Tweet

Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy!

Written by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: Book Review -- An Executives Guide to Public Relations – Linda B. VandeVrede, VandeVrede Public Relations LLC; ISBN: 0976252708, Amazon.com or www.vandevrede-pr.com/books.html; 133 pages, January 2005, $16.95

Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy!

For more than two years Howard Hudson, the esteemed publisher of PR Quarterly, would call every few months and ask when we were going to write our own book on public relations. Or perhaps we could jointly publish a book on all of the book reviews to give people an elevator view of the great books in the field. Our response was always the same – time and our feeling few would be interested in a complete book of our opinions, views.

We received Ms VandeVrede’s self-published book and it piqued our curiosity. The title – Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy! – is certainly valid even though most executives (and far too many PR people) seem to believe that effective PR is all about cranking out a ton of releases. Then they measure that effectiveness by how many clippings they receive.

The book is undoubtedly the distillation of Ms. VandeVrede’s 25 years of experience in the field. Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy! is far more than just a marketing tool for her Phoenix-based agency (which you might believe when you read the acknowledgements and forward), this is really a compilation of good points and information for newcomers to the field as well as senior executives.

We both agree and disagree with the author’s basic premise for writing the book – the consumer/prospect isn’t the PR target audience but rather the editor, reporter and analyst who write about your product category, your products, your company. If you don’t listen to, understand and work with these gatekeepers reaching the ultimate product or service buyer is almost difficult and expensive.

Certainly you can by-pass the press (print, radio, TV and online) if you have the experience and expertise to leverage blogs and on-line 1:1 communications. But most PR people abuse this approach as much as they abuse the members of the press.

Ms VandeVrede has broken the book down into palatable, easy to read bites. Actually, 25 chapters peppered with a number of quotes from reporters, editors and analysts that certainly add to the credibility of her explanations and the points she makes.

The author gives her favorite list of PR misconceptions which we have certainly heard over our career but found to be more simplistic than we may have spelled out. The heart of her book’s message seems to be that management believes public relations is free, public relations is something that you can manage and public relations is based on news releases. Fortunately she takes you beyond those points and outlines the strategy rather than the tactics of a good PR program and the results it can achieve.

Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy! is the type of book you certainly want to give to your CEO and head of marketing, preferably chapter by chapter because they would only read the sections when the specific subject came up in a conversation or meeting. In addition, it makes an excellent gift for anyone who graduated with his or her PR degree and landed their first job since Ms. VandeVrede makes an excellent point of noting that few people with five or fewer years in the industry have any training or background in journalism. Without that expertise or understanding it is extremely difficult for a practitioner to understand what editors, reporters or analysts really want and need to do their jobs.

In a time when so much of public relations efforts and activities seem to bend the rules of legality and ethics, Ms. VandeVrede does a good job of discussing Sarbanes-Oxley and how it relates to public relations work (from the executive and practitioner perspective). The author does a very good job of distilling the essence of the S-O Act and how it should be interpreted and followed in your many communications activities. The chapter on ethics lacks some of the punch we would like to see discussed in light of recent events. The hiring of journalists as paid spokespersons and the work public relations had to do to further the management messages of Adelphi, Enron, MCI and other financial tragedies over the past few years most certainly crossed the line of the PRSA's (Public Relations Society of America) code of ethics. But to her credit she does give sound advice to practitioners and management that PR people shouldn’t be and can’t be simple vehicles of blindly disseminating management’s messages.

In addition to a very useful directory of resources to help organizations with their PR efforts, the author clearly and concisely discusses important aspects of a complete public relations program including management media training, white papers, websites, trade show activities, editorial tours, competitive positioning and speaker programs. She also helps readers understand what a news release should and should not be as well as how to use and abuse the lowly release. Finally she defines how the release can be disseminated to specific individuals and target groups rather than the entire world.

While the author uses quotes from respected members of the journalistic field to reinforce her premise that the press is the real boss of public relations -- not the company or the management – it is the one point we take issue with. We believe PR serves and negotiates with two bosses – management and the media. Knowing how to serve them both – as well as the consumer public – is the true test of the practitioner’s talent and expertise.

But Ms. VandeVrede makes an excellent point in her book… Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy! For that reason alone it is a book you’ll want to buy and circulate to your bosses (after reading it of course) chapter by chapter

Related Articles
  Home Business Expert: Importance Of Press Releases
  NEWS RELEASE QUIZ

  5 Tips For Successful Online Press Releases
  Press Releases - The Two Most Common Mistakes
  The press release is not dead – it’s not even sick

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Book: Secrets of Six Figure Women - Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to up your earning and change your life Barbara Stanny, 2002 Jacket: Maybe you've noticed - a subtle trend is gathering steam. Quietly and steadily, the number of women making six figures or more is increasing, and it continues to rise at a rate faster than for men. From entrepreneurs to corporate executives, from white collar executives to free lancers and part timers, women are forging careers with considerable financial success. Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews, including dialogs with more than 150 high earners whose annual incomes range from $100,000 to 7 million, Stanny discovered that ...they all had certain traits in common: 1) a profit motive 2) Audacity 3) REslience 4) Encouragement 5) Self-awareness 6) Non-attachment 7) Financial knowhow She amplifies on these in the book itself. Table of Contents Intro: Welcome to the era of the six-figure woman 1. The Queen in the Countinghouse 2. The Lowdown on low earners 3. Raising the bar 4. Strategy 1: The Declaration of Intention 5. Strategy 2: Letting go of the ledge 6. Strategy 3: Get in the Game 7. Strategy 4: Speak Up 8. Strategy 5: The Stretch 9. Strategy 6: Seek Support 10. Strategy 7: Obey the rules of money 11. Claiming our power Appendces: Resources and websites Tips for getting out of dent Investing Basics: Wealthbuilding 101
Re: The Best Method for Online Marketing - In order to write a press release, you must determine the subject of your story. It can be about an event that affects your industry, or it can be about a change in your company that will affect your customer base. Press releases are in all actuality ‘cookie cutter’. Once you get the hang of writing them, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Press releases conform to an established format.
Re: What can you do if your franchise is hit by a scandal? - GT - Brilliant Strategy... What can I add? I'm at a loss for words...so I'll shut up now...
Introducing a Learner - Hi everybody, It is really my pleasure being around so many Entrepreneurs and strategic minds. Strategy is something I always loved and eager over every new move. Being a newbie I would need your support and I hope I would get that. Thanks Stephen
Press Release Builder Tool - Hi Shri - I would be happy to. What do you need from me? Please PM me the details. Also, if anybody has suggestions for how to make the Press Release Builder Tool more valuable please let me know!


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry

You Have A Website What Now

Coaching Tip: Identify Your Core Values

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.