JJ ... I totally agree. However, when you are sitting down trying to actually get the approval of CBQ, Quantum & Sylvan, especially using a client's name in the news release, you have to gain their permission above all on the contents within the release. The first draft of the release included all 7 golden rules. Fully detailed description of scope, money and so forth. It sort of got chopped up a bit by final approval.
7 golden rules I try to get with each release (Bart agrees with this also and wanted the dollar amount in the release and full scope but could not get approval).
1. What is the exact purpose in the release?
2. Is it money worthy enough to release?
3. Is it self-explanatory to shareholders?
4. Is the client fully identified and has approved the release content? Would hate to make a retraction or a clarification due to an irrate client.
5. What is the contract worth? (if it’s T&M like this one that is difficult and legal sources make those advisement’s to the company)
6. What is the exact scope of work? Mainly because the more you know the more you are able to track the focus of the company on its pursuit of its core business.
7. Is there a way to write the release so that it advertises the specific services of the company to draw in more business?
Heck, after I get all that and we get through the batting the release back and forth then Business Wire generally will call me with errors like typos and so forth. You have to email and then fax a copy to Business Wire. Normally Business Wire will even call about something in the release that has nothing to do with the release, or bad syntax, spelling, etc.
Now, I fully understand people who do not make news releases do not have to deal with using company names, the laws of releasing information or the possibly of ticking off the client and possibly losing the work. When I was at CNHH, I released a perfect Golden Rule release and the company lost the work to a competitor on a T&M clean-up the very same day, matter of fact within hours of the release. I had to then release a retraction. That release cost them an esitmated $250,000.00 T&M project with a new client. It was truly difficult to get anything specific in a release after that loss of work.
Notice the ticker was not even used in the release (NASDAQ: SLVN). It came down to the release could have been written without the client's name and use the estimated dollar value and scope. But that might have ticked off the client. In some cases with other companies, I have gotten so frustrated because the client does not want their name or the terms of the agreement/contract/engagement released. Remember DMEC when I was there, I could not release the client’s name or the amount of the contract. Why? Because in 1997, Golden Rule releases cost them and the results was generalized released. Talk about taking some grief.
See there is so much more to releasing of information that has to be considered. Not to mention after the numerous approves and batting the release back and forth till final approval then what happen yesterday can occur with all the errors. Does not happen often but the links being dropped, "/" & "I" coming out as the number 1 plus the “their” and “us” in the same sentence. (BTW that came out in a release last year) Heck even the word “infrastructure” was not in the release but “F-business” was used, which I checked and some of each of the "About" sections came from previous news releases.
The new release appears on My Track now so the right release is out there but I was ticked at what happened especially at myself because I did not check it or read it after it came out. I was too busy on the phone about the release. I figured they just “copy and paste” the release but apparently they have to format it and errors do occur sometimes. One reason the links may have fallen off was because I added http;// to the URLs so that regardless which media picks it up the URL will work.
By the way, I spent some time on the phone with Bart prior to desseminating because of the Affiliate wording and the CBQ/Quantum use.
Hope this helps.
CIIR
:=) Gary Swancey
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