PR Push
Thursday, October 18, 2007 5:27Maybe it’s the new fiscal quarter. Maybe my email address has been sold to a new list of PR companies. Maybe there are really some not-to-be-missed openings and events coming up. Whatever it is, I have been hit with a cavalcade of emails from PR companies lately. Just the other day, I received no fewer than eight emails in less than an hour. Of course, most of them are borderline spam, sent out to all of the email addresses in a PR person’s contact list. Unlike spam, I am usually not given an easy opt-out link at the end of the message. Mass emails are easily identifiable, not only because of their impersonal nature, but also because I frequently receive an email sent to the la.foodblogging address, and then shortly receive a duplicate email sent to the address on one of my other food sites (Digesty or Cheww).
The tone of PR emails are consistent, always pretending that they are letting me in on some big secret that “my readers would be interested in”. A more genuine approach may be to phrase the message “my client has paid me to get this story placed as many times as possible, can you do that for me?”. Perhaps they should also add “I don’t read your site, have never commented or sent you an email outside of veiled pleading to publicize events or products.”
One thing I have learned about PR, and this is something that a PR person told me directly, is that the nature of PR is to not pay for any placement. That’s advertising, a different industry entirely. PR’s job is to make things look organic, when nothing could be further from the truth. I often see the same Press Releases that I receive end up verbatim in a blog post. I see the restaurants that are hyped in my inbox magically appear in major local publications. I do believe that it is an effective way to get the word out. I assume that most readers think that they are getting something genuine, delivered to them by the author because the author finds it interesting or useful for their audience. In truth, I think that authors who use Press Releases are simply lazy. There certainly isn’t shame in that. We are all lazy to some extent.
What I find most offensive is when PR folks explain to me that I should be flattered to be included in these releases. Somehow I should feel good that this site is considered as being “worthy” of being included as a member of The Press. I hate to use the tired expression that they “Just Don’t Get It”, but that’s just what it is. Our goal here isn’t to litter the site with un-paid advertisements disguised as content or personal recommendations. Sure, I may suggest a restaurant which has been pitched to me, but only if I have been there prior to receiving a press release. As it says in our About Page (which apparently is seldom consulted), the best way to make sure that your event, venue, product, etc. is not mentioned, is to send me a press release about it.
Last week, I was even asked about the traffic that la.foodblogging receives, because someone’s “client had requested it”. While I appreciate the honesty, that someone is selling the amount of traffic our site gets, that’s not something I generally give out. It is not the first time that our traffic numbers have been requested, and I assume that it wont be the last. Why wont it be the last? Because I do not believe that most PR people who email me actively read the site. They wont see posts like this one.
Now, everyone needs to make a living, and PR is a real industry. I don’t think that people who work in that industry are bad people, but by nature they need to be sneaky. They need to schmooze their way into publications, gaining the trust and the ear (and the pen) of various journalists and authors. No one likes to feel like they are being used or manipulated, so the PR folks flatter us with friendly speak, making us feel like we are getting privileged information.
So what is the answer to PR? Well, mine is mostly to ignore it. I generally read the emails, I may respond if I find something interesting. I did post some stats from the Zagat survey, so I suppose that one worked.
If I ever needed to get the word out on a commercial venture, I would probably give a PR firm a try. Although after reading this, they might tell me to pound sand. Somehow, I think that writing check would quickly change their mind though.
I know that bloggers are seeing an increase of PR coming their way. How do you deal with it? How do you think bloggers should deal with it?
By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.
cybele says:
October 18th, 2007 at 7:30 am
I particularly enjoy the ones I’m getting lately that start, “I know you told me you don’t write about X”.
Which is to say, I told them to stop telling me about these books, products or subscriptions if they weren’t about candy, but somehow they think that this thing, which is about a book, product or subscription that’s not about candy is worthy of an exception on my part.
condiment says:
October 18th, 2007 at 9:42 am
You know, the good thing about foodwrite is that you never, never have to ask a publicist for anything. (Just try to get into a movie screening or interview Daft Punk without getting a publicist involved.) That being said, you can never have too much information, and if you have to wade through 140 announcements about the Halloween menu at Applebee’s each week in order to get to the one announcement of a chef change that will rock your world forever, it’s well worth it. Suck it up, dude, suck it up.
