Comments on: Old School Media Relations: The way of the past or a lesson for the future?

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By: 8 classic PR tactics that work well in social media, too « Conversity.be

8 classic PR tactics that work well in social media, too « Conversity.be — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:56:56 +0000

[...] classic PR tactics that work well in social media, too Selected by PerkettPRsuasion.com's Crystal Macaulay from from [...]

By: Crystal

Crystal — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:25:19 +0000

I just read your post and had to laugh. Goofus PR people! Sad, but true I’m afraid. I’m glad you’ve experienced Gallant PR professionals in your work as well! I do remember Highlights! Thanks for the memory and sharing your post.

By: Crystal Macaulay

Crystal Macaulay — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:24:36 +0000

You make an excellent point! The rules for good media relations haven’t changed, but the tools we use to learn about our media targets and how we reach them have. I agree, a good story is our best entrée. Now, if only all our clients understood that, but that’s another post altogether. ;-)

By: Crystal Macaulay

Crystal Macaulay — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:23:31 +0000

By: Chris Nahil

Chris Nahil — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:28:53 +0000

Crystal -- Good post and a nice bookend to Scott Kirsner's recent post: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoe...

Couple of comments: There is an unfortunate tendency to equate "PR" entirely and exclusively with media relations. As someone who has always taken a very broad view of what top-notch PR can do for an organization (from creation of positioning and messaging to community relations to relationship marketing and employee comm), I believe that media relations is often "merely" the end point of a comprehensive communications strategy. That said PR delivery mechanisms has always been a source of debate but many of the "old school principles" still hold, even to the relationship development appraoch you mention. To be sure the PR world has changed greatly but the ability to build and convey a compelling and credible story to the right audiences is still the foundation of our business.

Chris Nahil
Constant Contact

A couple of comments:

By: paigeworthy

paigeworthy — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:32:28 +0000

Great post, Crystal. Thank you! I just wrote a post on SpinSucks.com about this topic, from an editor's perspective: http://www.spinsucks.com/communication/successf...

By: paigeworthy

paigeworthy — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:31:01 +0000

Right you are, DJDiG.

By: Paul Sevensky

Paul Sevensky — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:19:26 +0000

There's still a lot of life for “old school” techniques that emphasize staying on target and doing your homework. The one thing I find ironic about the “new PR” is its various gurus who celebrate the bypassing of traditional media “gatekeepers” such as editors. Instead, we face the Ultimate Gatekeeper — the search algorithm. At least the traditional gatekeepers were real people with a heart and a soul.

By: davinabrewer

davinabrewer — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:50:10 +0000

The basics have not changed, just the tools we use. More than knowing a reporters phone number, it's about following them on Twitter, reading their blogs to know what topics really connect with them and their audiences.

I stick to the old standby: have a good story to tell. Like you said, stay on target. Have the right pitch for the right editor, on message to the right audience, that's half the battle... about as "Old School" as it gets.

BTW, that's Blue and I loved that movie.

By: Cameronebarry

Cameronebarry — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:51:37 +0000

I remember those old school techniques well. I once worked for an agency that specialized in food-related products and services and we not only stuffed press kits and sent (delectable) samples to the media, we had “A” and “B” media lists. And therein lies the challenge — it's not just the techniques that have changed, but the targets. Focusing on print for the moment, there are almost no markets that have two newspapers; some no longer have even one. The staffs are shrinking, the space is shrinking and it seems that everyone is covering the same few stories. I see it daily in my news feeds. However, I believe that Needleman's rules apply, now more than ever.

By: Wellons Communications

Wellons Communications — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:09:38 +0000

This is a great post. It is important to encorporate traditional public relations as well as new, social media.

We blogged about a similar topic.

By: Laurent Pfertzel

Laurent Pfertzel — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:11:11 +0000

Crystal,
Good set of rules at the end.
I just wrote a post about the amazing growth of the social media job market and its impact on pitching. Clearly, it will require more due diligence from marketers than ever!
Laurent

By: DJDiG

DJDiG — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:45:37 +0000

I think the old school character was named blue.

By: tressalynne

tressalynne — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:12:36 +0000

I had to shake my head (in agreement) at the “old school” press kits. Guess I am old as I do remember sitting in the agency's mail room floor surrounded by mounds of materials, collating them and stuffing into folders, making press kits to be mailed out. I think I'm fortunate to have learned the “old” methods as many still apply today. Good post, Crystal!