Yesterday, Business Wire hosted an event on pitching features to consumer media. Upon arrival, I was taken aback by a young, attractive, and - as I found out later during the Q&A session – well spoken audience of about 200 PR pros. I almost (almost being a key word) learned more about the industry from the stature and intent of the attendees than from the insightful panelists.

Panelists included high-profile consumer editors Susan Avery, senior editor, Grandparents.com; Jenifer Braun, weekend entertainment and consumer lifestyle editor, The Star-Ledger; Sharon King Hoge, editor, Verdant; Darcy Jacobs, articles editor, Family Circle; Kristine Kennedy, east coast editor, Better Homes and Gardens; and Tracy Saelinger, lifestyle editor, Every Day with Rachael Ray. Panelists, a strong mix of personalities, provided insight, both constructive and personal, into how to pitch most effectively. Business Wire Moderator Angela Mendola asked probing questions that generated the following trends.

Most of the publications had undergone Web and/or print redesigns and section additions over the past two years. Editors prefer concise, personalized pitches. They don’t want to be told what their story is, so products aside, they’re looking for trend pitches, not story pitches, and exclusivity is a must.

Last week’s Fact File column was on celebrity blogs, from the notorious PerezHilton.com to the newbie Dotspotter.com. If you’ve ever wondered about a celebrity gossip site that DOESN’T talk about arrests, sex scandals, fashion faux pas, and things of that nature, there is one that actually exists (there might be several, but this is one I came across recently).

It’s called CelebsGoneGood and it was created by Do Something, the non-profit that supports teenagers who want to change the world. CelebsGoneGood was created to highlight the good, charitable, and philanthropic work done by celebrities, and to inspire the younger generation to take action. It features celebrity good-doers like Oprah and Angelina and their humanitarian crusades.

Celeb publicists are encouraged to send in news and items about their clients. It might be nice to have their clients publicized for the good work that they are involved in for a change.

Earlier this year Taco Bell, on a few occasions, found itself in the middle of a few PR nightmares. First there was the E.coli breakout in the northeast, and less than three months later there was the infamous rodent video that popped up showing images of rats running around a Manhattan Taco Bell as if it were their own private cafeteria.

But during one of the game’s at this year’s rather boring World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies, Taco Bell and its “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” promotion was the talk of the night. Not only were the game’s announcers talking about the promotion, but at one point Fox cut to the Red Sox dugout where two players were candidly discussing the particulars of the promotion during the game.

The promotion: after the first stolen base of the series, consumers could walk into any of the 5,800 participating Taco Bells on a designated date and ask for a free taco. Jacoby Ellsbury, who just happened to be one of the players Fox caught discussing the promotion in the dugout, stole the first base in the second game of the series.

Ellsbury also made an appearance at a Boston-area Taco Bell to sign autographs the day of the free taco giveaway. Taco Bell has been running World Series promotions since 2002. Rob Poetsch, director of PR for Taco Bell, said “We’re giving away millions and millions of tacos.”

Recently (four hours ago), I solicited comments from some of the 300+* PR people (and assorted curios) “outed” by Chris Anderson, for having sent him an unsolicited, unfocused pitch. I’ve received my first response. Names protected to ensure they can still work in PR tomorrow. If you wish to provide answers, e-mail me at keith . obrien @ prweek.com

Comment #2

Really want this to go away quickly! I would just like to state though for the record - I do not blast! Never blast, always make concentrated lists and do my research. [My agency] stresses that we build relationships, and I pride myself of my carefully crafted contact database and concise lists. (Cision)

I also don’t like to reach out to editor in chiefs of any publication due to this very fact. I’m not sure how he got my e-mail address - this feels completely unwarranted. If he did end up on my list (very slim chance) all my clients are technology, so it couldn’t have been too far away for the mark.

I haven’t received many e-mails due to this, but did receive one from an outlet to tell us what the appropriate e-mail is for press releases on tech stories (But it seemed more of an FYI, please pitch us).

CORRECTION: The post previously said 600+ PR people, when it was, in fact, 300+ PR people.

Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired Magazine and overall famous Internet dude, is fed up with PR people sending him pitches that have nothing to do with him. So he blacklisted everyone who did it for an entire month, and posted all of their e-mail addresses on his blog!

While the tone of the comments is halfway between admiration (from some journalists and enlightened PR people) and whining dismay over the fact that an e-mail address is– ohmigod– published on the Internet (from less enlightened PR people), I have to applaud this move. Let the hard rain of shame wash away your sins, spamming PR agencies.

