The PR-blogger-journalist-travel company debate continues apace following last week's shenanigans at the inaugural TravelBlogCamp in London.
This week both I and one of our regular freelancers received an email from a London PR agency, titled: "Press Trip: Valencia Wants Bloggers."
It was the usual blather about shopping, sightseeing and how Valencia - getting there, but not quite, in our opinion - is "one of the most vibrant city break destinations in the world".
At the foot of the email were these killer lines:
* Yes, I (or a nominee) would like to undertake a trip to Valencia in return for editorial coverage
* No - I am not interested
Let's forget for a moment that Travolution's writers are not generally known as bloggers and we have never produced any colourful destination content, so a bit of a badly targeted pitch.
Secondly, the sender also attached a Media Assessment Form for each writer to complete outlining how much coverage they would give to the trip, airline and hotel.
This is the usual pre-trip checklist for the client - but unfortunately on this occasion a completed form from a well known West of England newspaper was attached, rather than a blank form.
Needless to say, Valencia (read, PR agency) will be doing rather nicely from the titles this particular person is representing.
Anyway, back to the "blogger" pitch. This indicates a number of things:
1) That there is a concerted effort amongst some PR agencies to involve bloggers in the traditional 'media trip' to destinations. No harm in that at all.
2) That circulation and traffic is not an issue, replaced perhaps by influence. [The newspaper in question stated it had print circulation 54,000 per issue and web traffic of 43,000 - figures that most consumer travel bloggers would love to have, let's face it).
3) That the PRs at TravelBlogCamp last week (remember: they made up 20% of the audience) must remember that an approach such as the one above will undoubtedly fail, because most of the bloggers there - unless the bloggers were fibbing, of course - did not want to be influenced by travel firms.
These are fascinating times for the relationship between the media and travel.
Does anyone know of other press trip pitches specifically targeting bloggers? Will the traditional pitch ("in return for coverage") work for bloggers? Does anyone care?!?
Fascinating times indeed.
I think the crucial words here are 'influence' and 'opinion'.
Blogging by definition is opinionated...
often for more so than traditional media. For PRs that is a massive double edged sword. Regular readers of a blog will presumably be coming back to that blog because they trust and like the opinions stated there. So a positive endorsement for a PR's product is a real win. (Have a look at this if you'd like some interesting background detail: http://www.retailerdaily.com/entry/blog-influence-on-consumer-purchases-surpasses-social-networks/)
Conversely, a negative review one a really big lose.
So a risk...
And the fact that I can write on my blog without worrying about other influences (an editor, an ad sales manager etc) means I can say (within legal reason!) what I like. And should anyone try and sway that opinion by dangling nice things in front of me then they can forget it...
So please do target me PR people, but only if you are happy to accept that I will write what I like and you can take it or leave it.
The case you are highlighting for me feels like someone jumping in both feet first with little understanding. Good that bloggers are on the radar of established PRs like McCluskey, but if I was asked to fill in some long media form before going on a fam trip as a blogger and to guarantee certain types of coverage that would be reason enough for me to drop the whole idea. It's about control and PR people, you aren't going to control me...
I've added some thoughts of my own on my blog about PRs, press trips and blogging:
http://www.travelblather.com/2008/11/bloggers-and-press-trips.html
For Travel Rants, yes, I’ve received invitations to visit hotels/destinations, would I? Not for travel rants but my new ‘project’ I would as this would benefit me, just as much as it would benefit them.
I read one set of bloggers went to drive sports cars last weekend.
Everyone else is getting the benefits of being a blogger, so why shouldn’t I.
For Travel Rants, yes, I’ve received invitations to visit hotels/destinations, would I? Not for travel rants but my new ‘project’ I would as this would benefit me, just as much as it would benefit them.
I read one set of bloggers went to drive sports cars last weekend.
Everyone else is getting the benefits of being a blogger, so why shouldn’t I.
Hey Kevin,
Going to resist dipping my over-sized oar into the insoluble blogger-journo debate, but I will race into the field, lance upraised, to defend Valencia. Totally there in my opinion – food, wine, beautiful architecture, top cultural scene. I was there a few months back, and completely agree with the PR assessment.
Now, do I get a free holiday?
As an outsider, though in travel, the more one goes on, the more one sees that "getting companies involved in social media" is, er... well, a complete waste of time, really. Even one of the bosses of myspace admitted that getting companies to evaluate the value of social media was difficult - or put it another way, downright impossible. So, travel gets "involved" with blogs and other sm (social media) and...? How can you identify any revenue achieved? Let's face it, travel always had a dedicated body of people who had shops, websites and all the other bits and bobs and in the UK, about 6,000 staff whose sole purpose was to sell travel. The travel providers choose not to renumerate them at all, save for throwing the odd bone. Now what are social media proposing - worse, bloggers? The following: "Why not invest a ton of money, provide staff to input stuff, "interact" with clients and, and..... Oh! And by the way, there is no real way of identifying any real incremental sales,er... or any sales, come to that." Ah! But it is the latest thing!! Yeah, right. So was the South Sea Bubble, at it's time. So far, the only people who will benefit are PR agencies. What airlines want is premium revenue, not the shelf fillers down the back, which is where a lot of travel blog type stuff is aimed - the cheap end. Premium traffic does not come from social sites, indeed no demograohics indicate that they even use them, save for updating holiday snaps. Premium travel comes mainly from TMC's and Business Travel agents, which is where it has always come from, one way or the other. If social media wants to survive another dot com type bubble, it needs to stop running around telling everyone how new and exciting it is and that it's here to stay, but sart showing how it can identify revenue streams and quantlfy sales. Then and only then, one may have a case.
I recently took a couple of "bloggers" from our site with me on the new Celebrity ship. During and after the cruise they wrote their piece which many people kept abreast of, and asked questions.
No one influenced them in any way - fortunately the ship was great and they had a fantastic time and it has set off the content, reviews and opinions of people who use the site in a positive light.
Others that come to the site - believe in what these bloggers have to say and take this in high consideration.
Their opinion is certainly more valued than mine or any journalist because they have a different perspective - as a consumer - and they can say what they want to.
i love this notion people have that bloggers "can say what they want to".
they can't, at the end of the day, and at some point the laissez faire attitude to accuracy and fairness will be punished by some eager lawyer.