PR yes, to author, but then it can often be more favourably transmitted (in the right format complete with 5Ws and H) via Virtual Press Office (VPO) type (choose the right one for your industry market) wire services. The PR can once again do the follow up (e-mail is not enough punch). - www.artslink.co.za

PR - yes, including press releases - creates a 'brand' and advertising maintains it.
show me one journalist who doesn't read a article quoting Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Sol Kerzner, Jeremy Ord.
ALL THESE BRANDS WERE BUILT THANKS TO PR
best you all read Fall of Advertising and Rise of PR.

If the company has a strong internal communications team, then PR must come in only when it is absolutely necessary. PR will then be called in for BIG jobs.

is breast feeding important? just coz the child can see the mother does not mean s/he has been fed.

what is that all about?

Yes, it is wiser to dig into your pockets, and use the experts - you benefit in the long run, big time!

PR is a definite yes, but freebee press releases are a no-no. Magazines specifically are after money - your free press releases are not controlled and impact not monitored in print. If you are going to launch a brand - exciting or not - you need to allocate budget for paid for space or product experience for the readers. That is of course if your PR agency networks enough to get you free space.

Yes Yes Yes! On does need a PR Consultancy to get press releases published, but people should be aware of what is newsworthy and what is not. For instance PR people are equipped to determine the newsworthyness of a story and they could also identify relevant media (journalists)to send this to.

Companies should without any hestitation or doubt use the services of PR practitioners.

Thanks

R T

successful PR. They contain an idea which can be transmitted via phone or over drinks. Most publications will give their journo the story to write anyway. Successful PR takes time and companies should selling not doing their own PR! Stick to core competencies.

ivan is that you??? i know where you work!!!

pr posse - doesn't this sound like at least one of clients who knows better ... you know what i'm talking about!

now that we have that sorted, would you like to go for a drink...or should we save the money and the time and get right down to the basic principals of PR?

Many companies have in-house PR managers, and not overpriced PR companies. They all say but we have schmoozed the media and we have all the contacts (read we bought the media list). It is impossible to measure PR value, everyone just says it is valuable. Pffft. Do it yourself. Go online, find all the info you can FREE on how to write decent press releases. If you have a good and innovative product then the media will be very interested. You don't even have to write a press release. Firstly, you need to contact the publication you want to be in. NEVER SPRAY AND PRAY. Find out exactly which journo covers your beat. Then phone them directly or send the a short introductory e-mail. Introduce yourself as the media contact for your company. GIve a brief breakdown of the co. and product. Ask them what they are currently working on. If it relates to your product then tell them you will shortly be sending a press release that you feel is relevant to their forthcoming feature, also offer interviews willingly, and if you have the time say you will go to them, or ask them to send you Q's and you swiftly reply with the answers. Also the word Exclusive goes a long way. Pr can be done by anyone with writing and people skills. It is really easy, don't fall for PR companies who claim integrated communication and strategic input. What a load of codswallop. They are just giving you the same crappy spin that they will then feed to the poor journo's. One word you have to know is NEWSWORTHY NEWSWORTHY NEWSWORTHY. Then it has to be relevant firstly to the publication, then to the journo writing. Help the journo do less work, and they will readily contact you next time.

Most companies who try to do it themselves fail because
1. they're arrogant and think that their story is wonderful (when it's not)
2. they run out of steam -- they know it's a good idea but they just don't do it.
It's too difficult an activity to sustain. It's like learning a language -- sure you can do it yourself, but it's easier, more effective and ultimately cheaper to go to a few classes and get the support you need. If you want to get it done properly, it's easier to employ somebody to do it -- and an outsourced PR company is a pretty good investment.

We look after the press for a major company, and have found that feeding news and pictures has resulted in a great amount of media coverage.

We have found that the newspapers are only to happy to receive this. Firstly, because it is newsworthy, and secondly because they got it free. Thirdly, a lot of Jounos (not all mind you) are getting lazy and to receive the info is easier than doing the leg work themselves.

To see them quote a media release verbatim and sign their names is following Darryl Brisow-Bovey's lead!

PR companies do work! They have the contacts and the know-how.

indeed PR is needed to get press releases published. A press release has to be structured well thought and newsworthy. Determining newsworthiness of an issue requires skill and appealing presentation.

If PR was not necessary, anybody could just write anything and send their releases to the press. Although in some instances non - PR people think they know all there is to know about PR and press releases.

