Ten PR sins you must not commit, by Gina Sharp, PR director at digital agency White Label

Recently, I was Raging Against the PR Machine and condemned the tradition where junior PROs must call journalists on a Friday to ask why their press release went unused. I described how, as a junior exec, I’d made a stand against this outdated, cringeworthy ritual. It earned the wrath of the MD, who banished me to PR purdah (the press clippings room) where my penance was to paste paper on card for a week.

I thought this would amuse today’s graduates, but their reaction surprised and saddened me. Most said they’d love to make a similar stand over such idiotic requests from their agency seniors. But these Rosa Parks moments would cost them their job. And it’s not a good time to risk being rebellious.

I was stunned that this tradition has survived. Are senior managers REALLY still indulging in this outdated ritual? Well apparently yes, they are. In times of uncertainty, mumbo jumbo conquers all. In fact, things are getting worse, and thanks to access to DMs on Twitter and Facebook, the humiliation of the junior executives at the hands of their elders-who-should-know-better takes place every day.

Worse still, in a sort of PR version of Stockholm Syndrome it became clear from many responses that some of these innocents had become brainwashed by their captors. Some even argued that it is “acceptable” and “part of the PR process“.

I realise now how lucky I was. When I interviewed for my first job in PR I had five other interviews on the same day. In fact, I could have interviewed every day of the week. This was not because I was a PR genius.

At that age, despite thinking I knew everything, all I had on my side, apart from drama-school training and a lot of attitude, was the fact that our industry was booming and the jobs were plentiful. So on the day when I decided to make my point I knew that I could find another job on Monday if shove came to “push off“. These days, the luxury of standing up for yourself carries a much higher price.

So I appeal to you senior PR managers. Have a little rethink and let your juniors off the hook. And if you don’t recognise yourself immediately, then have a look through my checklist below.  In my opinion these are the top ten PR sins to avoid.

PR sins

1.   Suddenly becoming “mates” with a journalist or analyst when you need something. It’s about relationships. A good PRO sees what their contacts are up to and keeps in regular contact.

2.   Calling 24/7 after you’ve left a message on the landline or mobile. Or both! If you wouldn’t do that to your friends and family then it’s not a good idea to do it in business. Neither is it advisable to make an early morning surprise-tactic call merely to pick the brains of said journalist.

3.   Senior managers who insist on putting juniors on ring rounds. It’s irritating for the press as they need to talk to people with some understanding of the topic and it’s a frustrating experience on either side.

4.   Sending unwanted DMs via Twitter and Facebook barely five minutes after being followed or added by a journalist or analyst. Bad etiquette, people. Bad.

5.   Promising journalists you can provide them with valuable copy and then letting them down at the last minute. Find out from your client first if you can deliver, get the information in your hands and then approach the journalist.

6.   Phoning up, then waffling on for ages, not being able to explain anything in your own words and following up with an email cut and paste from a document.

7.   Sending a press release that doesn’t get to the point until the third paragraph.

8.   Not being able to produce a quote, or a high-resolution colour picture, and leaving the journalist to work this out for themselves when you’ve locked yourself in the loo and refuse to answer your phone.

9.   Asking for everything to be explained several times over. I gather from my journalist friends that some PROs make over 10 phone calls. (Really?!)

10.   Having a one-size-fits-all attitude to news stories. Think of a story as like a party dress. It’s social death to turn up in the same outfit. So tailor your offering to each journalist. Or they’ll all end up looking exactly the same, and they’ll never trust you again!