Comments on: A bitch about PR – Top Position http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr.html Banter between travel writers, travel PRs and travel social media people Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:04:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jeremy Head http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr.html/comment-page-1#comment-563 Jeremy Head Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:57:09 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr-top-position.html#comment-563 Just when I thought I was free of these people. I get another of their !!! releases... so they clearly can't even manage email files - they assured me they'd taken me off their lists. And the release? "Don't Suffer in Silence Premature Ejaculation is Easily Solved‏" Looks like they have some super clients eh?! Just when I thought I was free of these people. I get another of their !!! releases... so they clearly can't even manage email files - they assured me they'd taken me off their lists.

And the release?
"Don't Suffer in Silence Premature Ejaculation is Easily Solved‏"

Looks like they have some super clients eh?!

]]> By: arena http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr.html/comment-page-1#comment-562 arena Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:47:41 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr-top-position.html#comment-562 they have a point actually,Eileen is from wales so thats maybe why you got it, media disk would of come up with the link as red handed mag is a welsh publication. Eileen also proposed the name change in September way before children in need, so it would have been topical then they have a point actually,Eileen is from wales so thats maybe why you got it, media disk would of come up with the link as red handed mag is a welsh publication. Eileen also proposed the name change in September way before children in need, so it would have been topical then

]]> By: Jeremy Head http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr.html/comment-page-1#comment-561 Jeremy Head Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:33:23 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr-top-position.html#comment-561 Hi Rebecca. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm not convinced though. Your email read: <i>"I rang newsdesk and was asked to send this over to you. You recently reported on a lady called Eileen DeBont who changed her name to Pudsey for children in need- it turns out that the company who was going to pay £4000 to charity- THE UK DEED POLL SERVICE are refusing to pay after eileen broke her back and although she officially changed it, hadnt had chance to tell the DVLA and passport office."</i> RedHanded (www.redhandedmagazine.co.uk)is a men's magazine for Wales. We publish quarterly. So 1)We certainly haven't recently run any story about this woman. The current issue is on press now and the previous issue was published back in October. 2)There's no way we would anyway - it's of no interest to our readers. 3)I asked the guys in the office whether they have any recollection of a call from you and they said no. (Though they may I guess have forgotten.) 4) The email address you used for me is not the one they typically give to people when they call, so I question this suggestion anyway. 5) If my details are listed under Travel Contacts on MediaDisk (which is correct, I write in the main about Travel). Why are you emailing me news releases of this nature which have nothing to do with travel? Regardless of the contact history here, you clearly spent little time researching the publication (RedHanded). If you had you'd have realised that this press release was totally inappropriate for our readership. Regards Jeremy Hi Rebecca.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm not convinced though.
Your email read: "I rang newsdesk and was asked to send this over to you. You recently reported on a lady called Eileen DeBont who changed her name to Pudsey for children in need- it turns out that the company who was going to pay £4000 to charity- THE UK DEED POLL SERVICE are refusing to pay after eileen broke her back and although she officially changed it, hadnt had chance to tell the DVLA and passport office."
RedHanded (www.redhandedmagazine.co.uk)is a men's magazine for Wales. We publish quarterly.
So
1)We certainly haven't recently run any story about this woman. The current issue is on press now and the previous issue was published back in October.
2)There's no way we would anyway - it's of no interest to our readers.
3)I asked the guys in the office whether they have any recollection of a call from you and they said no. (Though they may I guess have forgotten.)
4) The email address you used for me is not the one they typically give to people when they call, so I question this suggestion anyway.
5) If my details are listed under Travel Contacts on MediaDisk (which is correct, I write in the main about Travel). Why are you emailing me news releases of this nature which have nothing to do with travel?
Regardless of the contact history here, you clearly spent little time researching the publication (RedHanded). If you had you'd have realised that this press release was totally inappropriate for our readership.
Regards
Jeremy

]]> By: Rebecca http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr.html/comment-page-1#comment-560 Rebecca Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:02:47 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr-top-position.html#comment-560 Hi Jeremy, I'm from Top Position and in our defence would like to say that your email address was given to us by Red Handed magazine when we called them last week. In this call we explained the content of the PR and asked if it would be of interest. Only then was it sent. That is standard practice. The reply you refer to from our account manager was simply a note advising that your address was also available on MediaDisk along with your phone number, fax number and address under Travel contacts for any PR agency to access in case you weren't aware of that fact. I'd suggest that was polite rather than hugely intrusive. A press release is not intended to be printed in full, however you'll note that the links provided actually went through to relevant pages of the client's web site. Again, good practice for online journalism and a help to anyone wanting to do their research before deciding whether or not to follow up a story. Hi Jeremy,

I'm from Top Position and in our defence would like to say that your email address was given to us by Red Handed magazine when we called them last week. In this call we explained the content of the PR and asked if it would be of interest. Only then was it sent. That is standard practice.

The reply you refer to from our account manager was simply a note advising that your address was also available on MediaDisk along with your phone number, fax number and address under Travel contacts for any PR agency to access in case you weren't aware of that fact. I'd suggest that was polite rather than hugely intrusive.

A press release is not intended to be printed in full, however you'll note that the links provided actually went through to relevant pages of the client's web site. Again, good practice for online journalism and a help to anyone wanting to do their research before deciding whether or not to follow up a story.

]]> By: Jeremy Head http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr.html/comment-page-1#comment-559 Jeremy Head Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:11:09 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2008/12/a-bitch-about-pr-top-position.html#comment-559 Hi Mark Yes indeed. Nice suggestion re the 'no follow' tag! Their releases are clearly intended to be published in their entirety to maintain the links that they've embedded in them. 1) This means they assume that journalists/editors just print releases verbatim (duh!) If it were me I'd publiish the release with all the links pointing somewhere else (a competitor of their client perhaps?). That would be very amusing... 2) They clearly only want to target on-line media if links are what they are really after. Kind of defeats the point of PR - not targetting the offline media - which despite the in-roads the Net is making remain far more important for now at least. Thanks for commenting Jeremy Hi Mark
Yes indeed. Nice suggestion re the 'no follow' tag!
Their releases are clearly intended to be published in their entirety to maintain the links that they've embedded in them.
1) This means they assume that journalists/editors just print releases verbatim (duh!) If it were me I'd publiish the release with all the links pointing somewhere else (a competitor of their client perhaps?). That would be very amusing...
2) They clearly only want to target on-line media if links are what they are really after. Kind of defeats the point of PR - not targetting the offline media - which despite the in-roads the Net is making remain far more important for now at least.
Thanks for commenting
Jeremy

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