I get a LOT of press releases, all clamoring for me to push something on this blog. Somehow last year I made it to some list of the Top Fifty Fashion Blogs (number 37! represent!) and now everyone and her intern has my email address.
Now, I don't mind a GOOD pitch, but I don't get very many of those. (Most of the good pitches are for books, which is probably because book publicists actually READ.)
I do mind a BAD pitch. What makes a pitch bad? Lots of things. The worst are pitches that make it embarrassingly apparent that the pitch-er has never read my blog before. Do I feature jewelry consistently? No. What makes you think I will start doing so for your product? Do I breathlessly report the doings and wearings of starlets? No again. So why would I be interested in your report of a C-list personage involved with your product in some way? And, more importantly, why would the people who read this blog be interested?
Sending out hundreds of badly-worded, badly-targeted pitches is spamming, no more, no less. What really gets me is that these poor designers are brainwashed into thinking they need to PAY these clueless "PR reps" to piss off bloggers and editors for them. It's shameful. (If the goal was to piss off editors and bloggers it'd be cheaper and more fun for the designer to just go around and egg everyone's houses.)
A little while back I got this pitch. (Client name blocked out to avoid giving them any publicity, even the bad kind.)
Check out our exclusive photo of Rumor Willis wearing a $32,000 ring, designed by —— —–, the hottest jewelry designer out there.
[note: I have never heard of this designer.]
The ring is almost 4CT in diamonds! Rumor drooled over the ring when she recently stopped by —– show room.
We would love to see this photo on your awesome blog! You guys do a great job!
Call/email me with any questions..Kate Long
PeakPR Group
Yep, that was the whole release, word-for-word, and exactly as sent to me (minus client name and rep's contact info). First of all, there was no link to the photo to "check out." If I WERE interested, I'd have to write back for it. Dumb. (Of course, that's much better than the PR reps who insist on cluttering my inbox with eight .jpgs all named things like JPG001.jpg!)
My blog is called A DRESS A DAY. I write about sewing and vintage: not exactly an upscale lifestyle. Why are you sending me press releases for hugely expensive diamond rings? My last CAR didn't cost $32K.
Also — "Rumor" Willis? If even I, disassociated as I am from tabloid culture, know that her name is spelled "Rumer," how dumb do YOU look?
And Rumer is famous solely because Ashton Kutcher is her step-dad. This does not mean she is a style arbiter. Again: why should I (or anyone) care?
One more thing: It's pretty apparent that I write this whole blog all by my lonesome. Why use "you guys"?
For some dumb reason (I blame low blood sugar) I replied to this PR missive, pointing out the above errors, explaining that their releases did not inspire confidence in their services or their clients' products, and asking to be taken off their list.
Then, I got this gem back:
My intern sent that, thanks for pointing it out.
[Worst. Excuse. Ever. So you're charging your clients … for work done by interns? That you evidently didn't check? And you're advertising this fact? It's not the intern's fault, if she is an intern. It's yours.]
By the way your English have been "are not applicable."
[I wrote "I'm the only person writing [my blog], so "you guys" is not applicable." Which is less correct than the sentence above, apparently.]Also, we rep 160 retail stores, so we are very inspired..
[Quantity equals quality! We all know that.]
They happen include major leading fashion designers.
[That sentence no verb.]Clearly you should be more polite regarding a simple spell check, it is clear your blog is amateur,
[Which is why … you wanted me to feature your client on my amateur blog?]
you never know the help one needs on the way up. Politeness is the door to success.
Sincerely,
Christine Peake,
CEO, PEAKPR GROUP.
That last bit just kills me. I always assumed KNOWING HOW TO DO YOUR JOB was the door to success; politeness just oils the hinges of that door. I think Ms. Peake and her PEAKPR group are pushing (hard) on a door marked PULL.
