Sometimes the media falls in love with a topic or product, and when the firm behind the product has strong PR we know that it will keep going and going. Happens with personal electronics all the time, and increasingly with pharmaceuticals (how’s about Viagra?).

The result is more coverage than you can shake a stick at—puns intended. The product is everywhere. Everyone seems happy.

Maybe not. “Everywhere” used to be the local evening news and the morning newspaper. Now it’s all the daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly papers and magazines, then the daily, weekly, monthly, and occasional e-newsletters, the Web sites and mini-sites, broadcast and cable TV, not to mention broadcast, Web cast, podcast, Blog mentions, satellite radio and even low-bandwidth TV. “Everywhere” has gotten bigger—and really invasive.

Enter the iPod. Stories about this contraption have become the journalistic equivalent of Spam. Every time I turn on my TV, radio, or computer or open a newspaper or magazine, there they are…and they have as much relevance to me as Prozac, Cialis, a new mortgage, and the Transylvanian lottery. (I’m a well-adjusted, non-gambling, non-home owning lady.)

All this coverage is (yes, I’m serious) bad. . Bad for Apple. Bad for the iPod. Bad for PR. Like a well-honed pop star, the handlers have to always know when to get off. And stop.

Let me be clear: I like Apple. The first computer I used was a Mac Classic, with a whopping 10 MB hard drive and a 9-inch black and white mini-screen. I admire the Apple’s innovation, spirit (they actually have “Product Evangelists” on staff) and up until the iPodvolution, I liked products by Apple.

It has troubled me as a professional that Apple’s marketing efforts, particularly their forays into PR, have been less than brilliant. Now they’re building a whole new complex in Cupertino to house all the iPod mentions (okay—no). And yet it’s not smart PR to be so over-the-top about everything you do. Copious, yes. Intelligent, no.

Before you tell me a thing or two about media relations and repetition and imprints the whole nine yards, let me explain. I’m not saying that a ton of coverage is always (or even usually) bad. I am merely commenting on common sense: PR, just like any other communications vehicle, can be an over-saturation of a message. The brand’s identity in this case has been lost in the sheer volume of the story. The story? At this point, I can’t tell you. I can tell you that I no longer have any interest. .

Apple’s answer? Their version of the Walkman—the iPod—costs about $400, compared to $40 for a Sony. I’m guessing their plan is to keep it a “must have” item by making it too expensive for it to be easy. Wouldn’t it be shrewder to develop a targeted PR program with precise messaging that drives those who don’t have the disposable income to save money, rather than just relying on a Keeping Up With The Joneses economic model? It blurs the line between sales, marketing, and PR, but, Steve, that is what the smart companies are doing these days.

I’m a member of a demographic who has got to be on Apple’s list of growth iTargets. I can afford an iPod. I buy music online a lot. I like music, all the time. I love gadgets, especially small electronic devices (except maybe mobile phones, but that’s another column).

Yet despite everything I’ve read I have never ever considered even for a moment purchasing an iPod for me. When my stepson (he’s 20) wanted one, I consulted a colleague. Specifically I asked, “Why on earth would I buy a $400 Walkman?!?” (Said colleague explained to me all the other things you can do with a ‘Pod, but in the end he admitted, sheepishly, it plays music.)

So all this copious coverage that I’ve read, watched, listened to hasn’t gotten me to buy. In many ways I’m kind of annoyed at the level they go to, to get me. I am wondering if perhaps the idea of pushing me to buy via the media has been so unsubtle, that it’s making consumers like me boycott their iProducts.

As a strident U2 fan, I felt a little betrayed by Bono when he bopped around iHawking on the device. And sadly I know there is someone somewhere writing a book called iPod Nation. Gee, have I offended anyone? Out there, right this second, at this very moment, there are at least 20 journalists writing about the iPod and/or its effect on our society, culture, and/or The Youth of America/The World.

Unfortunately, none of those stories will really move product. And I don’t think, as a consumer AND a PR pro, they will contribute to the long term viability of their brand. But that’s ok. Knowing Apple, they’ll invent something new after everyone has written them off again.

You, however, are not Apple and there is a correlation to your business. So, our advice at FFPR Report: Don’t make the same mistake. Every effective PR program is built on a foundation of research, true understanding of how to capitalize on and influence trends (RLM calls it trendSpotting™), and crystal-clear messaging combined with elegant, intelligent media relations. These are the programs that drive your business long term. Perhaps, somewhere along the line you also will invent the Next Big iThing.
If you do, be gentle.

Mitchell is a Group Director at RLM who understands how to help clients create PR programs that have long-term positive impact on their business.