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.
 


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