Sometimes you read something, or you hear something, and it just makes you stop and say, “Seriously?!?”. Often this is from a pitch selling a company’s products or services. It can be from the company directly, or it can be from their marketing or PR agency. Note – there are many great PR and marketing agencies out there doing great work. This just makes the crappy ones stand out even more. So it was when I heard about this pitch….

German car manufacturer Audi may be about to enter a PR shit storm, thanks to the naming of their social media campaign in the run-up to their Super Bowl ad. The campaign (run by Audi of America) is based around a new creation called the Green Police, who will spearhead a social media program to build interest in Audi’s ad at this year’s football showcase. The Green Police enforce ways to protect the environment, and encourage people to a better…

Okay, that’s a pretty bold title, and it may put some folk off, but sometimes you have no other way of saying something without diluting it. I was watching a conversation unfold on Twitter the other evening about public relations, and why a lot of the PR industry is in disarray. While the “bloggers and journalists don’t like us” line was shared a few times, one of the points that came up a lot was that the industry is still…

For some reason, I’ve suddenly started to get a few pitches from PR agencies and companies regarding business and marketing books. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but as I like to read I’ll take it as a nice bonus. Going through the pitches, though, I’m beginning to wonder if the authors themselves should start composing the pitches to go with them. Maybe that would stop some of the less-than-impressive ones getting through. Here…

I don’t like to rant at his blog but Logan Movers of Toronto and their excuse for customer service (and incredibly bad PR) are a definite exception. As you might know, my wife Jacki and I moved house this weekend. While this can be stressful enough, it becomes even more so when you get a moving firm that seem hell-bent on making it more stressful than dining with Hannibal Lecter. Step forward Toronto-based Logan Movers. It’s Rude to Whisper I…

So there’s been plenty written about why bloggers hate PR people. From lazy pitches to not knowing names and audience, there’s a veritable mish-mash of scorn poured on us PR nuisances from a lot of bloggers. And, yes, some of it is warranted and trust me, I’m the first to call out bad PR practices. But you know that just like anything, there’s always a flip side. Here’s an example. I was speaking with a very good friend of mine…

Before I start this post, I just want to apologize in advance if it gets a little lengthy – it’s my response to a Cease and Desist letter I received last week. Recently, I wrote about Melrose Jewelers and a press release they had issued. The release discussed actor Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt and said that his Rolex watch had played a major part in the actor being alive today. At the time, I personally found the release to be…

Image by ATENCION: via Flickr Let me ask you a question – what’s your view of the PR industry? It doesn’t matter if you’re involved in it professionally, someone that uses its services or just an average person on the street – is it a positive or negative view? I’m guessing that the majority of views about the industry I love and work in are fairly negative. There’s the belief that we’re charlatans who are just after a client’s money,…

Pharmaceutical company Motrin made a huge faux pas recently. The company released an advert aimed at why moms need painkillers or pain relief through medication. Unfortunately, the way they went about it only served to alienate the very audience they were after. They’re not alone – many companies make this mistake. And with the power of social media to make the mistake a hugely costly one, Motrin could be in for a very long brand reparation campaign. Yet is it all Motrin’s fault or does the blame lie with the agency they employed? When does recommendation stop and responsibility begin?