Recently (two hours ago), I solicited comments from one of the 600+ PR people (and assorted curios) “outed” by Chris Anderson, for having sent him an unsolicited, unfocused pitch. I’ve received my first response. Names protected to ensure they can still work in PR tomorrow. If you wish to provide answers, e-mail me at keith . obrien @ prweek.com

Do you believe you were on Anderson’s list in error?
No.

If you did pitch him, did you do so directly or do you assume it was through a list?
Through a list.

Have you had any e-mails from people since the list has been published?
Some of my colleagues have been poking fun at me.
Read more »

Wired EIC (and meme starter) Chris Anderson has posted a list of PR people whose e-mail addresses he has effectively blocked from his Microsoft Outlook account. Representatives from all the major agencies are on there. Are you?

The discussion in the comments thread varies from “serves them right” to “Chris, you’re just as guilty now that you’ve served up everyone’s address to spam bots.” While that discussion is worthwhile, I’m curious: “Are these all cases of purchases lists, or are you really trying to pitch clients to the EIC?”

I’ve sent an e-mail out to a select few of the list to ask them the following questions. I told them they could respond in the comments section below.
Do you believe you were on Anderson’s list in error?

If you did pitch him, did you do so directly or do you assume it was through a list?

Have you had any e-mails from people since the list has been published?

What do you think of his tactics of publishing your e-mail. Do you think it was fair?

Is there a good reason to be directly pitching an editor in chief when there are other editors more receptive to the message?

Do you think Chris Anderson is representing the frustration of other journalists?

Is the system of “pitching editors” broken?

What is frustrating to you in today’s interaction with journalists?

Hopefully, we’ll get some responses.

Last week the WSJ posted a blog blaming PR pros for boring tech jargon, like “solutions,” “robust,” and “leverage.” Blogger Ben Worthen says such bland words actually hurt PR efforts by confusing readers, and turning them away from technology. Though he criticizes PR folks, Worthen acknowledges that others, like clients, could be at fault:

We recently received this email from a PR professional: “I share your hatred of common marketing terms, even as I’m forced by my superiors to use them.” And the other day, a different PR person told us this doozy: “I once edited the word ‘seamless’ out of a press release. The client called me up and protested, ‘if we don’t say it’s seamless, how will people know it’s seamless?”

Several PR pros have since added comments that echo Worthen’s frustration.

Tech jargon drives us PR people nuts, but sometimes we have to pick our battles with the client who just doesn’t want to listen.

Or as one commenter pointed out:

With all the solutions out there all of our problems should be solved by now, eliminating the need for solutions.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on marketing lingo and its effectiveness.

Just like its sister paper in San Francisco, the Hearst-owned Houston Chronicle has streamlined its staff. The Chronicle is expected to finalize about 70 job cuts from its 1,400 positions this week. It’s the same story that’s become all too familiar – ad revenues are down and expected to plunge further, buy-outs are being offered, remaining jobs will be cut. This year nearly all the major news companies — including Gannett, MediaNews, Tribune, and The New York Times – have announced cutbacks, while PR agencies, in comparison, are growing. This makes me wonder if we’re headed for the day when every major metro will have just one lonely reporter dealing with pitches from a legion of PR pros.

Last week, Shecky’s hosted a Girl’s Night Out, which attracted nearly 4,000 attendees during the Thursday and Friday night events. Having gone to an all-girls school, I seriously could not recall the last time I was in the midst of so many women (and there were free alcoholic beverages, so you can imagine what kind of madhouse it was). This particular Girl’s Night Out was built around all-things-beauty (previous ones were fashion-focused) and featured beauty and fashion brands lined up vendor-style to showcase their goods. (Hearst Magazine’s 30 Days of Beauty was one of the event sponsors.)

Besides the hip-shaking belly-dancer on one of the floors, main attractions included a massage station decorated with a spa-like vibe, promoted by Johnson and Johnson’s Melt Away Your Stress line. Bottled up in pretty little lavender containers, this for-adults line exudes an intoxicatingly sweet smell. (I don’t know much about aromatherapy, except for the fact that it mysteriously works.) Another big seller was the Nexxus haircare station offering free hair styling for attendees. While the long wait was tiring, the blow-out was well worth it. (And a really great way to get customers to buy the branded goods, I observed.)
Lip gloss, boxers, perfume samples were among the many free giveaways of the night. (Think very satisfied customers.) The rest of the items were stuffed into a goody bag, which had to weigh a baby elephant. (Again, think very satisfied customers). After lugging the hoard of goods all the way home, I could sure go for another Melt Away Your Stress massage. Or, I could just use one of the free samples and soak myself in a luxurious bubble bath–which is precisely what I did.