News, opinion and resources for the North West media industry Subscribe to our RSS feed
Front Page | Jobs | News | How-Do TV | Features | Comment | Rumours | How do they do | How did they do | Blogs | About | Links | Login | MarketPlace
NEWS BY SECTOR | Publishing | Broadcasting | Marketing Services | Digital Media | Other Media | The Wrap | Polls | How-Do Awards | How-Do Events

How-Do receives worst press release ever | Print |  Email to a friend
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Here at How-Do we’re used to receiving press releases of varying degrees of interest and various degrees of quality, but rarely do we get one as jaw-droppingly awful and poorly targeted as this…

How-Do has to admit that it opened the emailed release, securing the PR the first points on the publicity board, but then what else were we meant to do when we saw the title ‘Olivia Newton-John saves a kitten on the Great Wall of China’?

Here at How-Do we’re used to receiving press releases of varying degrees of interest and various degrees of quality, but rarely do we get one as jaw-droppingly awful and poorly targeted as this…
Help...
Okay, the North West media and marketing angle wasn’t immediately obvious perhaps, but we assumed there was some sort of hidden relevance (or slightly dodgy website links) enclosed.

Bizarrely, there wasn’t.

The email was actually about Olivia Newton John saving a day old kitten from a pond on a charity walk across the Great Wall of China.

Worse still it had an inbox clogging megapixel picture attached of Ms Newton-John, said kitten (now named Magic apparently) and some camp looking chap who bore a distressingly creepy resemblance to Sir Cliff Richard.

Image
...please God, help!
Reading on about ONJ’s “sleepless nights” tending Magic, feeding the poor feline milk from a syringe every two hours, it quickly became apparent that it was the God-bothering crooner himself in the picture... as the walk had attracted celebrities of the order of Sir Cliff, Dannii Minogue and Toyah ‘fu*king’ Wilcox.

Jesus.

How-Do wishes all the best to Magic (who is allegedly desperate to find his way back to that pond) and, of course, to ONJ on her “extreme 23 day trek” of 228kms (that’s almost ten kilometres a day!), while wishing all the worst on the London-based PR agency who thought that a North West media portal would be remotely interested in this utter shite.

In an ironic twist to the tail said outfit is actually called The Good Agency.

We couldn’t make this up if we tried…

 

Something to add? Then leave a comment below or email us now.


Did you enjoy this article? Please share it!
Digg!Reddit!Del.icio.us!Google!Live!Facebook!Slashdot!Technorati!StumbleUpon!Newsvine!Furl!Yahoo!


Sponsored links:




  Comments (15)
RSS comments
 1 By Peter website, on 30-04-2008 08:54
Well the only thing about this press release is that it got published by How-Do. So did it work or didn't it?
 2 By Kinski, on 30-04-2008 09:45
Fair point Peter... it worked as a naming and shaming exercise anyhow. 
 
As a lowly hack poorly targeted, irrelevant PR tosh is the bane of my life. 
 
All the scattergun approach does is make you pissed off with the agency that's constantly sending you all the crap. 
 
Cute cat though.
 3 By Hang on a mo, on 30-04-2008 10:40
Getting rejected my arrogant journos is hardly fun... with out PR's you'd have to get of your butts and do some work. Grr...
 4 By Kinski, on 30-04-2008 12:43
Hang on... I'm not saying that, and I don't think the story is either. 
 
The point is that targeting is absolutely crucial.  
 
Target your release to the relevant media and it'll be warmly welcomed. 
 
Fire out 1000 emails willy nilly and all you'll succeed in doing is pissing people off. 
 
Good PRs target their releases properly and become absolutely vital to journalists. 
 
Do that and everyone's happy, especially your clients.
 5 By Hang on a mo, on 30-04-2008 12:49
Wow - thanks for that pearl of wisdom... i'll get in touch with the CIPR and make sure they know about this.
 6 By Rob Artisan website, on 30-04-2008 14:24
Very good way of making your point.  
 
Still I got a load of coverage about a dog who liked curry but at least he was a local.
 7 By George Dearsley website, on 30-04-2008 16:28
We know most PRs do a wonderful job. However, because I am still on several media lists as working for "women's magazines" (having for many years written stories like 'I tried to murder my husband' and 'my death bed wedding' etc) I recently received a glossy A4 Press release/brochure in Manchester City blue which carried on the front cover what looked like a golf club with a pointed end compared with the wide end of, say, a putter. On looking inside I was met with a headline which read The Last Taboo...and realised to my horror that the "putter" was actually a device to be inserted into a woman's vag*na. With not a mention of any possible discomfort, the Press release assured me this was her "first step to a strong and healthy pelvic floor" and claimed women could look forward to "an improvement within weeks". I have referred in many a lecture and training session since to the Pelvic Floor Educator (registered trade mark). So in some way I suppose I have given the company some small degree of publicity and now I have introduced the device to How-Doers. But I'm afraid I shrank from offering this to a publication as a news story or feature.
 8 By Jim, on 30-04-2008 17:28
The point was to get people to sponsor Olivia (or even Magic) for her charity walk on the wall of China. As far as 'only' 10k a day? The conditions were adverse: snow, rain, sandstorms, high precarious crumbling-wall treks, 40+degree incline climbs, etc. If you read any of the blogs posted from other, younger, fit walkers you'd see it was no walk in the park. www.greatwalktobeijing.com
 9 By the one that I (don't) want, on 30-04-2008 17:47
That's all well and groovy Jim, but why send the release to a NW business website? 
Surely Heat, Now, Daily Mail, express, Toyah Wilcox Monthly etc would be the correct kind of media channel rather than How Do. 
I agree with Kinski and George - it's all about targeting. that's common sense, but unfortunately not everyone has it. 
 
