Blogger relations: You Judge the Pitch contest
Today, I'm starting a contest called "You Judge the Pitch," where CMM blog readers get to rate the quality of PR pitches sent to me.
The first entry, Mike's Hard Lemonade viral video campaign.
So, go ahead and play along. Follow the link and You Judge the Pitch!
Here it is...
Hey Paul,Thought you might enjoy the new viral campaign by Mike's Hard Lemonade.It's a "newscast" of you getting saved by a cat, “eaten” by a street sweeper, or stuck on a Carnival ride! Simply enter in your name and a photo of your face, and VOILA - instant excuse from work!
Anyway you can check out AdRants’ Steve Hall’s video --->http://www.mikeshard.com/weekend/newsStory.php?id=MzYx or make your own:Let me know what you think.Cheers,
For some background, prior to receiving the pitch I'd never heard from this person, nor have I ever drank Mike's Hard Lemonade or ever written about it to the best of my recollection. As such, I don't really see what makes me a candidate.
Anyway, "You Judge the Pitch!" by leaving a comment citing your up or down vote, plus any insights, analysis and/or critique you care to share.
UPDATE: I did try out the campaign and guess it's funny. You can be the judge of that too by clicking here.
Anyway, "You Judge the Pitch!" by leaving a comment citing your up or down vote, plus any insights, analysis and/or critique you care to share.
UPDATE: I did try out the campaign and guess it's funny. You can be the judge of that too by clicking here.
Ning: Paul Chaney
StumbleUpon: pchaney
I vote thumbs up.
There are times when junior PR professionals are pressured to send out pitches to publications (or blogs) and sometimes they make mistakes in pitching. You can email him and ask not to be pitched again or block them from your inbox. But to publicly humiliate this young professional or even be responsible for Nick being fired is simply not acceptable.
I look forward to contacting Bizzuka and seeing whether one of your young employees screws up. Then we can have the YouTube community critique your employees.
Posted by: E | June 19, 2008 at 03:50 PM
You are absolutely correct in that I should not have outed this guy. That was completely uncalled for and I appreciate your somewhat stringent reminder.
While this was intended purely in the spirit of fun I can see where it could have a deleterious effect. Thus, I'm removing any personal references immediately and apologize to him for any harm done.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 19, 2008 at 04:00 PM
I wonder - based on the "Let me know what you think" line - if this AE was looking for marketing bloggers to give feedback on the campaign?
And I wouldn't worry about outing him - he now has a blog post that people are linking to and talking about!
I'm going to go with a thumbs up on this one - solely because I've already forwarded the link to friends....
Posted by: hksully | June 19, 2008 at 04:17 PM
Paul,
Thank you for posting & linking! Also glad that you enjoy the campaign.
Nick deserves a bonus. And although you had never heard of him - he had heard of you through this excellent blog and a plethora of communications tools that you use to talk to us through the internet.
That is why he contacted you - he figured that regardless of your preferences in beverages, you might be interested in the campaign itself.
He was right.
Thanks again for a great blog.
Best,
Michael Raisanen
Posted by: Michael Raisanen | June 19, 2008 at 07:11 PM
Thumbs up. But I'm a sucker for this kind of thing. Can't tell you how many times I sent out the Staples Dancing Elf over the holidays...uh, or was that Office Max??
Posted by: Lisa Sanderson | June 19, 2008 at 08:17 PM
Well, now I do feel like a heel. First, I take a tongue-in-cheek approach toward what was a well-intentioned pitch, then carelessly include the name of the fellow who sent it as if I was "outting" him. Then, I get a very nice comment from the head of the agency who created the campaign, Michael Raisanen, thanking me for posting!
What was intended to be playful came off as pompous, and for that I'm not happy, but rather perturbed at myself.
Thanks Michael for your very cordial response. Your kindness has led me to repentance.
Posted by: Paul Chaney | June 20, 2008 at 12:51 AM
thumbs up for me too.
I have drank Mike's Hard Lemonade and love this type of stuff because it engages me and makes me laugh. Nothing like a pitch with a sense of humor.
I did not read anything malicious from your "judge this pitch" btw
Posted by: ines | June 20, 2008 at 12:58 AM