On SiliconValleyWatcher.com yesterday, Tom Foremski wrote about the “Killer Pitch.” What Foremski sees next is PR pros being able to drive traffic to news stories ourselves. We’d be able to dangle this carrot in front of reporters to make our pitch more enticing.

Foremski says:
“ ‘… and we have the ability to drive a lot of traffic to your story.’ In a world where reporters are increasingly rewarded not on the quality of their work but on how much traffic their stories attract — this becomes the killer pitch.”

Foremski contends that PR pros don’t yet know how to drive traffic to news stories. I agree to some degree.

But, the bigger point goes back to something that we discuss frequently here at B2BFishbowl. Ding, ding, ding – PR is changing.

Today, it’s in PR’s court to drive traffic to our content. It’s no longer enough to hit homeruns with stellar articles. We not only need to place our clients in articles, we need to publish content ourselves, optimize it for online eyes, and promote it directly to our clients’ customers. PR has more jobs to do these days, and content development is making its way higher on the list.

But, one thing remains the same—media bring third-party credibility that we cannot hope to duplicate. So, our pitch strategies must always address what reporters need. If that means helping to increase pageviews for their articles, then that’s an area PR pros will learn to deliver.

Do you think there is an ethical issue with pitching that PR pros can drive traffic to a reporter’s story?

The BCS National Championship game last night was gut-wrenching. Texas fans were on the edge of their seats; waiting to see if the Longhorns could pull through with freshman Garret Gilbert running the show after Colt McCoy hurt his passing shoulder on the Longhorns’ first drive. And while I was on pins and needles throughout the game, it was for a completely different reason. I was waiting for the post-game interview with Colt McCoy.

I like college football—Go Devils—but, in all honesty, my favorite part is what the losing QB says after the game. It’s the most profound moment that really shows what kind of person he is and what type of spokesperson he will be.

Colt McCoy is a class act. He kept his composure, answered the reporters questions, and, most importantly, he congratulated Alabama on its victory, calling them “a tremendous football team”—twice.

In contrast, I remember Matt Leinart’s post-game interview after the BCS title game where USC played Texas. Leinart commented that despite the Trojans’ loss to Texas, “I still think we’re a better football team. They just made the plays in the end.” All I can really say about that is TACKY!

There is truly a stark comparison between McCoy’s and Leinart’s interviews. So, what can B2B marketers learn from this? It’s simple: bad-mouthing your competition (even in the most perceivably judicious manner) just won’t make you look good. And, of course, great media training goes a long way.

Kudos to Colt McCoy for getting it right!

What do you think?

B2B marketers and B2C marketers alike can certainly learn a thing or two from this list of 2009’s Top 10 PR Blunders (thanks to Fineman PR in San Francisco for sharing). I recall quite a few of these mishaps from the past year and even blogged about one of them. These blunders serve as good reminders of some PR basics. Here’s a quick look at my takeaways from others’ mistakes:

1. If you say it, be prepared to see it in a headline
2. Social media has changed the game for crisis communications; prepare and respond accordingly
3. Everyday moms can access reporters more easily than ever before and they are a motivated group
4. If you set out to create buzz, be prepared to receive it and deliver on it

Ultimately, these blunders show that you can’t “spin” your way out of everything (by the way, as a PR pro I hate the word spin more than anything). Sometimes it’s just better for individuals and companies to take a big bite of humble pie.

What PR blunders do you remember from 2009? Do you hate the word spin too?

Photo courtesy: www.flickr.com/photos/andraspfaff/

Tiger Woods is probably getting a lot of advice right now. Advice from friends, family, legal pros and most definitely his PR pros.

We all know the story; it started out fairly innocent. But, the crash, coupled with Tiger’s inability to provide a logical story about his behavior that night, unleashed the media—which many believe led to a quick destruction of Tiger’s previously flawless image.

However, in my opinion, it’s the events that followed the crash and Tiger’s silence, not the media, that led to the downward spiral of his image. Failure to talk, respond and “non-action” and the resulting spin leads to embarrassment, humiliation, prolonged visibility and a series of negative outcomes. Come on, it’s crisis communications 101.

After nearly a week of silence, Tiger’s PR pros advised him to tell his story—and quickly. Tiger issued a statement that said, “Personal sins should not require a press release and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.”

Ordinarily, I’d agree. However, Tiger, you’ve been living in the public light for years, your life hasn’t exactly been private—and now you want to pull the privacy card? It’s no surprise that media is digging for more details. It sounds like you’re hiding something—and media thrives on telling accurate stories to the public, it’s their job.

Now that Tiger has spoken, do you think the media storm will calm down? I personally don’t think it’s over. I think the media will bring this up again and I think the truth will come out. The only question is, will it be too late for Tiger to rebuild his reputation? Yet another celebrity scandal brings to light the importance of crisis communications planning.