I was glued to third Republican presidential debate last night, watching for signs of intelligent life 
, when the show cut to an important announcement. It said:
“Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News. At twenty minutes before eight, central time, Professor Farrell of the Mount Jennings Observatory, Chicago, Illinois, reports observing several explosions of incandescent gas, occurring at regular intervals on the planet Mars.”
Soon afterwards, there were news reports that a mysterious blimp-like vehicle had crash landed in rural Pennsylvania. They said it was a U.S. military surveillance vehicle, from NORAD (Yea, right, we’ve heard that story like 1000 times!).
Astute readers will recognize the above quote from the infamous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast, the monumental “JK” that stoked fear in the hearts of listeners back in 1938 (see the transcript). Narrated by Orson Welles, the show was based on the science fiction novel of the same name. But it led to outrage and panic, as many listeners thought the events described were actually happening.
Now, as we approach Halloween, it is natural to ask: what things do PR people fear?
Some fears are valid, and should be respected. Others should be confronted and vanquished. Here is my list:
Fear of rejection: PR people seem increasingly reluctant to actually call reporters, as I pointed out in my post Don’t Slam the Phone on Proven Media Relations Tactics. They say that the media don’t like to get calls; some admit to being afraid of getting a cranky response, or having their pitches rejected.
Tips: While you need to respect the wishes of the media, it is also true that squeaky wheel gets the grease. The best remedy is to be sure that the information you are presenting is truly of value to the journalist. Of course, it helps to have the kind of media relationships where there is mutual trust – and they welcome your calls.
Fear of measurement: PR has traditionally been hard to measure. Also, we may have a natural fear of having our work evaluated and quantified. What if we don’t hit the mark – or if the ROI is just not there?
Tips: Yes, it is true that not everything can be boiled down to a number (see my post One thing You Can’t Measure in PR). But I think this fear needs to be met head on and conquered. The excuses for not measuring are getting harder to defend. Let’s face it, in an online world, there is readier access to data of all kinds. The tools are growing in number and power, and data driven marketing is the new mantra. PR should not get left behind – when we measure, we can prove ROI.
Fear of being uninteresting/irrelevant: This is one fear that should be taken very seriously. If more in our profession held this concern, pitch spam would not persist to the extent that it does.
Tips: It’s generally safe to assume that your pitch sucks. The remedy? Make it not suck! Know your space, know the reporters, and make sure the pitch is on target. There are no short cuts. Hone that pitch, test market it among colleagues, and polish it some more. I am not saying you should take forever and make a career out of it. Just don’t drink your own Kool Aid.
What do you think? Which fears hold you back?
