PR Pros Versus PR Flacks

I speak with marketing executives all the time about their horrible experiences with lazy PR flacks who think that PR is merely the act of blast emailing a press release to a list of editors and journalists. These marketing leaders complain endlessly about how the agency they pay is a bunch of order takers with no creativity or understanding of the marketplace.

Why is this important? Well, for one thing, editors and journalists love to hear from PR pros with a well thought out, well researched pitch that will resonate with their specific beat and tie into the current trends in the market.

Don't believe me? Then read what Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired, has to say:

Sorry PR people: you're blocked
http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2007/10/sorry-pr-people.html

So fair warning: I only want two kinds of email: those from people I know, and those from people who have taken the time to find out what I'm interested in and composed a note meant to appeal to that (I love those emails; indeed, that's why my email address is public).

I'm lucky to work for an agency, Strategic Communications Group (mind the plug), that does things the right way. We don't have a bullpen of twenty-somethings banging away on their keyboards mindlessly, spamming the tech journalists of the world. Which is why our companies email address is not Chris's list of PR flacks...