Wednesday, November 11, 2009

You know how I hate definitive lists...

Well, here's one that I think is a bit over-eager. The writer points out, with apparent glee, that press releases, press kits, faxes, press conferences and trade shows are all "dead" PR tactics.

It's easy to understand her enthusiasm; she's selling expertise in social media and, therefore, relies much on claiming that everything older than right now is, by definition, outdated.

Remember when there was brief moment in time when profits didn't seem to matter? But I digress...

Allow me to share my thoughts on each of the aforementioned "tactics:"

Press Releases - Definitely not dead. In some instances, they are changing. But there is (are?) a whole slew of media folk, top to bottom, who still like to receive their information that way. A press release, by the way, is not a tactic. It's a tool.

Press Kits - If you believe that content has any value, how can you claim "press kits" are dead? What I think she's talking about is "over-produced and over-priced" press kit packaging. Fact of the matter is, people - journalists included - still need wacky information such as company backgrounders, bios, fact sheets, and YES, press releases. Press kits, by the way, aren't tactics. They are also communications tools.

Faxes - A fax machine isn't a tactic. It's a method of communicating. As the first comment to the posting points out, there are still areas of the globe where fax is a relied-upon method of communication.

Press Conferences - I agree here, that for the most part, press conferences aren't worth the time and effort. You really need something big to pull that off successfully.

Trade Shows - From a PR perspective, there are shows that work. Then again, some don't. Again, trade shows aren't really "tactics" but part of a larger strategy. And, I'd stay away from a blanket pronouncement that leveraging trade show presence is a useless (dead) strategy.

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