By Greg Hazley
Tech news site TechCrunch said it has banned pitches from boutique Philadelphia firm PRserve after editors said they discovered the firm offers clients “a la carte” pricing that includes $750 for a post on an “A-level blog” like TC.
“While we’re not in the business of advising PR people on their pricing, we think that making press coverage this transactional crosses an ethical/editorial line and diminishes the integrity of our brand and our writers,” wrote TC’s Alexia Tsotsis. “Startups and investors, you shouldn’t be paying for TC articles, or any press coverage for that matter, you should be paying for the help with your message and communications, which, if you have a good and/or compelling product, might result in more coverage. And while a (legit) PR team can be useful in many cases, a direct and fair relationship with our writers is always the best way to get on TechCrunch.”
TC said it is banning PRserve or “anyone who we catch doing this from pitching us moving forward.”
PRserve founder Chris Barrett said he was “confounded” by Tsotsis’ claim that PR firms with a performance-based business models would be banned from placing clients on TC.
“PRserve is devoted to ethical, transparent PR,” he said in an online post. “We were the first PR firm to cater to the needs of promising new startups with an honest, upfront policy: clients only pay when their stories are successfully placed. The only difference between how we share stories and the way a traditional PR firm works is that we do not charge a $5,000 monthly retainer, irrespective of results.”
Barrett said the firm only collects an “extremely modest amount” for successful placements – a flat rate of $425 - $750 per story.
He called the TC piece a “very unfortunate, ill-informed response to our model.” He added: “The PR industry is changing and we are at the forefront.”
Tsotsis said that clients who paid $750 to get a post placed on TechCrunch should ask PRserve for a refund. “If they don’t give it to you, I will personally give it to you, out of my own pockets, not AOL’s,” she wrote. |