When Caster Communications of Providence, R.I., put out an invitation for journalists to receive a $100 gift certificate to visit OneCall.com, the goal was to earn reviews for
the A/V specialty e-tailer. The question of appropriateness apparently never surfaced.
A Caster employee, Kristin - she declined to share her last name - offered the explanation that the client's advantage as a Web site lies in its level of customer service. The
certificate was to allow a journalist to take part in the full e-tailing experience. Reporters could return the products they purchased, or donate them to charity, she said, and
the PR firm contacted the journalists first, either by phone or email, to see if they wanted to participate. "A few people weren't interested in accepting it. A few publications
can't accept gifts and they looked at it like that," she told PR NEWS.
Kristin said the pitch ("It's not a program, it's not a promotion," she protested) was successful, though she wouldn't say how many reporters responded.
It finally dawned on her that we were questioning whether anyone had challenged the ethics of the technique. "Am I being interviewed?" she finally asked. Well, that is what
reporters do.
She ended the conversation, requesting that any more questions be faxed to Caster.