The real PR outreach problem we should be solving:
This email was sent to multiple parent bloggers today. All of whose names were not available.
This problem doesn’t get solved by talking about how to punish the transgressors. It gets solved by making the investments in training, technology and research that avoid mass blast emails sent to "Name Not Available." Pony up, PR agencies.
It gets solved when clients start having realistic expectations of media and blogger outreach, and realize that the customer should be the focus, not them. Let your agency lead with something compelling and relevant for the customer. If the agency doesn’t suggest a more personal, more customer centric approach, get a new PR agency.
Count ’em: six references in the first graph to the specific brand/company (the black boxes) , three to the category, photo gifts, and only two, if you stretch it, to the customer. We can’t in good conscience count Name Not Available as a reference to the customer.
We have got to start treating our customers right. Or suffer the consequences. Because as we’ve seen this week, there will be consequences.
Tags: blogger relations, bad pitch, pr, public relations
I got this email and could not believe it… I would SO not buy this product because the pitch was BAD. And, when I see “name not avaliable” I delete the email BEFORE I even read the pitch… Come on get with the technology and personalize those PR pitches or else!
But that’s really just a sales pitch rather than PR. They aren’t asking you to write about the products they have available for graduation but to buy them.
While the audience targeted are bloggers who do publish, this isn’t really appealing to their editorial side. It seems more like the list was generated based on their public information at their blog and then re-purposed for sales.
I agree that this was poorly done but I wouldn’t blame PR for that.
John,
That’s the point. It is a barely disguised sales pitch that purports to be PR. I only publish the first graph of pitches in critiques because that’s really all you get, but this one had a laundry list of products, and concluded with:
“We hope you will consider including PRODUCT gifts and cards in any “End of School Year” features you may be working on. I would be happy to send you a promo code so you can try out the site and make a few gifts yourself!”
Sure sounds like an attempt at PR to me. And with this one, if it weren’t, it would be a candidate for CAN-SPAM non-compliance for sure – unsolicited commercial email, clearly with no previous relationship with the recipient. HHmm maybe it is in violation….