Tired, fading & dead PR words
Lots of companies – especially those in B2B – still talk about (or request) PR services that increasingly strike me as tired, fading or dead.
Hits & clips – counting clips (printed editorial coverage) and putting undue weight on offline publicity to measure PR success should have died two decades ago. Ask Katie Paine, one of the leaders in communications measurement. She says “hit” stands for How Idiots Track Success.
Press kits, brochures & collateral – in this era of sustainability and green, it’s hard to believe companies are still printing, but some are. Remember the days when major trade show/conference press rooms 
would be filled with press kits? This practice has largely stopped; it’s a digital world, let’s stop killing trees.
would be filled with press kits? This practice has largely stopped; it’s a digital world, let’s stop killing trees.Press releases – the function of the news release has shifted so dramatically that in most instances they’re written and issued to primarily serve other stakeholders (customers, investors, prospects, etc.), not the press. The term “press release” is still (marginally) more prevalent than “news release,” (139 million vs. 104 million per Google) but call ‘em by the latter. It’s a more accurate, current and legitimate term.
Pitch – this term bugs me more than any other tired/fading/dead PR word because it epitomizes the old-world model of one-way communications. We have two-way conversations, we listen, we seek-out opinions, we build relationships and we tell stories. We shouldn’t “pitch.”Users – this term has been around in the world of tech for decades; “users” referring to people who “use” products. For bizarro reasons I could never fathom, they aren’t called customers or consumers. Time to bury this one.
Big bang announcements – there was a time when PR practitioners would communicate with reporters well in advance of actual news being issued. Two or three months before the news broke, corporate spokespersons would inform industry analysts and “long lead time” magazines. Then they’d pre-brief the bi-weeklies, then the weeklies, then the dailies. This is a breathless concept. Blogs break news before most offline news outlets are even aware of it. Other social media (Twitter especially) inform in true real time.
Publicity – I’ve never liked this word in the context of defining public relations practice. Are we trying to build trusted reputations and create belief? Or, are we simply trying to get attention (Balloon Boy!)? True public relations is not publicity.
Embargos & lead time – PR practitioners used to negotiate up-front agreements with reporters not to run pre-fed news stories until the official date/time of the announcement. Hardly anyone wants to be tied to this practice; it’s still around but is fading fast.
What PR words bug you?
I wrote a very similar blog post back in the spring, called "10 Dead or Dying PR Tactics". It covered the same topic, but different tactics. It can be found here: http://bit.ly/44jhYf .
Another funny side note -- my PR firm is EndGame Public Relations. Between the tag line in your header and the topic of this blog post ... there are a lot of coincidences flying around!
Are you saying that even technical discussions should stop using the word "user"? It sounds a little like that's what you're saying.
I agree with you on most of this list, but what I realized is that it's not just the use of the words that need to change but the thinking and the actions. I hope we all get there one day!
For me, the idea of "Corporate Social Responsibility" gets on my nerves as corporations, dozens by dozens, jump into it together.
Salesmen pitch things...one can pitch something into the trash
For those who are proud to be known as a "PR Flak" - the word pitch might no bother
you.
Pitch=cringe
I try to explain Users, Customers, Clients, and Consumers in my marketing classes as follows. I do think there is a difference.
Users: The intended guinea pig, er, I mean actual user of the product. For example, my company may buy SaleForce.com but I am the user (typically B2B and yes, often tech-based products) and the Company or person in IT, etc. is the Customer.
Consumer: I try to save this for B2C purchases to equate to User since the Customer may be mom or dad for a toy and the user the kid.
Client is typically a term used in a services firm.
A few oft-used terms IN news releases that I hate: "solution" "unique" ... "leverage".
Best,
Barb
It may not seem "formal" enough, but sign your emails the way you end a conversation in real life (i.e, no one splits from a cup of coffee and says, "Best!").
And Janice, what is "swizzle?" Seriously. I don't know. I'm thinking of Twizzlers.
+1 for "corporate social responsibility." Wow! You do good! But you have to mess it up by creating some corpo term for it. Guh.