If you haven’t already read the Los Angeles Times story (11/15/09) on how marketers are wooing bloggers – the story focuses specifically on those in the “mommy” and “foodie” categories – it’s certainly worth checking out. While not all that different from multiple similar stories that have been written in the past (especially earlier this year in the lead up to the BlogHer conference) it’s always good to see what the current temperature of the room is.
Because it wasn’t all that new or groundbreaking I probably wasn’t going to comment on it. But then Jeremy Pepper wrote the following:
And from a PR perspective, the article shows corporations are reaching out to Mom bloggers … but with no real strategies, just the usual junket mentality: invite people with influence and wine and dine them, and they’ll write about you. And, according to the article, that’s pretty much true.
That “junket mentality” is pervasive in the movie publicity world. The press junket is a tried and true tactic to get a bunch of press in a room, feed them and then give them 20 minutes with some of the movie’s cast and crew, a situation that’s hoped will result in plenty of glowing stories.
Indeed that entire LA Times article could have been written about the movie publicity world. Movie blog/site writers and publishers are routinely flown out for set visits, sent piles of swag and otherwise courted by studios looking to generate buzz for an upcoming film. Instead of being the holders of the household purse-strings, though, these folks are the new authoritative source of what movies people should be paying attention. Their cumulative audience is huge and wields tremendous influence. So naturally they’re going to be courted by studio publicists.
The problem is that many of these influencers often don’t have any journalistic background or training. They’re fans. And while that means their writing is filled with that passion and enthusiasm it also means they little to no sense of what it means to draw ethical lines in what they publish. That’s the same problem that’s highlighted in the LA Times among those in the categories it focuses on.
That’s why it’s often the marketers that need to hold themselves to a higher standard than anyone would expect. Push back. Say “No” to someone who wants to send a bunch of stuff to a blogger or fly them to an expensive event. Present an alternative plan that achieves the same goals without crossing any questionable lines.
Relationships that are built on *that* foundation will be much more long-lasting and mutually beneficial. Publicists willing to hang someone out to dry after the sought-after media spike aren’t doing anyone any favors. And writers of any stripe – blog, newspaper, whatever – who are more than happy to bend to someone’s wishes in order to secure the desired access are going to find themselves very, very lonely when their traffic drops and they’re seen as less desirable targets.
I’ll admit that occasionally I suffer from the “Got to get mine” mentality. I sometimes feel like I should be sent more swag, that the 10+ hours some MMM columns take should be more widely acknowledged – most preferably with DVDs of the movies whose campaigns I review. Hey, that’s natural. And as a marketer I’ve made mistakes and will cop to them.
But as an industry we need to do it better. There needs to be more people willing to point to a line and declare they will not cross it. As Jeremy says, the old doesn’t work, even if it’s being done with new people. In fact because the landscape has changed so drastically in the last 10 years it’s even more important that the old tactics, which don’t have long-term relationships in mind, aren’t used.
I don’t have all the answers here, despite the amount of time I’ve spent thinking about things. I do know, though, that there needs to be a massive change in many standard operating procedures and that needs to be a conversation more people are involved in.
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