PRgal says:
October 18th, 2007 at 9:52 am
I know you think that what we do is slimey and manipulative, but in defense of my livelyhood, I must dispel a big misconception. Some of us DO read blogs regularly (i.e. me) and know the personal nuances of certain bloggers.
Think of press releases as newsletters. Yes, you’ll throw away about 95% of them, but in 1 out of every 20 of them, something will catch your eye. Maybe it’s just a restaurant you’ve already been wanting to try, maybe it’s an event that you heard good things about before, maybe it’s something so quirky and weird that you can’t NOT open the email. Our goal is to be in that 5%. We don’t expect you to copy releases verbatim (though some do, and we’ll respect that too), but if you happen to check out a place simply because we put the idea in your head, hey that’s one more customer for our client.
And as for traffic — good PR folks know that Alexa.com will tell you just about everything you need to know about traffic info on a website. The person who asked you is living in the stone age.
Dana Harris says:
October 18th, 2007 at 10:03 am
What they said. Yeah, I get sick of the onslaught, but sometimes there’s information worth knowing, or being reminded about, or sometimes they’re so bad it’s worth a post in itself. Really, food publicists are the white hats of the PR world. You want skeezy, try dealing with film-industry publicists. Their ability to lie is par excellence.
H.C. says:
October 18th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Since I actually work in PR (in a non-food industry, currently) I can see both your & the PR perspective.
For the part you’re most floored by (that you should be privileged to be included in their mailing list) I’m shocked at too. There are certain industries (ahem, entertainment) where publicists are essentially the gatekeepers to landing interviews & meetings, but I do not consider the food scene (L.A. food scene particularly) to be one of them, since there’s not a lot of going-ons that are scoop worthy. Now, if the publicists are talking about getting the bloggers into more exclusive stuff (pre-opening events, preview tastings, etc.) I can *possibly* see the “privileged” tone they may take, but they still have to consider that some bloggers will not like how it comes off as condescending.
Getting non-paid, organic placement is a part (and in some cases, a major part) of PR’s job, but in a larger sense I think PR goes way beyond that — it’s about identifying and matching expectations of the clients to those of the audience of interest (and yes, it’s a bit blurring upon the lines of marketing). That doesn’t mean they always do it well (as in the case of those over generic releases that just assumes you “and your readers” will be interested in whatever they’re pushing, w/o actually reading the blog first). Really good PR *is* organic rather than *pretending* to be.
That being said, as a foodblogger, I get a considerable amount of releases & announcements as well; I may not pay attention to every one of them, but I’m always at least cordial in my reply to the publicist — you’d never know if they may have other clients and will actually take that extra step to help get you into an event or schedule an interview with the chef or owner.
matt armendariz says:
October 18th, 2007 at 11:11 am
I’m beginning to see tons land in my email box, and if they’re “enlightened” enough they’ll actually read that I don’t do restaurant postings and ask if I’ll consider it. Shows they read my site.
But most of the time I give it a glance and respond accordingly. If it’s something of value to me (author interview, new book, etc) I’ll act on it, but most of the time I politely decline and move on.
MaxMillion says:
October 18th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Film flack fabulists — true dat!
Jonah says:
October 18th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
cybele- That is an annoying trend, when I get a “hot story idea” or a “twist on your regular themes”. Your site is so beautifully specific that it should be easy for PR folks to figure it out. I think that your popularity makes you a prime target though!
condiment- you’re right, and I do concede that on occasion I am interested in the announcements I get. Sometimes, it seems like overload though. Luckily, the subject lines are easy to spot so I have the option to skip them entirely.
PR Girl- I hate you, stop reading this site, JUST KIDDING! I don’t think PR slimey, but it sounds like you and I both agree that it’s manipulative. I have to tell you though, that my general policy is to not mention a place where I get PR notes from, even if I do end up eating there.
H.C. - While I do enjoy a good party, I still think that giving free food to writers (whether at a press event, or a comped meal) is equivalent to a pay off. I would go to press events if I never had to write about them.
matt- I think it would be a PR person’s fantasy for you to do one of your in depth articles about the restaurant they represent.
Jonah says:
October 18th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Case in point, ust now I got an invite to attend an event in New York:
“As an influential culinary voice, we would like to invite you join us as our guest for this private event.
Indulge in the finest and freshest breads, cheeses, meats, fish, caviar, produce, spices and much more…with expert demonstrations and superior wines…all within the majestic backdrop of [removed]“
I’m guessing that they aren’t picking up my travel and lodging.
