The title of this post is somewhat of a joke, it does have some merit in terms of media relations.

You’ve probably come across more than a few articles about social media strategy and how some brands respond to consumers and some don’t (another rant for later, but the short answer is a) you should have a strategy for response and 5) that disgruntled customer who had a bad experience just launched “Comcast Must Die” … there’s a lot in between a and 5 though).  This little post is more about responding to journalists instead of consumers… traditional PR, if you will.

I’d like to think the crew @ BBPR is excellent at what we do.  But despite the team here being game-changing PR pros incredibly lucky in love with our incredibly newsworthy clients so excellent, sometimes we score great media placements just by being responsive.

Disclaimer:  I can’t actually prove that PR is more effective than advertising, but it’s in my best interest to say that it is.

While I don’t necessarily agree with Woody Allen that 80 percent of success is showing up, I’m usually shocked when I hear from reporters that someone at a particular brand hasn’t gotten back to them about a story.  In the last two months I’ve heard three times from reporters/editors at widely distributed, national publications that brands were unresponsive to media requests.

I once read an interview (wish I could find the link) where a well-respected executive in the surf industry voiced his disappointment about how a certain men’s lifestyle magazine did a piece on surf fashion, using products made by non-surf manufacturers.  He was bummed about the magazine’s feature of brands that didn’t have authentic ties to surfing.  Rightfully so, but it may not have been the editor’s fault.  It could simply be that the other brands, while not first in surf, were great about returning the editor’s call.

Note: Done correctly (not just in terms of creative execution, but media buy as well), we do think that advertising and other marketing initiatives outside of PR are extremely important and relevant.  Watch for more on that later.

Tags: issues in PR, social media