[Marketing] PR: know thy journalists

[Sean DALY]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10233020-16.html

This post shows how targeted PR can backfire if the journalist's
interests and POV are not taken into account. A publicist unable to
send personalized mails (I myself don't have enough hours in the day)
would be better off sending mud-free PR; interested journalists will
come to the site or call/mail for more information. Microsoft was
widely lambasted a few years ago when a spreadsheet table was leaked
which showed "ratings" of journalists and analysts for
MS-friendliness; those at the top of the list have had to live it down
since. (I keep that information in my head.)

It's debatable whether it's a good idea to add/keep journalists who
have panned the project. There's one Down Under who wrote a
particularly negative piece earlier this year. It's usually a
case-by-case basis. Journalists don't like to think they are off
somebody's list, and when they have to scrounge for information which
is transmitted directly to colleagues their mood darkens. Human nature
means journalists don't like to admit they were wrong, although the
best ones do (usually with the caveat "according to the information I
had at the time..."). In this particular case, I decided not to add
the journalist to our targeted mailings; if he writes about us again,
he may spend 5 minutes looking at what the colleagues are saying, may
realize he was overly harsh and judgemental, may change his mind. In a
case like this our press page regrouping our press releases is vital.

Sean