Reporters and editors love roundups, because it lets them quickly provide readers with lists of different companies providing similar offerings around a single topic, especially when that topic is timely (witness all the Covid-19 roundups lately). But PR agencies tend to dislike them, because they don’t get as much credit for a roundup placement…
[PR pro Amanda Orr writes:] Like much of the country, communications teams both in-house and at PR firms have been in a holding pattern. As we look at the Johns Hopkins tracker on a daily basis, watching the numbers of infections and fatalities climb, we knew (at least I hope most of us knew) that this wasn’t the time to send emails or make cold calls…
David Strom says: “My inbox is overflowing with a virus: all Covid, all the time, with pitches and experts offered from all walks of life. It isn’t just the infosec vendors, either: I’ve gotten pitches from genealogy vendors, and how sports reporters are coping now that there are no professional games being played.”
Writes PR pro Alex: “Hanging out with reporters is my favorite part of the week and, having done it for a while, I’ve noticed some personality types that seem to recur. Here’s a pair of some of the most colorful media personalities I’ve encountered, and tips for getting on their good side.”
We asked Tier 1 and B2B journalists, “What role should PR be playing at this time?” Here’s what they had to say. Their answers were given Mar. 22 and 23.
Finding out that a client lied to you can be demoralizing, but it can also become a larger business problem if you don’t identify the lie until it’s too late.
Will Covid-19, better known as the coronavirus, change how tech and business reporters spend their time? Yes, and the changes have begun. We’re querying tech and business editors and will update this article throughout coming days. Here’s what we’ve learned from the front lines so far.
[Please welcome back SWMS contributing editor Lindsay Ciulla, a senior VP with (SWMS subscriber) Weber Shandwick Worldwide. –Ed.] Well friends, in what feels like the blink of an eye we’re somehow halfway through the first quarter of 2020 — in a decade that (at least when I was growing up) promised flying cars and travel via teleportation.
We recently conducted a video meeting with a subscriber who sought SWMS POV on the following media relations questions. With the subscriber’s permission, here are the questions and our responses. Hope you find them useful.
[We asked PR vet Alex Shapiro to contrast the worlds of agency and in-house PR. He knows both. Enjoy the read. -Ed.] For agency PR pros, the grass may seem particularly greener right now on the in-house side and there’s no shortage of hot companies hiring. We’re all told the job market’s hot, and that can often feel true for the revolving doors of PR.
YOUR ACCOUNT
FRIDGE NOTES
This will get a lot of coverage, with any luck. Subscription may be required.
Terrific interview in Press Gazette UK with Dow Jones CEO and WSJ publisher Almar Latour. Revenue and earnings are up — 80 percent comes from digital. Advertising revenue was down slightly, but subscriptions are strong and growing. Almar was quite generous in his advice to competitors — “differentiate,” he says.
A survey fielded Nov. 27 asked how much (or how little) subscribers would pay for The Economist’s subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters, as well as its digital edition and a digital-print bundle. The survey strategy is brilliant: what if the publication charges too much, or worse, too little? Clearly, the publication is contemplating pricing changes and wants to maximize revenue.
“You can read us first, or read them later,” says The Information in a new advertising campaign. You will not see a better way to call attention to excellent editorial.
What a good idea — and lucrative too. Fortune launches a list of the biggest companies in Europe by revenue. Can the Fortune 500 Asia be far behind?
The FT has a cool scoop about Hunterbrook, a new kind of investment firm. Guided in part by former WSJ EIC Matt Murray, Hunterbrook’s business model is part investment firm, part publisher. The investment side of the house drives a (theoretically) market-moving business deal, while the publishing side of the house — comprised of veteran business reporters and analysts — works alongside under NDA. At the very moment the deal is announced, the editorial side publishes the article, moving the market and giving Hunterbrook first-mover advantage. It’s all legal. though leaks could pose a moral hazard.
