt spk" (I think) is becoming, imagine if they put LOL in the dictionary (if they have and I missed that then OMG WWYT!!! - translation on request). In my opinion allowing nothing marketing phrases to actually permeate our dictionary is just as bad.


Plain English Campaign - I salute you!

Money well spent

It was a joy to see that the £65m station that is the new St Pancras International is - in true British transportation style - failing to cope with the weather. A leak in the roof has water flooding the flooring, which is already pretty slippery!

Good work Network Rail, another feather in the ol' cap.

Know your media?

I remember when I started my first job in tech PR one of my objectives was to read and get to know the pile of publications that came through the door every day. It seemed an impossible task but, after spending many a day in shock that titles such as "Computer Weekly" and "IT Week" (RIP) not only existed but were widely read, I started to get to grips with the kinds of stories they covered and who wrote them. To this day I'm proud of the knowledge I have built up, not only of top tier IT and business press but also of some of the more interesting vertical titles - ask me anything - go on I dare you…

The memory of how daunting the task of learning about the media stays with me so I'm pretty understanding when grads come in and they are fresh to the challenge of working out who edits what and how many publications freelancers cover. However, I am totally gobsmacked at the number of people who seem to get by in this industry with a mere top level view of the publications and expect just junior staff to have an insight into what is really covered. How can you direct an account and manage a client's expectations without understanding what makes your target media tick?

I'm yet to meet an editor or journalist who won't spend time catching up and filling me on changes in direction on a publication. Keeping up to date is vital, particularly in this continually changing media environment and with growth of blogging as a way to communicate outside of traditional magazines and online news outlets.

A good knowledge of media and journalists is not rocket science - but it is the very heart of successful PR.