Tip #200: The oxymoronic press room

Oddly, the press room at an industry event is not a good place for press releases, nor for press relations people to hang out. It’s where writers go to write, for the most part. Some press rooms have stacks of press releases that journalists can grab if they want, but the pros rarely do.

Here’s the worst thing you can do, which just happened to me at the MobileBeat conference: Walk up to a writer hunched over his computer, you know, writing, and drop a press release folder on the table next to him while mumbling something about what it is. Trust me, this is not going to get you coverage. As Drew Olanoff said to me, “I don’t like real-world spam any more than email spam.”

Bonus Tip! You see all those MacBook Airs that we’re writing on? Yeah? Then why did you put a CD in your press kit, and not, say, a USB stick?

Mega Bonus Super Score! Good job not labeling the CD, either.

Unwanted, unloved, and unlabeled.

See also:
Pro PR Tip #111: Fling.
News.com coverage from MobileBeat: Zynga CEO on future of Mobile.

Yow! I made it to Pro PR Tip #200! I’d like to thank all the hard-working PR professionals who’ve managed to screw up and make this blog possible. You guys rock. 

3 Comments

Filed under Meetings

3 responses to “Tip #200: The oxymoronic press room

  1. Pingback: Strategic Guy» Two Journalists – One is a Battler, the Other a Bully

  2. The “press room” should be renamed and rebranded. It’s always been desired (by vendors and event organizers) to be a place of deep interaction between tech journalists and the folks vying for their attention, but it’s always been more of a safe haven / place to escape to write stories.

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