This (replying to stupid pitches pointing out their stupidity and asking to not be sent any more stupid pitches) probably falls under the heading of not teaching pigs to sing (it wastes your time and annoys the pig). But, damn, rank incompetence annoys me! How hard is it to do a little RESEARCH? Spend a little time reading?
For a much better rant on this subject, check out Chris Anderson's. Be sure to read all the comments for your RDA of other-people's-cluelessness.
A Dress A Day 
I wouldn’t say that their reply was terribly polite either. Technically polite perhaps in that there was no swearing or name calling, but not ACTUALLY polite. Kind of catty and bitchy actually. Plus, how come they can’t write basic sentences? Companies, especially those involved in PR, should have people who can write send or check emails before they go out. I think the fact that the CEO replied to your email might imply that only a handful of people, perhaps only these two, are involved in the company. Normally a CEO wouldn’t bother with sending a bitchy email – would they?
LikeLike
Damn! I had to read Ms Peake’s reply severaly times to even understand it … and I still think I don’t get most of it. What I did understand struck me as very impolite though. I don’t think you can win with people like this.Good for you standing up for yourself!
LikeLike
Perhaps Ms. Peake has a non-English-speaking Japanese intern writing ALL her e-mails.
LikeLike
It seems like that PR firm ignores the maxim “Never offend people with style when you can offend them with substance.”I don’t think I’d retain a PR service where the CEO answers customer feedback. That sends mixed messages about the company’s priorities.
LikeLike
If there’s anything I hate more than ignorance and rudeness, it’s people who are ignorant, rude AND grammatically incorrect. I wouldn’t put that on my blog if they paid me.
LikeLike
I enjoyed your dissection of that bad PR pitch. My pet peeve is being called a “guy.”
LikeLike
Erin, did you just coin that “pushing (hard) on a door marked PULL” gem? Because I want to know who to credit when I start using it all over town. It kinda sounds like it could be the title to a Loretta Lynn song.Those emails…I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. I guess they ain’t heard the rumer about grammer.
LikeLike
…heh heh, or is that “whom to credit?” Grammer is hard.
LikeLike
I lived in Asia for almost five years and I would guess this is a native Mandarin speaker. 🙂
LikeLike
AHAHA. Pushing hard on a door marked Pull. Yeah, I’m going to use that. And it was a well-deserved rant which I enjoyed being privy to. Thanks!
LikeLike
Some people you are sad are not physically present because you just want to SCREAM at them. This may be one of those times. This is also a good thing because that would not be terribly polite and probably wouldn’t end well.
LikeLike
Okay–that was REALLY funny!
LikeLike
Ha! Ha! Ha! I’m afraid I grinned quite hard reading it all, but of course you also have my empathy. And correcting the English of the editor of an Oxford Dictionary, were they! (Sorry, I’m rusty on exact title and title and am too tired to go check to prevent embarrassing myself!)My sense also is that the writer is a native Asian-language speaker.Although what’s lacking in the writer’s grasp of English is roughly equivalent, in quantity of what’s missing if not in kind, to the 25% or more of fourth year university students my best friend teaches whose level of literacy falls below that of two of our aged parents, one of whom never finished high school, and the other of whom never went beyond Grade 8. I’m not even sure some of these students have even achieved Grade 6 literacy, to tell you the truth.I’ve seen the essays, and it worries me.
LikeLike
“Pushing a door marked pull”– I think that is from a Far Side cartoon. There is a kid pushing really hard on a door marked “pull,” and the door closer is visible on the outside of the door. The sign on the building is “Midvale School for the Gifted.”
LikeLike
ah, this reminds me of the good old days in a publishing-company-that-shall-go-unnamed….the editors on either side of me would yell (literally) at the nitwit lazy PR people who would a) send completely useless pitch letters and then b) call to follow up. Oh, the pounding on desks! the hollering! the slamming down of phones! it was kinda fun, in a twisted sort of way….
LikeLike
Hmmm. Poor writing skills in a field that depends upon the written word?In my experience, PR people tend to be the pushy types. But the best ones are pushy, but usually sweet when they’re being such, and oh-so-grateful when you follow through.
