06-26-2002, 01:03 AM
|
|
Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
|
|
Who hires these PR people?
Allow me the luxury of rolling up my sleeves for a little rant here - perhaps you can relate? As I posted earlier, ArcSoft has released a Pocket PC photo viewing application. In posting on that application, I gave them likely the biggest amount of audience-specific free exposure they've had to date. An average Tuesday for this site is 17,000 visits. They have no demo to download, so I thought that getting a review copy would be a good way to check it out and let you know if it's any good.
So I emailed the public relations contact listed on the ArcSoft web site. It went to a woman named Heather, a group manager with Weber Shandwick. Having heard of that PR firm before I though "Ok, good, I'm dealing with a professional here that will know her market." What kind of response did I get?
Heather: "Thanks for your interest, unfortunately, we have to reserve our review copies for members of the press."
So let me get this straight - Heather doesn't consider this site to be press? It frustrates me when I encounter a marketing or public relations person who has no clue about the market she's supposed to be an expert in. How can she do effective marketing when she doesn't know about this site? It's not ego talking here folks - this site, Brighthand, Pocket PC Passion, pocketnow.com, and others make up a powerful communications mechanism for disseminating information to the community. To ignore that is to ignore a huge tool for cheap marketing. Refusing me a $30 piece of software, considering the free coverage it would get on this site, is simply ignorant.
Unfortunately, Heather's attitude isn't a rare one. My educational background is in public relations, and I've encountered many people like her in the industry. They only focus on the mainstream media sites like CNET, pandering to reporters who use the product for an hour and issue a summary judgment on what it can do. More often than not, their lack of detail does a disservice to their readers, but the PR agency can crow "Look! We got your product on CNET!".
Someday these companies will get on the Cluetrain and realize that community web sites are one of the most powerful marketing tools they have.
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 01:15 AM
|
|
Thinker
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 390
|
|
Jason's ego just took a blow. heh heh.
But seriously. I think they do need to get a clue.
PS. hey how about a special section on Pocket PC thought on "reviewed product. (ie. you make the review/or some submission, ....and than the rest of people rant/whine/complain/make smart ass comment about the review) :lol:
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 01:20 AM
|
|
Sage
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 623
|
|
Unfortunately this seems to be the case all to often. It frustrates me to the point of going insane! Ok, maybe not that far... But I do think PR firms need to "Get A Clue" about what to consider "press". There are some that are quite good at it (TalonPR is one) they focus on what users will value most as opposed to numbers of readers. This is the best attitude to have IMHO.
__________________
~SpencerOwner-Editor of TabletPCBuzz.comMicrosoft MVP - Tablet PC
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 01:28 AM
|
|
Editorial Contributor
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 5,411
|
|
Re: Who hires these PR people
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
Someday these companies will ..... realize that community web sites are one of the most powerful marketing tools they have.
|
Or marketing killers they have. It amazes me the amount of negative press that sails across Thoughts, PpcP, even microsoft.public.pocketpc, that goes totally unchallenged by anyone connected with the product. You'ld think that there would be someone in these companies, interested enough in the products they produce, to frequent these sites, and if not personally to counter criticism, to at least make it known to their marketing types, who should.
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 01:56 AM
|
|
Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 516
|
|
Re: Who hires these PR people
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Sven
Or marketing killers they have. It amazes me the amount of negative press that sails across Thoughts, PpcP, even microsoft.public.pocketpc, that goes totally unchallenged by anyone connected with the product. You'ld think that there would be someone in these companies, interested enough in the products they produce, to frequent these sites, and if not personally to counter criticism, to at least make it known to their marketing types, who should.
|
I think that's the interesting thing about blog sites and the new-era journalist news/reviews sites such as this one. They can be somewhat schizophrenic in nature. One day they sing praises, the next harsh criticisms.
The advantage of these sites is that they can move extremely quickly, even when they haven't been given advanced information. CNET produces a polished news story thanks to inside/advanced information, but a site like this can pick up that news story within an hour and add a lot more useful insight. The downside is that these sites don't have the same level of journalistic standards that other sites will. That's the price to be paid for breaking news quickly. You often don't have time to run it past a group of other professionals (assuming you have other professionals on your staff) to make sure it's wise to run the story. Even editorials have to be given the OK in the mainstream media.
As I stated in the thread about the Toshiba XScale issues, the tide can turn very quickly. One day this is an PPC enthusiast site, the next day a large majority are strongly voicing (to put it nicely) displeasure in MS (right or wrong). The new media (which involves forums) is great for companies to sift through and learn from, but getting too close can be playing with fire and I think that many of them are either afraid or just don't know what to do with it.
I sympathize with your frustration, Jason. But I have to wonder if the message would have been more effective if you had just stated the facts (e.g. - "I won't be able to review this because they indicated that they only give them out to the press and, apparently, don't consider sites like mine part of that group.") and then let your members take it from there.
Over time, the whole landscape will definitely change. I think that the meaningful "press" will be somewhere in-between the press as we know it now and sites such as this one.
Scott
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 01:59 AM
|
|
Neophyte
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 3
|
|
Feeling your pain...
I can't name the company, but could I tell my story here as well?
I'm the official game reviewer on PDABuyersguide.com and naturally I get games for reviews. One Marketing/PR person with a game developer told me that in order for me to get their game (costs less than $20) I must submit my review to get proval by the game developer before I publish it on our site. Now, clearly they have not even check out our site to see who we are and how we do things. It's pretty clear that we are an independent site. I did get the game, but I never played it and of course never written the review. I just have too many other games to look at and write about.
Another one needs to punch in the Cluetrain ticket.
Jade
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 02:24 AM
|
|
Ponderer
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 97
|
|
their loss
Any company that wont provide a 29.00 review copy to PocketPCThoughts is not gonna get my 29.00. Of ALL the sites out there (CNET included) PocketPCThouthts and the Gadgeteer are the MOST trusted sites around for reviws.
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 02:43 AM
|
|
Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,060
|
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by mookie123
...you make the review/or some submission, ....and than the rest of people rant/whine/complain/make smart ass comment about the review
|
I thought that's how we already treat Jason's posts!
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 03:02 AM
|
|
Mystic
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,608
|
|
I think Jason hit the bullseye. The PR firms don't want an informed review of their product. They want a quick non-informed softsoap review. Something that will translate well among the various rags.
|
| |
|
|
|
06-26-2002, 03:28 AM
|
|
Sage
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 792
|
|
Here is what I find really great. Though the software costs $30 to the general public, it actually costs the company nothing to send it to Jason. It isn't like the loose money on packaging because they are emailing the software. And for the one extra attachment they would have to send, another 17,000 visitors would know even more about their software and be more likely to buy it. It isn't like they are sending out a $500 new Pocket PC to Jason that they aren't going to get back. I have the same problem with this as when Sharp sent the Wall Street Journal a Zaurus because the reviewer couldn't even figure out how to get it to sync and so he basically ended his hands-on review there.
I understand companies not wanting to send free stuff to smaller sites that would only give the review a quarter of the hits PPC Thoughts would get...but this is Thoughts, probably the largest, most hit Pocket PC site on the web.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
