And by “understanding,” that is to say “We’ll buy your ad space, you write us up nice and pretty.”
A funner statistic: one in five senior-level marketers admit their organizations have purchased advertising in exchange for an online news story, likely even favorable. These figures are up slightly from last year (17 percent versus this year’s 19 percent), when five percent admitted to either paying editors or giving them gifts in exchange for upbeat coverage. It’s all here, sugar booger.
And just so you know? Yeah, presents, particularly of a monetary or vice-oriented variety, work a lot better than lengthy pitches that start with “I am such a fan!” Products work too. That’s what’s called “market research.”*
Image credit: Delightful Deliveries, which has yet to surprise us with gift-wrapped gratitude in exchange for pushing its logo in this piece.
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* While lavishing Adrants with products, drugs, liquor, sex and/or money might (or might not) increase your chances of getting covered, we do not guarantee a positive write-up. Favorable mentions still depend on whether you snubbed us when we were teenagers. Suck it up.
