#NerdsUnite: The Most Epic of Epic #PRfails
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Megan. She recently just graduated from SDSU and is now entering the world with a fresh pair of eyes in a stinky economy. In these series of posts she will discuss her thoughts and discoveries as she ventures out into the real world. Hit it Meg!!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MegCorbs
Last night I stayed up later than expected because I couldn’t seem to look away from the shit storm that was hitting BrandLink Communications.
But I am getting ahead of myself here let me explain what happened.
One of my all-time favorite bloggers, The Bloggess, received a poorly worded pitch about one the Kardashian’s wearing nylons and that she needed to care about this (in not so many words of course).
Jenny (the bloggess) is known for showing the hilarious ineptitude of traditional PR companies when dealing with bloggers. If they took even a second to read her blog they would see that she never has sponsored posts, giveaways or reviews so pitching a product to her won’t get you anywhere. Especially this kind of product which has nothing to do with anything she EVER talks about.
She is known for her snarky and amazing humor on all things random. Like the time she bought a GIANT metal chicken. I personally love her because she is so open about her anxiety issues (something that I have a history with) and got me through some shitty times with a smile instead of a sob.
Well anyways back to the #PRFail. Jenny thought of a brilliant way to combat the random celeb hawking random item thing. She emails them a link to this. Wil Wheaton (who she has become friends with via twitter) collating papers.
Here was the initial response:
Hi there,
That wasn’t very nice. We send certain pitches out to people so they have the chance of getting more hits on their page. We’ll make note of this email in moving forward and remember if we have any advertising opportunities with any of our clients not to go through you.
Best of luck to you.
Best,
Erica
Snarky and poorly written but whatever The Bloggess was snarky first so it’s fine.
Then the V. EFFING P. of the company hit Reply All with Jenny attached and called her a “fucking bitch!”
TECHNOLOGY FAIL!
This amazes me on so many levels but most importantly why would you even email that. I know first hand how much shit PR people have to put up with and this was funny and not mean hearted at all
Jenny, being Jenny and not putting up with shit responded with this:
Hi. This is sort of why “reply all” doesn’t usually work well for
companies. Unless, of course, you decided that “What a fucking bitch” was
a great response from a public relations company. Personally, I preferred
the “Best of luck to you” one, which was much more honest and cutting,
while still being professional.
If you’ve read my blog you would know that a great deal of my blog deals
with the importance of public relations companies doing research before
sending form letters to bloggers. Specifically, I’m very vocal about
ridiculous pitches involving celebrities using products. So much so that
I made that actual Wil Wheaton collating paper page to combat this very
sort of thing in a quick and painless way. My blog has nothing to do with
fashion, the Kardashians or pantyhose…none of which I understand, to be
honest. Plus, you’ve sent me this form letter TWICE today. I only point
this out so you can delete this *ahem* “fucking bitch” from all of the
mailing lists you have me on, rather than just one.
Also, I apologize if you were offended by my email. Honestly, I’ve been
sending that thing out to PR people for the last year and this is the
first time I didn’t have someone respond with either a laugh, or with a
simple “No problem. We’ll remove you from the list.” In fact, many PR
companies have turned this entire thing around and sent really hysterical
exchanges to me, which I’ve used to promote their great work in
understanding (and working with) the unique personalities of the very
bloggers they’re trying to reach out to. Just a thought.
Hugs,
Jenny (aka “fucking bitch”)
She still hadn’t made a post about it until Jose’s response came in:
Jose: I get it and I was out of line by saying that however you put way too much effort
into your approach. A simple “I don’t cover this, no thanks” or “Please remove”
would suffice. To go out of your way to be snarky and rude is a little
inappropriate. Again, I should’ve been less harsh – but I also feel like your email
was rude and unprofessional as well. We will do a better job to research who we are
pitching but maybe you should be flattered that you are even viewed relevant enough
to be pitched at all instead of alienated PR firms and PR people – who are actually
the livelihood of any journalists business. Don’t be offended, you started the
cursing game so maybe we should all just laugh it off and plan not to work together
in the future.
Who does he think he is?! You cannot talk to people that way. The line “You should be flattered that you are even viewed relevant enough to be pitched at all.” Is he serious? First of all Jenny has over 160,000 followers on Twitter with VERY loyal fans. But that doesn’t even matter, the fact that this guy is even in PR is astounding. A simple “I’m so sorry” would have sufficed, but no this douche had to keep digging a bigger hole for himself.
I interned at a PR firm for a little bit and I know all about the ineptitude behind pitching to bloggers. You just create a huge spreadsheet with influential bloggers and send them a pitch. No personality behind it. It’s sad but they don’t consider bloggers as influential as magazines, tv shows, etc.
We are in a new generation where we know this idea is just silly. I mean you all are reading this now, from a blogger.
People resonate with bloggers more because they take about THIER lives, not celebrities, and have a face behind their brand. When I was a community manager in order to get bloggers on board with our clients I was talk to them on twitter about things that THEY’VE posted about. By treating them like human beings is the best PR move you can do.
Jenny’s response has to go into the books:
“You should be flattered that you are even viewed relevant enough to be pitched at all.”
You sure know how to flatter a girl. Are you even in
public relations? Am I on Candid Camera? Because I’m kind of baffled.
Please stand by for a demonstration of relevancy.
She posted this blog and then the shit storm began. Wil Wheaton (1.8 mil followers) and Neil Gaiman (1.6 mil followers), and yes my nerd brain is exploding with those two, tweeted about the #PRFail and now it’s taken on a life of it’s own. She was trending in the US and Canada and still has hundreds of tweets coming in by the minute. MANY people think this situation was the reason twitter crashed last night!
Instead of Jose apologizing and keeping quiet on twitter for a bit, he tweeted about how awesome his life is and how he was going on a trip soon.
Dude, you REALLLLLY don’t get the power of social media do you? JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
Dear PR companies, don’t mess with the masses, doesn’t matter how big or small a blogger may seem to you, social media has a way of grabbing you by the balls and making you realize that EVERYONE deserves to be treated with respect.
Now excuse me while I bask in the awesomeness that was Jenny’s statement “Please stand by for a demonstration of relevancy.”
xoxo,
Another “Fucking Bitch” blogger
