Part of a PR firm’s responsibility is to provide balance to the relationship between client and media. We have to be sympathetic to both party’s needs and goals and structure a relationship and dialog between them that is mutually beneficial.

Outdoor Retailer appears to have, at least temporarily, upset that balance in announcing that they will no longer be providing the contact information of registered media attending the Outdoor Retailer trade shows to the show’s exhibitors:

“As a result of our survey with attending media, we will not be providing email or contact information for attending media”

To which we can only wonder…what were the results of their survey with paying exhibitors?

There is no doubt that the avalanche of phone calls and emails to media attending OR from the more than 1,500 OR exhibitors and their fabulously sick PR firms is considerable. And, there is no doubt that the coverage these media provide of the outdoor activities, brands, gear and athletes is a valuable part of a healthy outdoor industry.

However, the Outdoor Retailer trade show provides a value to the media as well: Nowhere else can they have access to all of the most killer, knowledgeable, interesting and dynamic brands, gear people and athletes in the outdoor industry under one roof.

So, how might they resolve this imbalance in a way that better addresses the needs and goals of both parties? Some tips:

Media:

• Don’t pre-register. When you pre-register all the exhibitors get your info. When they get your info, they will call you. Repeatedly. Then they will email you. Lots. It only takes 5 minutes to register at the show as OR has conveniently reserved a badge line just for you because you are special, and not in, like, a handicapped kind of way.
• Email rules/filters. Set up a email filter rule that files every incoming email for the terms: “Outdoor Retailer”, “Emerging Lifestyle Category” and “Free Beer” in your “For Intern” folder.
• Put that intern to work. Nothing teaches aspiring journalists the joys of covering the gear or business end of the outdoor industry like spending four weeks sorting through the various requests and pitches that cascade from the heavens during this special time of year.
• When someone contacts you to make an appointment, ask them who handles the advertising budget. You’ll immediately be black-listed and will never receive a call from that PR person again.
• Register under the name mygearreviewsite.com. Forget about it.
• “Sure I’ll stop by. It will be $50.”

Exhibitors/Fabulous PR People:

• Don’t blind pitch. Pitch an OR appointment the same way you might pitch a story idea with news hooks, trend spotting, and expert availability. Make it more interesting than “latest and greatest” and show it will be a great investment of the media’s time.
• Don’t Spam. If the media person is important enough to you to invite them to a special event or showing, at least show the courtesy of sending them a personalized invitation and not something shotgunned out to the entire list.
• Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. This goes back to maintaining a mutually beneficial balance. It’s ok to not have something super new/cool. Just don’t push it like it’s the next big thing. In fact, just don’t push it.
• Two Words. Open. Bar.
• Be remarkable. Have an opinion, take chances…I am eagerly anticipating Verde PR’s strategy for raising awareness among the outdoor industry for the BELA-Olhão brand of Fresh-Canned Sardines. Seriously. It will be good. It has to be. Do something nobody else can or will do.
• Email rules/filters. Dodge all those annoying email filters, make the subject of your email, “Salt Lake City’s Best Strip Clubs?”
• “I’ll give you $50.”

Seriously, trade show appointments are just one part of an effective PR outreach effort and they shouldn’t be a do-or-die affair. Provide value, be polite, and catch them on the rebound if it doesn’t work out.

What are your tips? Bring it…Seriously.

4/29 UPDATE: OR Show Director, Kenji Haroutunian, sent out an email blast addressing the issue, as it appears we weren’t the only ones concerned. Kenji has amended the policy so that when the media do register for credientials they can opt-out of having their contact info included in the attending media list that is distributed to exhibitors. It is safe to assume that most of them will. However…it’s not going to solve everything. We still need the PR people to be cool because most PR firms and internal PR people at larger company’s subscribe to media databases, such as Cision, that list all the contact info for any and all media in North America the contact info conundrum isn’t solved.

The access to such research resources also leaves the smaller, newer businesses at a disadvantage because the subscription to media databases is not cheap, anywhere from $3,500 - $8,500/year. And that isn’t in their budget.

Kenji’s note is after the break.

“Based on the PR update email you received last Friday, April 25, we appreciate the feedback some of you provided us regarding the media lists for the upcoming Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. After each show we survey audiences that attended the show. We do our best to address concerns and suggestions and we try hard to keep everyone happy and ensure they have a productive show. It was clear from the latest survey that media attendees were inundated with unsolicited email that often had little to do with their editorial focus, and they were discouraged from registering early for the show. We want the media to get all the information for the show, and having them pre-register is crucial to this effort. This is our conundrum, not yours, but it clearly serves the entire market to have a robust and informed media corps in attendance at OR. We can achieve a balance here and encourage more media attendance while continuing to serve our exhibitors’ need for direct relations with the media. In order to appease all parties involved, we will include as much contact info as possible in the lists, but will respect those media attendees who opt out of sharing contact information. The first media list will be distributed in mid-June. ”

Kenji