Comments on: Humor? PRNewswire and BusinessWire say bah humbug

By: Journalists will reward humor in PR

Journalists will reward humor in PR — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:41:23 +0000

[...] experienced this first hand when their unorthodox but hilarious new hire announcement caused major confusion over at BusinessWire and [...]

By: Corey Grice

Corey Grice — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:55:19 +0000

Great cartoon. Don’t forget the blue plate special, dripping with irony. Maybe some charbroiled newspaper with bankruptcy béarnaise or an unemployment sauce.

As a former journalist, I was often bored with the press releases I received. In fact, we would make fun of the most cliched of the bunch. Everyone was a “a world-class best-of-breed solutions provider.” Whatever. Snoozer.

Humor is an interesting approach to standing apart from the crowd. Anything to get recognized and gain attention. However, it has to be done with smarts and savvy. Humor can be miscontrued and not everyone finds the same things funny, which is why it can be dangerous and why many companies steer cleer. And, humor is not appropriate for *every* product or service. But many of the most successful consumer campaigns, whether ads, Facebook apps or whatever else, are funny.

Look at your man, now look at me. Keep the funny; the alternative is taking ourselves too seriously.

By: Pernilla Åström

Pernilla Åström — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:44:26 +0000

As I see it, as a service provider of press release distribution (MyNewsdesk.com in my case) we should encourage companies to produce good content. We can provide recommendations, like how to find the news in the organization, tips for writing a release or how to optimize a press release for search engines, but the sender is responsible for what they communicate. Of course there need to be policies and the service provider has the right to set them (for personal attacks, breaking the law or offensive content) but we cannot control the messages or their form. That would just prevent development and decrease creativity.

Like someone said above, what is good humor to one person is nonsense to the next depending on personal preferences for what is funny, but if the message and tone is coherent with the company identity and image then it doesnt really matter if all readers grin while reading, it might not even matter if someone think you are silly, depending on what you want to communicate. That must be for the sender to decide.

By: Kathy Klotz-Guest

Kathy Klotz-Guest — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 19:40:30 +0000

Absolutely humor can cut through the PR noise! But the wires are still conservative. Humor is subjective, as is the definition of what’s funny. There is a difference between having “fun” and being light-hearted vs. sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek. I can see how some folks might misconstrue this effort. Even just scanning the headline in Elasticity’s piece – I can see people not reading further (so they don’t get to the obvious tongue-in-cheek stuff). Sarcasm doesn’t always translate. It’s always my least favorite approach in the humor toolbox because it has the highest risk for the lowest payoff. Unless – this is key – your core audience IS that sarcasm-loving crowd! If that’s your core brand attitude, and your audience is loyal – there you go. But the issue with press releases is that they are meant for an audience far wider than your core audience…hence the wires’ concern.

While I will always exhort that PR leverage fun (of course, it’s what I do!), the wires as we know them today are conservative. I believe press releases as we know them today are uncreative, bloated, and increasingly irrelevant. According to PRSA studies, a majority of press folks do NOT read releases b/c they suck so bad – I know what a BIG shock that is (HUGE sarcasm intended there). Again, another reason why press releases sometimes aren’t the best medium REGARDLESS of humor. The media is jaded with them and they have reason to be.

Still, this release is creative and different, and it makes a great blog post, article, etc. I believe there is always a place for humor that cuts through the noise. It also begs the question: what more relevant, more creative vehicle will supplant the traditional press release as we know it? That model just doesn’t work great anymore – regardless of humor.

I know one thing for sure – this is an great opportunity for innovation.

By: Kent Lewis

Kent Lewis — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:18:58 +0000

I think it was funny by PR standards, and a clever way to make non-news news. I appreciate the SEO value of the release, making them #1 in Google for “Non-Mustached Guy”.

By: Todd Jordan

Todd Jordan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:00:46 +0000

Fear of the unknown and fear of not being taken seriously are likely tough for those in the PR Biz. In the case of Conan, no one would look down on them for sharing his press release since he’s obviously a comedian. In a serious business case though, the PR buzz folks are probably afraid it’ll lessen their credibility. Sigh.

By: Tom Foremski

Tom Foremski — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:23:01 +0000

I hate to be a wet blanket, but.. it’s not that funny and the “funny” bits get in the way of communicating the content.

I think it would be a lot funnier if it were a news item on a blog or somewhere else, it might work there but not in the stilted environment of press releases. They aren’t supposed to be funny or even well written – leave that to the journalists – just communicate the facts succinctly, imho…

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:15:23 +0000

It was an interesting experiment indeed. It definitely woke up PRNewswire and forced them to actually read their policy. When they did, they graciously allowed it to go unfettered and even offered a discount. BusinessWire had some suggestions for spam filters that were good, but the fact checking was interesting. We had email permission from all in the story and even had Brian Solis jump in at the last minute at SXSW. And as a new agency, they may need to check more than an established firm they’ve worked with for years. But the point is, how many of those established firms are pushing contrived quotes from unchecked sources? Do the CEO’s really do those quotes? And is your latest mid-level promotion really that earth-shattering? And should a wire service be the editorial roadblock? One other lesson to pass along–every publication we approached directly (not through a wire) ran the story. Humor broke through the clutter and good manners and personal relationships helped seal the deal. And for SEO? Google “Elasticity Hires” and see what comes up. The wire service may need to rethink their value proposition. Especially the SEO sales pitch.

By: Bob Geller

Bob Geller — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:47:06 +0000

The press release is a rigid format and institution that kind of defines in-the-box thinking – they should take note of the success of shows (like Daily Show) and publications that are ostensibly about humor but arguably do a better job of serving up news. Would be funny to have recorded and posted the conversations with the wires

By: Jason Kintzler

Jason Kintzler — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:17:45 +0000

Awesome. Seriously awesome. This is a great example of why PitchEngine is going to change the face of PR – hyperbole aside, we provide an open, social platform for pitching whatever it is you need to pitch. We’re not a newswire, just like Google search isn’t either. But if you search us (or Google) you’re going to find some cool stuff.

So, next time you have something to pitch, like you’re having a bbq and your neighbors should come – pitchengine.com. We accept humorous pitches, because press releases suck!

Jason Kintzler, Founder/CEO
pitchengine