I don't think it matters to an editor where they get their content - as long as it is reasonably well written and comes from a verifiable source.

Media companies publish press releases that appeal to their audiences, irrepective of where they come from. It's the quality of your content that matters. Always contextualise your story according to the needs of the mediumn and the audience you're targeting. In short, each meduim requires a distict press release. For example, a press release for radio may not necessarily be usable in television, or vice versa, although these are both broadcast mediums.

Not every event/story needs a 'pr person/angle' - but when needed it can help, as most media communication specialists - a speciality within the public relations mix!! "PR" is a badly and loosely used term - with a reputation worth their salt can certainly add weight with journalists looking for material. It comes down to writing, relationships and street cred no ? Sue C

Public relations performs a vital role within organisations, however, as a result of far to few PR professional being properly qualified (for example having degrees in this field) the standard of PR is far below that of what the practice offers to companies. Unfortunately neither PRISA nor companies within SA are that stringent about the qualifications requirements of their PR departments or agencies, however if this were the case in the financial sector would it not cause raised eyebrows and a shambles in company books? The same applies to the field of PR who are not that strict about their requirements or the definition of true PR, if fact if you are a party planner sitting at home, well then you’d be a fantastic PR poppie, why don’t you start you own company. This is after all the case within this so-called profession. When true PR is practiced according to the requirements of the profession, the writing and dissemination of press releases merely scraps the bottom of the barrel, other important functions provided by public relations include crisis communications, media relations, developing company strategies, analysing coverage that is received, monitoring the media to name but a few.

Since you are bleating about professionalism in PR, maybe you would realise that writing skills are one of the most important. Communication, both verbal and written, is key. So read your input again and find your mistakes. "too" is your first one. "Scraps" the bottom of the barrel? Scrapes surely. Anyway, don't comment that there should be more professionalism in PR when you are clearly unprofessional in what you put out.

What a bunch of wankers. The question is simple. Do OR or don't you need a PR company to send your press releases to a publication. Let alone write them.

Answer: Absolutely not.

If your company is commited to a particular publication and you place advertising with it, publishers and editors will happilly support you if you send in relevant, informative, newsworthy contributions. Even better, if you have photographs to accompany your story. I was in the marketing department of a major electrical manufacturing company during the 90's. We had a host of freelance writers who would review our products from time to time and for a small fee, submit articles or "press releases" suitable for publication in the various trade publications.

The beauty of it was that these articles were written by experienced, knowledgeable professionals. And we were guaranteed that the editors of the respective publications would publish our stuff because the articles were relevant and made sense to the trade. No flowery "pr" speak - just pure product power.

You DO NOT NEED overpriced PR companies with inflated egos to get published. It's easy. If you have the skills inhouse, don't even bother with crappy PR companies. Total waste of money and time.

All the press releases in the world will not get coverage. Quality of writing in just one issue because releases are but one component of the "PR" mix. Ask any journalist how many releases they get a day/week/month. You will be astounded at the number. Pick up any credible publication and count how many press releases were used - it will be a fraction of the number of releases the editorial team received in the catchment time frame.

To get coverage you need to know your journalists, know what they need, how they work, when their deadlines are and how their publications work - trade vs analysis vs hard news. Only then can you get "great" coverage. It's about relationships. If you don't have them, you're wasting your time and your client's money.

You also have to educate your clients vis-a-vis the issues covered above. They have to understand how you work, why you do it that way and why appointing a new sales person is not news.

This is simple stuff and yet so many so-called PR companies just don't get it.

end of rant

even hiring a pr company doesn't guarantee the story will be published but if you don't know what you're doing rather let them try for you

1. No, you don't need a PR agency if:

- Your press release is sufficiently newsworthy and well-written
- You know the most appropriate publications to publish it, and
- You know the right journalists and their deadlines.

However the challenges are:

- How many press releases should you be sending out there (ie regularly enough to create the right publicity, and sparingly enough to keep journos interested and not irritated)
- How sustainable can your efforts be (do you have someone dedicated to this job - which involves getting the newsworthy info out of your staff in the first place, collating and writing the story, monitoring publication of your efforts, monitoring the effects of your efforts)
- Maintaining exceptional standards in writing, in photography, in media relations

If a large part of your company's marketing efforts are focused on using editorial to build brand, it is often worth it to use the PR experts rather than attempt to do the job internally.