SSSSHHHHHH!
What is the biggest secret that you have failed to keep? Considering that I am terrible with secrets this has the potential to be a long post. Rest assured. It won’t be. My nature is to shout about the positive things that happen around me so I find it very hard not to tell everyone about new client wins at Berkeley PR or pitches we are working on because I love the work we do.
However, the first thing I always tell a client on a press briefing day is to remember to only tell a journalist something that you want to see in the press. I always admire clients who are working on an incredibly exciting piece of technology or a groundbreaking solution but have to keep it under their belt until the official launch. I know a number of them struggle, especially when the journalist is pushing for more information about future plans for company. With that in mind, imagine what the Apple team must have felt like trying to keep the iPad details secret?
That said, most people are not Apple. The reality is that the media just are not interested in what you have to say so you have to be clever about how you create a story and distribute it.
In recent years savvy pr and marketing teams have also seen the value of not keeping a secret. Companies that understand the power of online have started to drip feed announcements to a few select journalists and bloggers to feed the buzz around a product. If you choose the right bloggers or influential journalists companies have realised that these contacts can tell many and spread the word fast. You only have to see how fast a trending story on Twitter spreads to understand how quickly a news story can be distributed if it is of interest and someone with the level of influence you respect recommends you read the story.
Does this mean that we are in an age where embragos are dead and relationships with influencers rule? I personally think that unless you are a company where you know that the media can’t afford to follow you then this certainly is the case.
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