Expert PR
Richard Laermer, Michael Prichinello

Dear Reader:

You have to remember that all democracy truly guarantees us is death, taxes and (says Mark Twain) a letter to the editor. The last is one of the most effective ways to get coverage in your favorite newspaper or magazine. (We don’t recommend death or taxes.)

…there are hundreds of more subtle plugs in the letters section

If you’re like most people, whether you flip through Vogue, The Times or Computer User, you set up camp for a few minutes on the “Letters To The Editor” section to read what people are griping about, snicker at the journalists’ boo-boos — where publications run their corrections — and other lurid pursuits.

But there’s another side to the section. Besides being a great place to rant, it’s also a good spot to shift opinions-at-large and plug your business to boot! It’s PR through and through.

Pick up any publication — let’s say BusinessWeek — and take a long, hard look at the letters. In this particular and randomly selected issue, neatly tucked onto page 19, Richard J. Martin, executive vice president of AT&T, takes up a full page (small print of course!) to grind an extremely angry ax and truly straighten out, he says, the “blatant distortions” served up in an article the week before. Now, there are two sides to every story, and Mr. Martin decided that his side should be long, packed with juicy sound bites and free of editorial banter. Martin gets away with sentences such as, “AT&T Broadband’s combined telephony, high-speed data and digital-video growth leads the industry,” and the hearty “After AT&T Broadband spins off and merges with Comcast, AT&T will have one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry.”

Amen.

We’re pretty sure that after BusinessWeek printed those sentences, Martin and his pals were high fiving each other in the conference room and sparking up Churchills left and right.

Albeit a pretty obvious example, there are hundreds of more subtle plugs in the letters section. You don’t have to be a big muckety-muck setting the record straight or call a journalist on a blunder. You can write in support of an article you’ve read and work your message, subdued, subliminal, or totally “out there,” into your point.

Here’s an example: In 1998, Gotham expert and author of Native’s Guide To New York, Richard Laermer – yeah one of us – ogled a cover story in Time Out New York. The writer claimed that Giuliani was closing nightclub after nightclub – trashing the city’s economy without taking the requisite disco nap!

Said New York expert recognized the mud slinger as a PR guy for a nightlife association and wrote a strong letter in response, stating that a couple of thousand partiers frequented one night club or another on a Friday eve, but about 100,000 day trippers visited one of the dozens of museums and galleries (all found in Native’s Guide) on a daily bus. He mentioned how it was unfortunate to sight Disco Stu writing under the guise of an unbiased reporter.

One more, to make you realize how crucial the L-T-E is: In 1990, aging singer George Michael released a CD (Listen Without Prejudice Volume I) and then announced how much he hated being “on display,” as though being a pop singer meant he should be completely private. It was an ultimate display of chutzpah.

If you heard him whining — claiming he would not tour, do videos or even promote his downer collection of ballads — you weren’t alone. Oldster Frank Sinatra felt the same way and made it known in a classic (and quite frank) Letter To The Editor appearing in the LA Times after Hollywood’s paper of record published George muttering about his so-called problems. Frank told Michael that he was, without mincing words, a wimp who should be thrilled that fame had brought him to such heights. Inferring that he didn’t know the singer — his work nor existence — Ol’ Blue Eyes exclaimed how “he [Michael] should have it all taken away from him” and reconsider how sad his life was then. The letter was referenced in court when years hence Michael ironically sued Sony for, uh, not promoting him enough. With this in mind it’s good to remember people read, collect, e-mail out, save for posterity, and use these often-passionate missives.

The specific purpose of the letters section is to give readers the opportunity to chime in on what’s going on in the publication and society at large, so make use of it, turn it to your advantage, and make yourself and what you’re up to relevant at every opportunity. Also, reporters, dare we say, check the letters section and snatch up story ideas and sources using letters as inspiration!

As Samuel Clemens said, you have to use the gift in order to learn its value.

Yours truly,
Richard Laermer, CEO
Michael Prichinello, VP
RLM PR New York