Jonah says:
October 18th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
PR Girl-
I’m sure that you get plenty of spam in your inbox, either that or your spam filter sends it to a separate folder. Consider this:
Think of spam emails as newsletters. Yes, you’ll throw away about 95% of them, but in 1 out of every 20 of them, something will catch your eye. Maybe it’s just a penis enlargement pill you’ve already been wanting to try, maybe it’s an adjustable rate mortgage that you heard good things about before, maybe it’s something so kinky and weird that you can’t NOT open the email. Our goal is to be in that 5%. We don’t expect you to copy releases verbatim (though some do, and we’ll respect that too), but if you happen to check out an adult website simply because we put the idea in your head, hey that’s one more customer for our client.
After all, penis enlargement pills, shady mortgages and adult websites need customers too…
H.C. says:
October 18th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
“I would go to press events if I never had to write about them.”
Haha, but that defeats the purpose. ;)
Anyways, I don’t think all press events necessarily dictates that they be covered in the near future (and it’d be ridiculous for any PR person worth his/her salt to expect that every media attendee cover the event thrown). Sometimes it’s just to get onto the food writer’s radar “Hey, we exist as a restaurant/food product–” or to set up some meet and greets with top honchos. And on a few rare occasions, those paid events are a writer’s only ticket in to get an advanced scoop of the place (e.g. pre-opening parties), which makes it even harder to resist. But as long as the writer/blogger discloses that, I don’t mind it so much (as long as the entire blog/column isn’t just based on freebies.)
Chubbypanda says:
October 18th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Word. What really annoys me are the ones who try to pass themselves off as regular readers, or who only send me a two line email in the hopes that my curiosity will make me look into it. For the most part, my standard modus operandi is to ignore obvious PR emails and to reject PR comments.
On the flip side, I will occasionally go to a restaurant or event based on a PR tip. However, those places always have a higher standard to meet since I’m already prejudiced against them. I almost never write about a tip I received via a PR email.
Mr. Diner says:
October 18th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I have also noticed an influx in email from my blog and the website I work for (Dinersnation.com). The thing is, Yahoo is pretty good at filtering the stuff about Drugs, porn, and gambling. Just an FYI, try not click on the Unsubscribe links. This tells the spammer that your email address is live and they will send you more stuff and sell your email to other spammers.
Another thing…If a PR person is sending you spam and they don’t have a removal option, I would report them to their host for not following the rules according to the Can-Spam Act. There is no reason why they can’t do this (unless they are spamming).
I like your blog, I found it randomly. I will add you to my lfavs. Have a great one.
Mr. Diner.
PRgal says:
October 19th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Have you ever considered writing back to a PR company and politely asking them to take you off their media list? It takes about two seconds, same as unsubscribing to a newsletter. (And if you’re wondering, you are not on our media list, and have never been.)
And as for this comment:
I have to tell you though, that my general policy is to not mention a place where I get PR notes from, even if I do end up eating there.
That’s fine, as long as you spent money at my client’s restaurant, I could give two hoots about whether you write it up or not. At the end of the day, it’s still a business for them.
tannaz says:
October 19th, 2007 at 11:58 am
what makes blogging so enjoyable to me is how personal it is. people interact with strangers in a familiar, conversational tone. so, if i get an earnest inquiry from someone who addresses me as a human being, and if it’s something relevant to what i generally write about, i’ll bite. of course, this does not mean i’ll write about whatever they’re pitching, nor that i’ll give it a positive endorsement.
on the other hand, a mass-mailed press release about a kosher steakhouse in manhattan? not so much.
Jonah says:
October 19th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
PRGirl, thanks for participating in the conversation:
Have you ever considered writing back to a PR company and politely asking them to take you off their media list? It takes about two seconds, same as unsubscribing to a newsletter.
Sure, I do it often. Sometimes I get a nice response, sometimes silence, and sometimes I get emails from someone else in the same PR company.
(And if you’re wondering, you are not on our media list, and have never been.)
OK, what restaurants or companies do you represent?
That’s fine, as long as you spent money at my client’s restaurant, I could give two hoots about whether you write it up or not. At the end of the day, it’s still a business for them.
You might give two hoots, but the vast majority of PR emails I get seem to give three hoots that I do write about their restaurant. I’m not one to tell you how to do your job, but why would you contact food blogs and not want them to write about your client?
