Press Releases On Random Google Connections

from the ugh dept

In the late 90s, companies would put out press releases mentioning any bigger named company, just to try to get it picked up by a wider audience. One of the favorites, of course, was Amazon.com. There was the famous case where Zap.com, a fish oil company turned internet portal, announced that it was working with Amazon.com after it (like thousands of other sites) got approved to be in Amazon's affiliate program. It appears the same sort of thing is now happening with Google (BugMeNot required), as companies are coming up with increasingly bizarre reasons to put out press releases mentioning Google. There's even one company that put out a press release highlighting that their PageRank rose to 7 from 5. While it may seem amazing that the PR folks who put out these releases think that people are so dumb that they can't see through this sort of blatant attempt to jump on a bandwagon, it's worth remembering that Zap.com's stock jumped 20% the day they announced their "deal" with Amazon. It seems people really are that gullible -- so if you plan on selling to gullible, easily influenceable people, then perhaps this tactic is for you.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    aNonMooseCowherd, 29 Nov 2004 @ 11:24pm

    PR

    I wonder how many PR people start believing their own hype. Unlike Dilbert, I don't think they're all lying weasels, but a lot of them do seem to think that the world cares about (or even listens to) the drivel they spout.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.