This Week in PR Takes - Week 39

*disclaimer - I’m fighting a cold and wrote this week’s newsletter while on meds

Take of the Week:
Point blank, Marissa Arnold is in my PR Circle of Trust, and takes like the one she posted this week are a reason why. There have been numerous opinions on PR measurement reported in this newsletter this year, and hers is certainly one to add.

Measuring the impact of coverage is certainly a challenge, and she posted some excellent questions for us to consider:
Was it on message?
What was the sentiment?
Can we leverage this for sales?
Is there a soundbite worth repeating (and socializing)?
Does this put reputation at risk?
Is this in service of larger company goals?

I highly recommend TWiPRT readers check out her post, it’s worth the read.

Resource of the Week:
For those in the NYC area, check out Amanda’s December Comms and Marketing event calendar.

A message from Reportable:
“This feels too easy…the other wire services have so many hoops to jump through.” This is an actual quote from a TWiPRT community member who tried Reportable this week. They deliver the same top tier visibility as the well-known services, but for a much more reasonable rate.

Reportable has extended an offer to the TWiPRT community for their premium wire distribution and social media boosting (a $250 value) for a total of $500 to distribute a press release. It's ideal for startups, small businesses, or anyone looking to maximize their press release spend on a budget.

I know that more calls and meetings is the last thing anyone needs, but if you schedule a 15 minute call with Reportable’s Karen Reynolds using this link, you can send out releases with the same LLM reach - but for a fraction of the cost. 

The Rest of the Takes:
PR Misc.
- Rachel wrote about the tradeoffs with content vs. comms
- Ever read a headline and the story doesn’t quite measure up to it? Suzanne posted a quick take on why this is the way it is.
- A quick take from Andrew on why brands shouldn’t stop at the press release
- We haven’t delved into in-house vs. agency in a while, Leslie wrote why “just because” meetings matter when going in-house
- Do you give journalists what they want? Or what they need? Dustin dives in here 
- Jeremy with a take on why topical months are like the Hallmark cards of corp. comms
- Stephanie wrote about how too many approvals dilutes the process 
- Here comes the flurry of predictions for 2026, but honest curiosity is what matters per Jon
- Orlando with a tip for PR folks during Zoom/video calls

Influencers
- Dustin was looking for thoughts a PR firm only working with influencers and not the media
- Which is interesting in that the WSJ’s James Rundle posted a similar query

That’s it for this week’s takes, thanks for reading.

-Brian
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkramer/