Spam: a scourge of contemporary life. I’m talking about the digital variety rather than the savoury meat product originating in a mists-of-time, analogue age.
Just about the worst kind of spam I see is that which purports to be relevant and representative of good media relations or blogger relations or personal outreach or whatever. In other words, the kind of stuff I get from PRs that bombards my Outlook inbox every day.
Take a look at this screenshot of an email I received the other day that was trapped by Outlook’s junk mail filter and which I resurrected just for this post. I’m impressed with that aspect of Outlook: it’s effective and if it regards something as junk, I don’t argue.
I’ve never heard from the sender before (well, Outlook’s junk filter may have); the sender clearly has no idea about me (‘Dear editor’ is a clue), and packing the email to the gills with images and HTML files is a guarantee that sooner or later you and your domain will be on an anti-virus watch list.
Yet the worst thing about this crass and unimaginative missive is the sheer thoughtlessness of it. It’s all about the sender and her client, nothing about the receiver or making some kind of connection. It’s not even about running your text through a spell checker. And it’s clearly lacking any common sense.
And that’s probably the root of the problem. This is simply a mass mail-out that someone in the PR agency concerned thought was a good way to get the word out about their client: grab a mailing list, merge your text (minimal in this case), load up the stuff you want to thrust at your recipients and click ‘send.’
And check out this one:
Classic PR spam.
I’ve been banging on about PR spam for years and how it’s about individual and collective responsibility to stamp on such an insidious practice. It’s one of the reasons why the PR profession is so looked down upon by many journalists and others.
So could an initiative announced by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) in the UK this week be a tipping point for common sense to kick in regarding how PRs reach out to people via email and other digital means?
The CIPR says that the Media Spamming Charter (PDF) provides guidance to CIPR members and the wider PR profession on standards of conduct when working with the media and bloggers.
The CIPR, the PRCA, the IRS and NUJ are united in their efforts to enhance professional standards. These best practice guidelines are designed as a point of reference for practitioners who work with journalists and bloggers. This document is a statement of best practice.”
It stems partly from the “An Inconvenient PR Truth” awareness-raising campaign earlier this year.
An Inconvenient PR Truth is a passionate plea to the PR Industry to take action to tackle the issue of pollution caused by the sending of press releases to journalists, editors, bloggers and publishers for whom they are irrelevant. This issue if left to continue, could cause irreparable damage to the influence that the PR industry seeks to achieve.
While some people think that outreach behaviours surely are guided by common sense – and I have no disagreement at all with that view – it’s clear that the influence of a professional body like the CIPR (as well as the others behind the charter: the Public Relations Consultants Association, the Investor Relations Society and the National Union of Journalists) can and should make a big difference.
Now I wonder how it’ll all work in practice. And how the client will be brought on board. And seeing a body like the Public Relations Society of America embrace the concept. After all, most PR spam originates in the USA (see screenshots above).
Still, I’m optimistic: anything by the professional associations – surely the guardians of best practice – that shines a bright light on a very bad PR practice has to be a good thing.
Let’s now return to normal programming.
Related post:
44 responses to “Grasping the nettle of PR spam”
[nh.com] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://goo.gl/fb/OI0WR
[Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://tinyurl.com/32mtyjl #fb #in #cipr
RT @jangles: [Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://tinyurl.com/32mtyjl #fb #in #cipr
Hobson: Grasping the nettle of PR spam: Spam: a scourge of contemporary life. I’m talking about the digital variet… http://bit.ly/aP2pVn
Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://bit.ly/aUNgWr
Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://bit.ly/c7eTBp
RT @jangles: [Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://tinyurl.com/32mtyjl #fb #in #cipr
PR people should read this from @jangles re the 'media spamming charter' and #prfail http://bit.ly/95y0JF
RT @jangles: "Grasping the nettle of PR spam" http://goo.gl/fb/OI0WR
RT @benrmatthews: RT @jangles: "Grasping the nettle of PR spam" http://goo.gl/fb/OI0WR
RT @benrmatthews: RT @jangles: "Grasping the nettle of PR spam" http://goo.gl/fb/OI0WR <<< #in48 useful for press releases
Twitter Comment
[Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam [link to post] #fb #in #cipr
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RT @jangles: [nh.com] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://goo.gl/fb/OI0WR
Grasping the nettle of PR spam – http://bit.ly/9AYUWq
RT @mattuk: Grasping the nettle of PR spam – http://bit.ly/9AYUWq
RT @jangles: [Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://tinyurl.com/32mtyjl #fb #in #cipr
RT @jangles: [Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://tinyurl.com/32mtyjl #fb #in #cipr
RT @jangles: [Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://tinyurl.com/32mtyjl #fb #in #cipr
Grasping the nettle of PR spam | NevilleHobson.com http://t.co/IMKc1ct via @jangles
Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://goo.gl/fb/l7W9f #twitter
RT @jangles: [Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://tinyurl.com/32mtyjl #fb #in #cipr
RT @jangles: [Blog] Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://tinyurl.com/32mtyjl
Grasping the nettle of PR spam- http://bit.ly/dxAVJ6
Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://ow.ly/2Nzmm
Very valid points throughout your post, Neville, and thank you for shedding additional light on this issue. It’s certainly one that the public relations profession grapples with, and is something all practitioners should take seriously. As you clearly note in your post, insidious and disingenuous e-mail pitching efforts from individuals or agencies offers little to no value to the media and clients, and in fact, often diminishes our efforts and the perceived value of public relations.
