Yes, it is the job of the MPR professional to get media mentions and spread word-of-mouth for his or her company, brand, and/or products.  To that end, I’d like to say the folks at Weis Markets, a supermarket chain based in Sunbury, Pa., did their job when an article based on their December 31, 2009, press release, “Weis Markets Lowers Prices on 2,600 Staple Items and Freezes These Lower Prices for 90 Days,” appeared on the front page of the “Money” section of Allentown’s Morning Call.  This is great for Weis Markets. Or is it?  I am a bit concerned by the fact that the article, “Weis Lowers Prices on 2,600 Products,” is a rewrite of the press release and appears to be a thinly veiled “advertorial” for one the Morning Call’s bigger advertisers.  

What do you think?

Quite frankly, a supermarket lowering prices in a recession is not news-it’s a

promotional campaign. Sometimes, it is worth the time of a company’s

Marketing/PR department to help journalists by providing them with press

releases that read like news.  Otherwise, a great media mention loses the

credibility that makes PR so powerful in the first place.
 
 
There are things I wish I had included in the text, but just didn’t have the room for them.  The MPR campaigns executed by Diageo in support of their Captain Morgan brand rum and themed around the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections are an example.   They incorporated social media by having www.captainmorganforpresident.com link to a Facebook fan page, and they used traditional media by distributing some great press releases, albeit tongue-in-cheek to the mainstream press.  In 2008 the release they spelled out the “Captain’s” platform and posted a YouTube video.  In the 2004 release they promoted an event during the Republican convention giving rides to the Hamptons to people who wanted to get away from Manhattan and the bustle of the convention.   Really a great concept with strong execution.

Reflections:

What makes a great press release?  What elements of greatness does the 2004 Diageo release show?

What are the common threads that tie traditional media, social media, and event PR together?