I read the news today, oh boy, about how the anchors on American ‘news’ station Fox have what look like McDonald’s branded beverages on the desk in front of them while they read their auto-cues to credulous breakfast time viewers throughout the Land of the Free.
It’s tacky. It’s fake. Only morons would fall for such plastic PR. Well, that’s the angle of the piece at least, which has a basic sub-context that runs: ‘let’s all pretend to be outraged but then scoff at the dumbass Yanks’.
Of course, the paper running the story (the Guardian) is really telling its readers that Fox News owner, Rupert Murdoch, is an unscrupulous scumbag who is controlling the media, ruining society and getting rich off the back of it.
There is nothing new about product placement. It happens all the time, everywhere, yes even in the Guardian. That’s just PR in action.
Product placement certainly happens in the more mundane world of B2B publishing. We’re writing about something, our readers want an unbiased report, getting people to speak negatively about stuff is practically impossible, getting people who produce stuff to speak positively about it is easier than breathing. PRs know this, yet refuse to understand why we don’t really want to speak to their client who produces Widgets when that’s what we’re writing about.
“Surely, if you’re writing about Widgets, you should speak with my client the Widget firm?” – seems reasonable, logical even.
“Well, maybe I can speak with one of the end users. It would add a lot more credibility to the story.”
In the world of Bad PR this goes one of three ways:
Way one: The PR promises a chat with an end user and then elbows in the client. Then the end user pulls out at the last minute. But guess what? The VP of marketing for the Widget firm is still available.
Way two: The client is unwilling to speak ‘on the record’, it’s too commercially sensitive apparently. But guess what? The VP of marketing for the Widget firm is still available.
Way three: There are no end clients. But guess what? The VP of marketing for the Widget firm is still available.
The boundaries between advertising and editorial are blurring. I work on a publication that makes money through advertising. Print advertising is dying on its arse apparently. Yet the number PR agencies is growing. Every firm says that they’re relevant to their target publications, they crave the readership’s attention. But they won’t buy an ad. We won’t exist for very long if we start producing ed for ad rags. The readership will fall away and you will have lost your channel to market and then the PR will no longer serve a purpose to their client. Everyone loses.
Buying ads should be part of the PR’s arsenal. Even if the publication isn’t actually covering your client’s specialist subject that month. If nothing else they will help keep the publication you’re trying to get your client mentioned in alive.
2 comments:
I will often recommend to clients that they look at advertising in publications... especially trades where they get coverage to build on the brand recognition. But I never want to mention that to a writer or editor, it just sounds like offering a girl who's turned me down a couple hundred bucks to reconsider coming home with me. I will say that I have only once used a vp of marketing as a spokesperson, I always strive for ceo, president or someone front line and germain to the story. If I'm trying to show my client company's expertise, I'm going to show expertise, not a well groomed marketing guy.
Excellent PR work Peter. I'd be interested to know how many clients listen to your advice on advertising and then act on it - how many come back and say "advertising? why the hell am I paying you?"
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