Now where can I get my Pelvic Floor Educator?
 10 By sharp shooter, on 01-05-2008 14:16
Most half decent PRs do target key media with relevant stories but due to the fact they can also access comprehensive media databases and mass email a release in seconds means the temptation to 'spam' editors will always exist. 
 
How-Do for example is listed on Cision's Mediadisk along with a named editor and a valid email. A lazy exec will often select job title 'editor' - regardless of publication - and hit send to about 10,000 contacts at once. There are lots of filters but often these are often ignored. 
 
PRs also know it annoys journalists if they send them irrelevant releases but the pressure to secure coverage means that if a mass broadcast release can generate even one or two more cuttings (in a regional, on a website, in an obscure trade title etc.) then a PRO feels obliged to do it as a mopping up exercise. 
 
However, you'll be glad to know that most of the decent PR agencies in the nw region have quite a good rep for not blanket emailing journos.
 11 By stoney, on 02-05-2008 08:46
I agree with jim's comment. The trek is hardly a walk in the park and if you could save an animal why wouldn't you? 
Seems to me that How-Do's ridicule of this news item is just a pathetic attempt at publicity for itself.If How-Do consider the story crap then why not just ignore it?
 12 By Kinski, on 02-05-2008 10:17
You're missing the point stoney.  
The frustration doesn't come from the story (who wouldn't try and save the kitten!), it's the targeting and the London based PR agency that doesn't understand what the site's about that's clearly caused the frustration. 
See sharp shooter's points re. spamming.
 13 By tris, on 02-05-2008 15:17
Personally I thought it was $&%*ing hilarious that you 'used' the release in such a way. 
 
Give us more - time for a competition I think.
 14 By Hang on a mo, on 07-05-2008 10:40
This site should be a community, not a place for old hacks to slag of PR's. Why any one would KNOWINGLY or UNKNOWINGLY send anything they had written to it is beyond me. 
 
Put your claws away and get down to some journalism.... you know, digging about in your inbox for a good press release and slagging off PR when you can't find one.
 15 By Julia, on 08-05-2009 20:59
Are you telling me that Olivia Newton John- the one from Grease - is not remotely famous or interesting in Manchester??? I think it was certainlly a well-targeted press-release :-)))))

Add your comment
Name
Email (optional)
Website (optional)
Comment

Email me when someone else comments
Anti-spam question (required): 9 + 8 =

 
< Previous story   Next story >


Today's other news
Rippleffect wins £90k West Mercia Supplies brief
New look Mando faces future with fresh branding and web site
Horror film Salvage gets limited cinema release
Peter Saville outlines vision for Sharp Project
Momentum growing for Twestival in Liverpool
Doctor Who's musical heroine celebrated by Made in Manchester and Radio 4
Pets At Home appoints AWA to help drive its online activities
Designate releases Blackpool The Movie for LBTB
Spoken-Image delivers video solution for NHS Gloucestershire
Remedia claims largest advertising banner in Manchester
BBC apologises for using photo of slain policeman on the 6 o'clock news
True North creates new identity for Queer Up North
Manchester United signs sponsorship deal with MTN of South Africa
Baxter to leave Bell Pottinger in search of a new career change
How-Do weekly Wrap - 19 March 2010 - Nadia Kassas
Creative Concern develops brand for Brockholes development
 
 
 How-Do Events - click here    How-Do Events - click here
 
 
 
Most read in the last three days
Channel M to move to Salford and plans new productions
Manchester United signs sponsorship deal with MTN of South Africa
BBC apologises for using photo of slain policeman on the 6 o'clock news
BBC rejects Guardian report that 5 Live move is delayed
Baxter to leave Bell Pottinger in search of a new career change
Designate releases Blackpool The Movie for LBTB
Spoken-Image delivers video solution for NHS Gloucestershire
Pets At Home appoints AWA to help drive its online activities
Remedia claims largest advertising banner in Manchester
True North creates new identity for Queer Up North
Featured articles
The most comprehensive ever review and assessment of the top communicators and marketers working in public services in the North West: the Public Sector 100. READ
Media 100
The North West’s top marketing folk who collectively control marketing expenditure in excess of £500m and whose endeavours help sustain tens of thousands of jobs. READ
2009media100 The full listing of How-Do's Media 100. The 2009 list in its entirety, offers the definitive compilation of the most influential and powerful media, creative and digital folk based in the North West. READ
 
Contact us now
The How-Do poll
How can traditional publishing firms make money online?
 
Latest comments
Raining on the parade: "Wow! Great news, so there is still a future for Channel M after all?" O... READ
Curious about the maths: If the reason Channel m closed is because it has no money - how is it going... READ
Megan: Is it just me, or do most people really not give a hoot about Channel M? ... READ
Hic hack: ...and if I did "piss on [my] chips for a job in journalism later on," for ... READ
Captain Chaos: By Channel M launch on Freewire t website, on 21-03-2010 10:52 launch on c... READ
Mike Hunt: I'm also with Mike Flex, Mike Stand, Mike Roffone and Watcher. GMG are slip... READ
How-Do RSS/Twitter

Track How-Do headlines in your RSS reader:

RSS feed

View all of our feeds.

Follow How-Do on Twitter:

How-Do Twitter






Front Page | Jobs | News | How-Do TV | Features | Comment | Rumours | How do they do | How did they do | Blogs | About | Links | Login | MarketPlace
NEWS BY SECTOR | Publishing | Broadcasting | Marketing Services | Digital Media | Other Media | The Wrap | Polls | How-Do Awards | How-Do Events
 
UKFast - managed dedicated server specialist