Color me naive but there is still some skill involved in successful public relations, is there not?
I ask because I read a post last week in Getting Ink that detailed one PR professional's unsuccessful attempt to convince the blogger to blog about their product if they received compensation. The PR person pitched her twice with two different products with almost the exact same wording.
The blogger refused, citing an obvious disregard for professional courtesy and a potentially low payday, if she was even compensated at all.
After reading it, a few things bothered me.
1. Did I miss something?
This tactic flies in the face of everything we're taught as PR professionals. Placing a client's product shouldn't matter how much money you offer but, instead, how your writing skills, due diligence and knowledge of said product relate to the targeted reporter. One should never, ever offer a reporter/blogger money to write about their product. That's cheating.
2. Are my practices antiquated?
I've sent reporters products and software to review, but we never agreed that the reporter would write a favorable review if I let them keep the product. Believe me, I try to get everything sent back. Some reporters just refuse to return items.
3. Is there a bigger trend at play?
Is this where PR is headed? With metro newspapers dying and digital media coming on strong, is the PR profession suddenly going to become pay-for-play? If that happens, can we really trust that what we're reading is subjective? Or, does it become a case of bloggers blogging about the company that pays them the most money.
So many questions. Do you have the answers?
