I Don't Like this Form of PR

The other day while finishing up a project at the non-profit foundation where I work, I got a call from a PR person from another charity. I won't use any names to protect the innocent, but the charity itself is a very noble cause and the person I spoke to was genuinely friendly. She was essentially calling me asking for ways to get them grant money, which is fine since we do award grants.

But this was about the third time in six months I have either spoken to this same woman or had an email exchange with her and she still doesn't know who I am. Not only that but she sends these massively huge email files containing Word document attachments that clog up my inbox or that don't work or look unprofessional when I am able view them. In fact, one time when she sent these Word files that didn't open, I suggested she make them into PDFs. She replied saying she didn't know how to convert Word documents to PDFs. So I replied telling her how to do it. So she did it and rattled off like seven in a row in a drive-by emailing. They promptly went into my trash file. And then, as part of this latest phone call that she made, she had the audacity to ask me what my email address was.

I really don't like this form of PR.

What this tells me is that I'm just one person on a huge list, she has no kind of records about who I am, and quite frankly, she doesn't know how to do her job.

Nice combo there.

To all college graduates looking to get a job in public relations, here are a few quick tips:

If you're going into the field of public relations...

1. Learn who your audience is and how to talk to them
2. If you're trying to build rapport with someone... build it! Don't just dump your emails on them or pester them with phone calls. That just moves your organization down a notch on your caller's list because you're annoying them.
3. Learn the latest best practices and how to use technology. Don't expect anybody to bend over backwards for you. You need to be ahead of the game and be able to make somebody else's job easier, not more complex. People are busy and you're trying to get their good favor, not make things harder for them.

Good PR can do an organization a world of good, but bad PR can set it all back a hundred years.

Rocky Balboa: The Movie Premiere in Philadelphia

This past week I had the opportunity to help with the video production for the movie premiere of "Rocky Balboa" in Philadelphia. I was on hand to help out the company that was shooting the "house video" of fan interviews, scenery shots, and an interview with Sly Stallone himself. This was my first opportunity to be a part of such a project.

Here's my round-by-round recap for this event:

• Stallone doesn't look too bad up close, considering he's 60. Pancaked makeup does help quite a bit, however. Winner: Makeup over Stallone.
  
• For people involved in the setup of the event or the press, the night involved a lot of hustle and bustle followed by long down periods in a continuous cycle. For example, before Sly's arrival, we met with the camera crews and hustled around to plan the shots that were needed. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Then the crowd started filing in and the camera crew hustled to interview them. Then it got close to Sly's arrival, so we waited for that. And then he and the other celebs arrived and it was pandemonium. And so on and so forth. Winner: "Up and down" over "slow and steady".
  
• It never ceases to amaze me how crazy people get just to see a celeb. Ok, so the actor/actress steps into your living room via a movie, performs his/her role, and then people go nuts when they actually see him/her in person. It's not as though these actors/actresses saved the planet. In fact people who are out there actually saving the planet don't get as much recognition as movie stars. I bet if Al Gore were to walk down a busy street, 75% of the people wouldn't notice, 10% wouldn't care, 10% would respectfully acknowledge his presence, and 5% would maybe go nuts. If Brad Pitt walks down the same street, he would probably need a police escort or a really good mask to make it through the crowd. Bizarre world we live in. Winner: Pretty boy over politician.
  
• From a marketing perspective, things were done pretty nicely. Mini-movie posters were handed out to some or maybe all fans. There was a ton of signage outside the theater. Footage of interviews were taken with certain media angels in mind. The road was blocked off, spotlights were blaring and music from the movie was pumped in, creating some extra sizzle around the city. And all the local news stations were set to cover the night's activities, creating a big PR buzz in Philly. Not bad for a Monday night. Winner: Sizzle over fizzle. (Fo shizzle.)
  

So there you have it. A night on (well, around) the red carpet. Now we'll see who wins at the box office...