29: These are the worst

This week the discussion is about the worst PR practices Paul and Dave have encountered recently. These include unanswered inquiries, missed phone calls, messed-up mail merges and the trade show “press swarm.” They’re not complaining, mind you, just pointing out how lack of attention to the basics can torpedo even the best PR efforts.

A particular issue is PR people who don’t respond to overt invitations from reporters to be included in articles. What are these people thinking? Our hosts debate the merits of “info@” e-mail addresses; Dave doesn’t like them but Paul thinks they’re OK if done right.

Dave describes how his schedule was disrupted by a PR professional who couldn’t distinguish between eastern and central time zones. Paul reminds listeners that there is a difference between standard and daylight time and wishes more PR pros would make that distinction.

Paul tells of his experience at the Demo conference, where a PR feeding frenzy was evident on day two. Why didn’t these people do more advance work?

And then there’s e-mail. Dave reminds PR pros that if he doesn’t respond to the first e-mail, chances are low that the second one will be any more successful. And Paul recounts the amusing results of a misfired mail merge he received this week.

Download the podcast here. (11:24)

26: How to work a trade show, part 2

In part two of our interview with Pulvermedia’s Bill Sell, we talk about the role of new media in event PR. Bill believes bloggers are a hugely useful resource to PR people, but that too few companies leverage their enthusiasm and talent. Pulvermedia has been proactive about courting bloggers to cover its events but Bill warns that you can’t treat bloggers the same way you would mainstream media. By courting them appropriately, though, PR pros can find new communities of customers. Boggers bring knowledge and insight to their reporting that isn’t always evident in technology journalists, but they can also be critical and challenging. They’re worth the effort, though.

Download the podcast. (13:35)

25: How to work a trade show, part 1

In the first of a two-part interview, Bill Sell, Vice President & General Manager of Events at Pulvermedia, shares his advice on how to work a trade show. Bill’s been in the events business for nearly 30 years and has managed the biggest of the big: Comdex in its glory days. In this interview, he outlines best practices he’s seen PR pros use and talks about the future of the trade show business. He also talks about the worst of trade show PR, like the dumpster that Comdex organizers used to maintain to hold all the discarded press kits. A lot of PR people work a trade show badly, Sell says. They don’t plan well and their press kits are stuffed with unnecessary information that fails to catch attention. Hear about the best and worst practices for working a trade show.

Download the podcast here. (14:22)

Here are some of Bill’s main talking points if you don’t have time to listen to both parts of the podcast:

1. Talk with the show organizer

• Role of the show manager
• Role of the exhibitor
• Role of the public relations agency
• Role of the press person

2. Preparing pre-show, at-show and post-show media outreach efforts

• Pre-show – set goals and objectives
• Make calls to reporters you know and invite them
• Prep your press person for show site
• At-show – who is your ideal spokesperson and who wins the “quote war”?
• Handling press who visit the booth
• Planning for follow-up and thank you’s
• Post-show call to thank them (call, not email, then email)
• Summarize your show action plan and product announcements and recap for all of the relevant press your missed

3. Save some money – don’t create a press kit

• Don’t bring a press kit!
• Work the show press list early
• Pre-announce your product or service a week before and showcase it for the first time at the show “double exposure”