*notcot in playful , 11:30

On Press Trips + Fire Trucks- 06.07.11

ft0.jpg There are so many possible stories to come out of the weekend in Pittsburgh at CMU with Deeplocal and Toyota for the Ideas For Good project. There are the ones in press kits, the ones marketing/pr folks go through the motions of giving you info for, and then the best ones - the one’s you discover BEING THERE. Forgive the rant, but this one’s been long over due and i just wanted to clear the air.

PRESS TRIPS. Yes, they pay for airfare, hotel, food, essentially babysitting you from door to door. Have they BOUGHT a post? Certainly not. Not even close. In fact it could be more dangerous bringing people RIGHT into the mix of an event, what if it all goes wrong? What if they find out more than you are ready to share? Do some people see it like a “free trip”? Sure. But honestly, that’s not how i see them here on NOTCOT, because lets face it… If i wanted a “free trip” i could fly somewhere and feed myself and NOT work. An amazing press trip is more like being invited and escorted to the party you were scheming about crashing. It’s about getting an opportunity to get right in to the thick of it and EXPERIENCE something that few will ever get to. And then the real responsibility comes in sharing what YOU find noteworthy about the experience ~ your words, your pictures, your angle. Afterall, if they could just BUY a story, isn’t a lot cheaper just to throw some cash around and a prewritten story and pics?

So, this is just a little ramble for all the people i’ve run across in real life lately ~ outside of these experiences ~ who asked the simple (and totally reasonable question) of WHY do these brands and groups fly you all over the world to write about them? And i’d like to think the answer is because they LOVE you guys (the NOTCOT readers) and trust me enough to come along on their ride to find the fun and unexpected to share and inspire us!

Also, on NOTCOT philosophies on press trips and products that come through ~ the overarching question is never was it “free” (hate to break it to you, but nothing is free) ~ the first question is always “IS IT AWESOME?” and second is “Would I write about it regardless of whether i purchased it/went on my own?” And the third test - was it as amazing as i’d hoped in person? If it passes these three tests, you’ll probably be hearing about it here. The ones who don’t… we can quietly ignore. And if you have more questions on the subject, feel free to leave a note below!

Ok ~ now on to the firetruck. My inner 5 year old is back in full force ~ though the fireman Gary didn’t quite let me climb around on the ladder while extended, it was still a blast getting to wander around and take pics from the TELE-SQURT (awesome name in great typography!)… go see the pics on the next page, they make me happy. Also, how awesome is watching Slim Pictures at work? They were like the secret stars of the show… can’t wait to see all they’ve been hard at work capturing in all of my pics this weekend! SO, for now ~ Firetruck! Next page…

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1 Notes

“WHY do these brands and groups fly you all over the world to write about them?” OMG answer is so simple : Just browse a couple of posts on products and places and you’ll see how everything feels cooler, cleaner AND more approachable than press releases or glossy magazines and also many many times higher quality! The actual question is why wouldn’t they?! =)

----- D'ZORRO 07.06.11 12:41


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