LikeLike
People suck.
LikeLike
Oh how I love it when unfailingly sweet and *polite* Erin grows a thorn.I too have been the victim of moronic PR missives. Someone should compile them into a book. I vote for you, Erin!
LikeLike
That original message is right up there with the insurance offers which have large letters on the envelope which say “You could save up to $156.46 or more!” *shakes head and walks away*
LikeLike
Your excellent blog is ‘amateur’ while she’s got some mythical ‘intern’ with the surname Scapegoat writing out poorly thrown PR nuggets?I’d say that’s much more amateur.And I love the parting shot – politeness!To have been polite would have been for the “PR CEO” to say simply sorry to misdirect to you, enjoy your day.I mean, anyone can type CEO.I myself am the CEO of my house. Nyaah…
LikeLike
Nothing boils my blood like ignorance. I’d be plotting to take them down, but if there is any justice in the world their stupidity will be their own undoing.
LikeLike
Uhhhh.Wow. If I had known that I could become a CEO without good grammar or spelling, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time studying for my spelling tests.
LikeLike
“That sentence no verb.”bwahahahaha!!! *zing*
LikeLike
aww shucks,Found the little PR buggers with a quick ‘google’ search, and what a pathetic web search it was.what kind of pr company has NO publicity?well, looks like it’s a wee little business in Santa Monica (that’s L.A. @ the beach for those of you in the snow),OK, the whole thing was sooooo L.A., but hey, I just bet they are all transplants from somewhere else.I’d like to give you THEIR email address, but hey, you can google it yourself!
LikeLike
You said “reply to pitches” Can I make a correction? You should have said “reply to bitches”
LikeLike
As always Erin you handled that missive of stupidity with style and grace. Blaming the intern for their faux pas. Hmmm, that sounds so familiar.
LikeLike
And the beautiful thing was that the email sent out by the “intern” – despite being misjudged and getting a name wrong – was a superior missive to that sent by the “CEO”. Can’t help but laugh!
LikeLike
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. But it does prove my theory that there aren’t enough farmers in the world. Let me explain. Once upon a time a large amount of the population had to work off the land to feed everybody. Now, that work is done by very few, with the aid of a lot of machinery and “efficient” farming techniques. So we have a surplus of people with nothing meaningful to do, and therefore we get “jobs” like “porn actor”. Also, Ms Peake.
LikeLike
I am a Public Relations person – for a very good cause — Quality of Life Programs for Soldiers and their Families. I ALWAYS research the RIGHT media for the MESSAGE. I aks nicely for coverage in local papers, etc. and PAY for ADVERTISING a lot more than going around and pissing off editors. I know better; I used to be one.
LikeLike
If there were enough time in the day, I’d send the whole correspondence to the company Ms. Peake is representing. This, however, may do no good as the jewelers may be just as moronic as the PR firm they hired. Then again, Ms. Peake may very well be the CEO, the intern, and the diamond designer’s wife (or 12-year-old sister)–all wrapped up in one multi-tasker. Sad, sad, sad. :(There was a time in my life when I very much wanted to be an English teacher so I could save the world from horrific miscommunication, misuse of the written word, and general idiocy. Then I learned what a daunting and insurmountable task that would be, so I decided to go straight for editor. This way I can just fix it my own damn self and not worry about having to teach anyone anything.
LikeLike
I’m with the group who will now include “Pushing hard on the door marked pull” in general conversation.
LikeLike
I also cannot wait to see when/where the moronic article about Rumer Willis shows up. ‘Cause y’all know it will…
LikeLike
Hi Erin,Your post pointing out their bad business practices and bad grammar is #5 on the google hits for “PeakPR”. Good revenge. You are just offering quality information to anyone who might be interested in hiring them.
