According to Wikipedia, public relations is the art and science of managing communication between an organization and its key publics to build, manage and sustain its positive image. Here's the deal: I have been writing about wine, spirits and travel since the 1960's and publish about 40 articles a year. My Beaujolais, rum & tequila stories all rank in the top 5 on Google. If you reference Ron Kapon on Google over 15 pages are displayed. I have paid my dues. I go on some group press trips that don't interfere with my university teaching schedule and the wine tasting events I conduct. I attend half a dozen travel showcases and most often book my own trips working with many convention & visitors bureaus and public relation firms. I still keep in touch with many of the people who have hosted me in the past years. Lest you think I am anti public relations I have two dear friends running their own agencies who I have dealt with for many years. Plus there are at least a dozen in-house public relation/communication people I always work with. I even polled the wine and food writers in the New York City area and ask for their choice for best (and worst) public relation firms.
Here's the story: I am flying to South America to four countries and getting comped or media rates, with upgrades, from several airlines. I am at a travel show and meet the US public relations person for an airline that flies to several countries I want to visit. After exchanging e-mails for several months and many phone calls (always from me; never once did she call me back) I was told no to a media rate. It was not high season and when I checked directly with the airline there were plenty of empty seats on my flight. I flew a competitive airline.
Same trip I wanted to arrange my winery visits. A new public relations firm was hired to handle their US press. I knew all the importers and could have set up my own tour but decided to let them handle my visit. I get a call from an intern who asked me "do you write about wine?" I suppose 40 plus years of writing didn't qualify me to speak to a senior person. Two weeks later the intern (not a knock against her since she was very accommodating, but raw) told me it would be $200 per day for a car and driver, $125 average for hotels, plus the cost of meals. I replied "I have someone driving me who wants to learn more about wine; I am the guest of several wineries at their guest house or hotel; I am eating meals at wineries." I told her thanks but no thanks and called two importers directly who booked all my visits (competitors working together) within two days.
I am visiting several islands on a cruise and want to arrive one day early to experience and write about the island where the cruise departs. I see the islands representative at a travel show and they put me in touch with their PR firm. I start corresponding five months before the cruise leaves and speak and/or e-mail her at least a dozen times. It doesn't come together until within one week before I am scheduled to leave on the trip. Now I may be Monk's biggest fan, but five months?
I end up sitting next to the third ranked executive from a super luxury resort chain on a flight to South Africa. He suggests I call their PR person about staying at one of their properties. I am then quoted 10% off the rack rate. The hotel's own website showed a lower price for my available dates.
I was the guest of a nearby competitive hotel.
I have always sent clips and given lists of people who I have dealt with as references. But, some of those forms I am asked to fill out are ridiculous. "How long will your article be?"; "when will it run?"; "what is the theme of your story?"; and then the kicker: "what are the advertising rates at your publication?" Answer- I have never been to your island; I don't sell advertising; I will not know until I submit the story when it will run; I don't know what I will write about until I get there.
Assignment letters are the biggest BS out there. There is no guarantee there will not be a new editor; the magazine could fold; they don't have room or don't like the story. What is wrong with a dozen current examples of my writings with editor/publisher contact information? "No, we want an assignment letter."
I received a call from a PR agency asking me for a list of the wine writers in the NYC area. They had just gotten their first wine account. Hello! are you charging your client for that list? Why should I assist you when there are plenty of capable, knowledgeable firms out there that know what they are doing.
I suppose it is easier to let a firm make contacts and clear out the riff raff but here's an idea: why not call your own PR firm without identifying yourself and pose as a writer. See if you get a call back; look for the wasted time and billing. You see, you have hired someone to represent your product, hotel, airline, island, country etc.
Ask yourself: are they helping or hurting you?
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