To gift or not to gift

2/19/2009

By Anna De Souza 

What exactly has public relations become? Certainly seems it's a race to get an editor or producer's attention before your competition, which undoubtedly turns into a gifting war.

Venture to any PR firm on any one day and you'll find an intern expertly gift wrapping a package -- under the watchful eye of an account executive -- to a reporter or producer. Additionally, these assistants will spend days purchasing luxurious gift wrap, tissue paper and packaging these items, oftentimes express messengering them to the recipient' s office in order to arrive in pristine condition. (Little do they know they'll be thrown around in the messenger center for hours or days before making its way to said person's desk.)

Agencies spend incredible resources, be it time, effort, and their client's money to sweeten the deal with chocolates, flowers and balloon bouquets to journalists in the hopes it will win them good graces and a feature story, but how far is too far when dealing with the media? Do you feel they are compelled to consider your clients' products and services after receiving such a gift? Are you, in reality, alienating reporters when you -- in a reporter's own words -- "bribe" them into reading your release?

Below is a sampling of reporters' opinions conveying the attitudes of journalists and producers across the board and throughout the nation. Certainly, these editors ask that firms keep from mailing them irrelevant and unsolicited packages. Beyond having to sign, store, and handle the disposal of flowers and gifts, you can see it indisputably hampers productivity, especially in an industry where time and attention is the difference between getting a scoop or being left out in the cyber-ether.

So perhaps the next time you consider blowing the budget on candy and trinkets, consider instead the kudos they'll receive from their boss when you pitch a fantastic story relevant to that reporter's beat and market. Creativity, dependability and thought are certainly what will keep reporters coming back for more. 

“I can honestly say I have never booked a segment based on a freebie,” says Eric Berlin, 212-975-8133, CBS News’ Weekend Producer. “The segment has to make sense in order for it to make my air and I would rather have a PR person be able to articulate what the segment would be rather than get something in the mail.”

A journalist at a prominent New York daily newspaper added: “Sending a journalist something that has nothing to do with the brand you are selling is usually a waste of your time – and the journalist’s time. Most of the food and silly trinkets get thrown away, though most of the booze gets kept. But nobody wants to be the journalist with flowers on their desk from someone who is pitching them a story. I do have a regulation bowling pin in my office that the representative for a bowling alley sent me when they opened, but I’ve never assigned a story about the bowling alley or even gone, for that matter. For a long time, the staff here would stockpile most of the swag and then it was sold at auction just before Christmas, with all the proceeds going to a charity in the city.”

Asked whether she feels compelled to write about a company after receiving a gift, Melissa Milrad Goldstein, 212-455-1176, senior editor at Better Homes & Gardens answers: “The quick answer to that is no. Sending flowers and chocolates is a nice gesture, and a great way to remind editors about your company and products, since they’re bombarded with news products on a daily basis. But it’s just another marketing tool, albeit one that’s a little prettier and yummier and more attention getting than just blindly sending a product and press release in a nondescript envelope or bag.”

Another prominent NYC journalist who asked to remain anonymous added, "Those gifts are pointless, let alone unethical. Just give us the information we need to get our stories in. Make it timely, easy to access and comprehensive. We're journalists, not whores."

“I try to tell public relations people that I don't like receiving gift baskets in general, whether it's related to the product or not. It makes me feel like I'm getting a bribe and it's usually garbage that I throw away,” says Julie Deardorff, (312)222-3158, health and fitness reporter for the Chicago Tribune. “My biggest pet peeve, however, is the insane amount of packaging that often accompanies the freebie products. I've called and emailed PR firms to complain and when I see unnecessary waste I silently vow never to write anything about that company. What sent me over the edge was getting a stick of gum in a box so big I could hardly carry it. It really, really, makes me crazy.” Another huge pet peeve of hers? Invitations to events in other states she can't possibly attend.

 “I think it’s safe to say most editors love chocolate, so a couple of wrapped pieces tucked into a press release seldom hurts,” says Sonya Colberg, 405-475-4109, of The Oklahoman. “But many of us won’t even remember who sent the candy and most companies and/or journalists have policies against accepting anything of any value. Things that get my attention: An intriguing story idea; a snappy list of great tips or a short, well-crafted intro to an expert who is a good quote.”  

This article originally appeared on Examiner.com and can be found at http://www.examiner.com/x-2136-NY-Marketing-and-PR-Examiner~y2009m2d12-Gifts-for-media-Inappropriate.
 

Anna De Souza is a public relations consultant and a reporter for Examiner.com, covering New York marketing and public relations. Her experience includes coordinating publicity initiatives for several Meredith Corporation publications, including Fitness, More and Ladies’ Home Journal.

3 Comments

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Beth Preddy   02/19/2009 @ 8:36:13 PM

Very early in my career, in the early eighties, I was the AE for the Watergate Hotel and its Restaurant Jean Louis. Visiting the hotel from New York, I made a deskside appointment with the travel editor of the Washington Post to pitch my firm's travel clients, and showed up with a basket of goodies from Jean Louis Palladin and wine at the direction of my boss. With glee and ceremony I unpacked the basket to show off the victuals, pitched the stories, shook hands and left. The next week, back in my New York office, I received a letter from the editor saying thank you but please don't ever bring gifts again, with a line about how embarrassing it was. Story ideas, yes, gifts, no, he said. I was mortified, but he followed up and ran all my story ideas as features. I've never again sweetened a pitch with gifts. The idea, if it's good, is the gift.

Barbara Pflughaupt   02/19/2009 @ 11:28:48 PM

I believe what the media say above in general is true. Oddly though, I think snail mail is sometimes the only way to get through the insane amount of email or phone calls media receive daily now - especially when they are under the pressure of the current cutbacks. It's certainly true, it does not have to be a gift, and a great pitch should be enough. I have long been an advocate of technology - but all of a sudden I feel very retro in terms of actually getting through. Unless the journalist knows you your email, or voicemail, can go completely unnoticed in the flood - even if the subject line is good and the pitch is targeted. It's just a fact - there's not enough time to listen to, or read it all. I agree that sending things that have nothing to do with your brand makes no sense and can come across as looking like a bribe. I also assume that if what you send is just some tschotke and has no real value it will get tossed. But if not, and it is a clever or relevant item tied to the pitch, it will be used by the person you sent it to or someone to whom they give it. No publicist thimks the item will make the journalist do the story. They just hope to get your attention in the midst of this insane seismic shift in media.

Ellen Depodesta   02/20/2009 @ 4:20:50 PM

..."Venture to any PR firm on any one day and you'll find an intern expertly gift wrapping a package..." Huh? Do people really do that? I worked for 11 years at two indpendent PR agencies, one in Los Angeles and the other in Cincinnati, and I'm pretty sure I've never seen an account exec send a gift to a media contact in hopes of sweetening the pot. We built relationships based on value, the merit of our story and trust, not balloons and bottles of booze.