Jonah says:
October 19th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
tannaz- You’re so right. The great thing about blogging is that the author can choose their own direction.
Sounds like you have been added to the same topical mailing list I have, I was particularly surprised to see the wording at the bottom of the email:
“This e-mail was sent to xxxxxx@gmail.com because you are subscribed to XXXXXX-XX’s mailing lists.”
Funny, I don’t remember subscribing, at least there is an unsubscribe link.
PRgal says:
October 19th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
I’m sorry that you’ve been unsuccessful at warding off the PR hounds. Sounds like you’ve gotten far too influential for your own good. I won’t divulge our clients here but if you want to do some detective work, I won’t deter you. (Though your time is probably best spent trying out new restaurants.)
In answering the final question of your post: How do you deal with it? How do you think bloggers should deal with it?
You just deal with it. Simple as that. Delete it, answer it, embarrass flacks by posting up the poorly written ones, whatever your little heart desires. The pen is still yours, writer. So what if we think your opinion is important enough that we might want to bombard you with press releases? That’s the hardest part about being in PR rather than advertising. We can’t pay you to write what we want — the choice is always yours.
Jonathan Gold, my personal hero, is notorious for never talking to PR people. But trust me, that doesn’t stop ANYONE from sending him press releases. He does read them though, and more often that not, we will eventually see our clients in the Weekly — along with 100 other places he tries. At least he doesn’t discriminate against restaurants with PR companies…
restaurant guy says:
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:31 pm
While I will take you at your word for your sincere dismay at the proliferation of recent assaults by PR people, I must admit to being a bit perplexed by your naiveté and or lack of experience in the world of publishing/advertising, call it what you will. Everyone tries to supplement their overt ad campaign with a more covert editorial front. This is done with PR people for cars, shampoo, even presidential candidates. It is particularly important for restaurants to use these people, as expensive as it is, because food is a delicate commodity. It is more personal than almost anything you will buy, because you put it into your body. And to make it more complicated, it can give you feelings of ecstasy, or in rare occasions kill you. There is a blind trust between diners and a restaurant. Diners buy a product that they never see prepared and ingest it. Because of this delicate relationship, paid ads don’t work. Word of mouth does and how you get that is…well this is where we started. Also, you categorize PR people like they are their own entity. Who do you think they work for? Yes, the restaurant owners who work their fingers to the bone and before taking one cent before paying back an investor pool will willing pay someone 3000 per month in the hope that you or Gold, or Virbilla will write, “Bob Smith makes great fries.� Also, PR people are like anyone else, some have integrity; some don’t…some only rep places they believe in. I recommend you find the latter because those are the same ones who have great story ideas and when you or one of your cohorts cannot think of another pumpkin pie idea for Thanksgiving, can get pitched a fresh take. Maybe they will give you a real scoop. I must admit, I find your disdain for PR people troubling for someone so new. It is like a casting agent who hates agents and actors. Finally, I wouldn’t get so high on yourself, as of 10/22, you only had 18 posts. So far, Chowhound can rest assured that they will be in business for the near future.
hbpapajohn says:
October 24th, 2007 at 7:53 am
…and the “Full of Himself” award goes to…
RESTAURANT GUY!!!
(clap clap )
another PR gal says:
October 24th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Bravo restaurant guy! Your comment is so enlightened, and (hopefully) will inform whoever reads it about the fine pr-restaurant-media balance.
I considered commenting on Jonah’s post after I first read it more than a week ago, but I was so incensed by his arrogant tone and the utter lack of understanding about the way the media industry works I didn’t want to dignify his post with a response. I’m especially irked b/c of the site’s relationship with Restaurant Business - a trade publication that largely depends on PR people to inspire their content. A featured post from LA Foodblogging is included in the magazine’s weekly e-newsletter every week.
Jonah says:
October 24th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I am working on a response to the comments and emails I have received from this post. A quick note on another PR gal’s comment about this site’s relationship with the Restaurant Business publication. They asked if they could link to la.foodblogging and I said yes. Anyone can link to this site. They contacted me in February 2006 via email, here is what they asked:
Here was my response:
To which Chris repsponded:
That was the last contact I had with them. As far as I’m concerned, it’s no different than anyone linking to our articles, it happens all the time.
Here are almost 1,500 other links to this site.