LikeLike
Once upon a time a large amount of the population had to work off the land to feed everybody. Now, that work is done by very few, with the aid of a lot of machinery and “efficient” farming techniques. So we have a surplus of people with nothing meaningful to do, and therefore we get “jobs” like “porn actor”. Also, Ms Peake.”Porn actor” is a very important job. Someone paid a lot of money to schill a product that no one really *needs*=not important job.
LikeLike
They picked the wrong person with whom to tangle.
LikeLike
As someone who works in PR, I am completely embarrassed by Ms. Peake’s utter lack of talent and professionalism. Good on ya, Erin.
LikeLike
Fascinating. It’s humorous how the writer takes you to task for grammar, when her own grammar is questionable. Don’t even get me started on the absent semi-colons. But really, grammar isn’t the point; it’s the writer’s bad attitude that’s so offensive. Her company sent you an inappropriate pitch, and she followed up rudely.
LikeLike
I you. that is all.
LikeLike
Ugh! Whatever Erin- your blog RULES and so do you! I barely get my computer turned on before I’m madly navigating to Dressaday.com. “You guys” keep up the good work!
LikeLike
The response you received is absolutely priceless. I really, really love that she has absolutely no idea that aside from your “amateur” blog, your day job is in publishing dictionaries (forgive me for not recalling exactly what your job entails)–and dares to incorrectly correct your grammar. She must have used Word and seen a squiggly red line on the screen! SMRT!
LikeLike
A quick Google informed me that Peak PR’s tagline is: We Get Your Story Told Loud and Clear. Awful cluttered website, too. Coming from a PR background, I am appalled by those answers. The company must be incredibly successful to have the ‘CEO’ reply personally to comments from ‘amateur’ bloggers.
LikeLike
I have been nown to correct notes home from schools and mail them back to the schools. That’s even worse than a PR hack who can’t write the English language. (No one should wonder why I homeschool my 2 youngest, or why I taught grammar for 3 years to my 7 oldest.) I’ve also been known to ask “telephone spammers” for their phone numbers so I can report them to the government for violating the “do not call” list. Would that they had a “do not spam” list!
LikeLike
I am a native speaker, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what this sentence MEANS:By the way your English have been “are not applicable.”Seriously. I recognize all of those words, but they make no sense put together that way.
LikeLike
PR Pitches From Hell. A book in the making, most definitely.
LikeLike
It that’s their CEO, it explains a good many things about the original spampost…Fair play to you, telling them. Everyday spam is bad enough without having extra spam to your blog as well!
LikeLike
It is just TOO funny…
LikeLike
Yup, my colleagues are inconsiderate idiots. A bonus for you is that most of us who work in fashion communications are also dead inside. At it’s start, this was a career track that was occupied entirely by out of work journalists. We now find ourselves without a competent scribe in the bunch. I sincerely apologize for the immense pile of shit you must have heaped on your inbox. Hopefully, nobody has your phone number. The last thing you want is to be on one of those phone lists.
LikeLike
BWAHAHAHA…….you tell em Erin…….and just for the record, I didn’t have a clue who this Rumor/Rumer was. And even after to said Ashton Krutcher was her STEP-dad, I had to back up to realize that I MUCH prefer her BIRTH-Dad………droolll……but I couldn’t care less what she wears or where she wears it.
LikeLike
Your post on PEAKPR is also Google’s number two hit if you type in “pushing hard on a door marked pull.”Tee hee!Were I the CEO of a PR firm specializing in internet communication (heaven forfend), it would distress me not a little to realize that someone’s “amateur” blog- their RECREATIONAL BLOG- is better written and better edited than the original “professional” release sent out by one of my interns.
LikeLike
Pardon my French, but what a douche.One has to wonder what Christine’s native language is. Clearly not English. In a similar vein, her poorly worded, fragmented respond begs the question: which remedial school grade did she drop out of?Peake PR Group seems to aspire to be nothing more than the new Spam King.Oh yeah, dim sure sum mad skillz she gots.
LikeLike