Pay For Play

Every once in awhile, one of my clients gets a media call that sounds too good to be true – and it is. The caller is always from a legitimate-enough sounding magazine, but one you’ve never really heard of, and they always want to do some sort of executive or corporate profile on the company or the CEO. Sounds great, right?

Right. Until you eventually get to the catch, and what makes these known as “pay for play” opportunities in the PR world. Sometimes the corporate profile comes with a flat-out price tag. Other times, you’ll be asked to provide a list of your partners, vendors and clients, whom they subsequently hit up for advertising. 

Whatever the catch, pay-for-play media can be tough to sniff out. If the caller is from a “real” magazine, where they cover the companies making news, not those paying for it, you certainly don’t want to offend a busy reporter with questions about their legitimacy. 

Don’t get me wrong; this type of media coverage can be very effective. But if it’s not in the cards for your company, here are a few things that can tip you off to the fact that the magazine will be looking for some form of reciprocity before all is said and done:

• The person on the phone’s title is more sales oriented than publishing oriented, such as “sales assistant” or “account manager” instead of “editor” or “reporter.”
• The caller wants to schedule an appointment for you to talk with someone else. Busy reporters call you directly and want to talk right now.
• They are offering to write the corporate profile and lay it out, but you get to provide photos and make any edits you’d like before it goes to print.
• You can’t find an editorial calendar on the web site, and no one seems to be able to send you one.

If you’re still not sure, ask. It’s fine to say “Wow, that sounds great. What’s the cost?” If there’s no flat fee, be sure to ask if you’re required to provide a list of your business partners or to purchase an ad.

Often, these profiles are very well done and appear to be earned articles, which can be very beneficial in certain circumstances. Just make sure what you get is worth whatever it costs you.