And that’s something none of us can afford. We all share the responsibility to uphold high standards of practice within the profession, and it’s encouraging to see influential professions, such as yourself, shedding light on these issues.
Regarding PRSA’s efforts on educating professionals on best practices, specifically in terms of media relations efforts, I invite to take a read of PRSA chair and CEO Gary McCormick’s post today on this subject: http://bit.ly/aZeRHe
Looking forward to your further thoughts on this very topical subject.
Keith Trivitt
Associate Director of Public Relations, PRSA
@KeithTrivitt
Many thanks for your comments, Keith, I appreciate your posting your views here. Thanks for the link to Gary McCormick’s post.
I discussed this whole issue in the FIR podcast on Oct 4. In light of Gary’s post in particular, I’ll plan on an update in the next episode on Oct 11.
RT @jangles: Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://is.gd/fDM2v > Less is more and take time to know your targets… #CIPR #SPAM #PR
RT @jangles: Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://is.gd/fDM2v > Less is more and take time to know your targets… #CIPR #SPAM #PR
#PR people read this please. Some v fair points about the way we approach media! http://is.gd/fDM2v via @therealprmoment @jangles
Twitter Comment
#PR people read this please. Some v fair points about the way we approach media! [link to post] via @therealprmoment @jangles
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Twitter Comment
RT @jangles: Grasping the nettle of PR spam [link to post] > Less is more and take time to know your targets… #CIPR #SPAM #PR
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U.K. blogger @jangles shows what PR spam looks like http://bit.ly/95y0JF
RT @jodykoehler: U.K. blogger @jangles shows what PR spam looks like http://bit.ly/95y0JF
Grasping the nettle of PR spam | NevilleHobson.com http://t.co/sGuNGrj via @jangles *Interesting*
Twitter Comment
Grasping the nettle of PR spam | NevilleHobson.com [link to post] via @jangles *Interesting*
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RT @jangles: Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://is.gd/fDM2v
Spamming journos is a big issue not only in Oz but around the world. A UK blogger shares his experience http://bit.ly/95y0JF
Grasping the nettle of PR spam | NevilleHobson.com http://t.co/FxaAQKz via @jangles
Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://is.gd/fDM2v (via @jangles)
Twitter Comment
Grasping the nettle of PR spam | NevilleHobson.com [link to post] via @jangles
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Thanks for once again highlighting how not to pitch to a journalist or indeed social media guru. It does sadden me to see that there are still agencies out there that send out cobblers to random, un-targeted, un-suspecting journalists in the hope of a small reference or piece of coverage – which I know is our equivalent of gold dust but there has to be a limit to what an PR agency is willing to do. Of course, I would like to stand up for what I would like to believe is a good chunk of PR practitioners here in the UK that tailor communication and outreach to those that are interested (and relevant of course).
It will certainly be interesting to see what impact the CIPR’s initiative will have on the profession and I welcome it with open arms. I do however want to make even more of your point about how the client will be brought on board – as this is one of our biggest issues – setting client’s expectations and ensuring they realise that their PR agency really does know what it’s talking about. Too often we are grappling with a misguided client who wants to send out their release to all and sundry and can’t understand (or want to understand in most cases) why everyone doesn’t think their product is fascinating.
Luckily I don’t have that problem too often, our clients are pretty au fait with the media and how it works. However I do know of a few companies that still very much work in that way… but for now my lips are sealed ;-)
Liz Alexander
Epoch PR
@Liz611
U.K. blogger shows what PR spam looks like. RT @jangles: Grasping the nettle of PR spam http://is.gd/fDM2v
[…] A recent blog post by Neville Hobson, co-host of the popular industry podcast “For Immediate Release,†discussed an issue that has often been the bane of public relations: e-mail spam. Specifically, Hobson noted how detrimental an apparent increase in the amount of off-topic and unsolicited blast e-mail pitches are having on the perceived value of public relations among reporters, bloggers and the business community. […]
[…] Grasping the nettle of PR spam Tweet Print This Post « The Hobson and Holtz Report – Podcast #572: November 8, 2010 […]