Less is More for Pitching Wireless Stories

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When the techno-pundits declare that mobile commerce will be the next big thing, the media replies Rhett Butler style. Still smarting from the sting of dotcom hype, they just
don't give a damn about predictions of wireless shopping.

Still, PR professionals on the front lines say they are managing to put forward story ideas on behalf of mobile-commerce aspirants. How? Two simple rules. First, never promise
more than you can deliver. Second, have an end user who is willing to talk.

Take for example Pam Selker Rak, who as president of PR firm CommuniTech represents a number of wireless wanna-bes. "I just conducted a round of pitches and I found that a lot
of editors are hesitant to do anything on [wireless technology] until they see how it is working out in the real world," she says. "They do not want to cover something that they
do not know for sure will be viable. We have gotten some mentions of the technology itself - 'Here is what it does'-type stuff - but no one wants to delve much further into it
until they see it actually working."

For wireless players, that is often easier said than done. In the first place, many mobile-commerce firms are still in development mode or are conducting beta tests. Even among
firms who have happy clients already, those clients often are reluctant to talk - and sometimes with good reason.

Take the case of Haht Commerce. In the spring of 2000 the software maker decided to go mobile with an enterprise application that links the back office to front office,
effectively allowing employees to tap the corporate database from any Web browser.

Film company MGM tried the system and liked it, "and at first they were amenable to doing this kind of publicity," recalls Christina Rohall, who has been handling the Haht
Commerce PR effort as senior account executive at Blanc & Otus Public Relations. "But then as soon as the press releases hit, they realized that we had launched them into rock
stardom. They were getting inundated with media inquiries."

MGM pulled out of the endorsement deal, but another happy client has since stepped forward - for which Rohall thanks her lucky stars. Without a happy-customer endorsement, she
says, the media just won't bite these days.

Show Me the Money

The demand for testimonials is part of a larger trend in technology reporting, which can be roughly described as the "show-me-the-money" school of thought. With the taste of
squandered dot-com millions still burning the backs of their throats, reporters and readers alike need to see that any new technology actually adds real monetary value
somewhere.

Thus, in order to pitch a mobile-commerce application, "you need a clearly defined message about what is in it for the readers of any given publication," says Steve Friedberg,
director of communications at wireless-application developer Evoxis. "Especially in the technology publications, they are far, far less interested in technology for technology's
sake. They want to see technology that actually meets a here-and-now problem."

In Friedberg's case that is a tall order, since his firm's product is still in beta testing. What to do in the meantime? "The message we are sending is: We are going to be
there in relatively short order, and we hope that you will keep us in mind," he says. "When I look at the editorial calendars I am not looking at the issues that will run next
week or next month, because that would be premature of us. Instead, I am trying to build relationships so that when I do have news, when I do have something tangible to report,
the reporters to whom I speak will know that I am not just blowing smoke. They will have heard from me before."

But do the front-end work wrong, and you'll pay the price. Diversinet, a provider whose software helps ensure the security of transactions conducted via cell phones and Palm
devices - or will whenever those transactions start happening - learned the hard way. The company's agency sent out press releases with each new development, no matter how
trivial. Within months, reporters were responding to press releases with curt one-liners, including the dreaded: "Take me off this list."

Diversinet is with a new PR firm now. As a director at Allison & Partners, Jonathan Heit says a lot of his work these days is spent trying to restore his client's
credibility. "You need to crawl before you can walk," he says. "They were playing up every small announcement, putting everything out there to see if it would stick, in an effort
to capitalize on the hype and to build excitement over things that were in the future. But that was not building credibility and in fact was working against them."

To restore trust, he has put media on the back burner and concentrated on the analyst community, inviting in the neutral experts in the hopes that they will give his client's
technology their seal of approval. When he does talk to the media, it is mostly in order to put forward Diversinet's CEO as a knowledgeable industry insider.

"The idea now is to look at the right opportunities, rather than the most opportunities," he says.

By the same token, some have found that the best way to draw the media's attention to wireless technology is to talk about something other than wireless technology. In Rak's
case, one of her clients is hosting a local seminar teaching parents how to keep kids safe online. It's a big issue in a community where a local child was recently abducted by a
man encountered in a chat room. Her client's community-service efforts "are very important to me," says Rak, "because it gives us as the PR firm some news to take to reporters
and editors. It helps us to get ink for them while we wait for their beta deployments to come through."

It's also important to recognize that while some mainstream media may not yet be open to m-commerce pitches, wireless trade pubs can provide important exposure. As senior
account executive at G.S. Schwartz & Co., Hunter Blankenbaker has been pitching for wireless-applications provider SmartServ, and he's learned the value of the trade press.
"The wireless publications are of course more interested in this than The Wall Street Journal or Forbes," he says. "This company's application won't really transpire today, but
more like a year from now, and those publications have a lot of other things going on right now."

(Contacts: Pam Selker Rak, 412/221-4550, [email protected]; Steve Friedberg, 610/518-7474, [email protected]; Christina Rohall, 415/856-5117,[email protected];
Hunter Blanken-baker, 212/725-4500 x.318, [email protected]; Jonathan Heit, 310/314-5402, Jon-
[email protected])

Trade Pitches

Pitching the wireless trade press may prove more successful than pitching mainstream media who are waiting for potential applications to become reality. But editors of wireless
pubs have their needs, too. We asked Malcolm Spicer, editor of PR NEWS sister publication Wireless Data News, to offer his suggestions:

"I value material that immediately identifies why the information is wireless industry news. Descriptions of a company's new service or product without providing context of
where it fits in the wireless landscape aren't useful. Brand X may have a new wireless platform that actually is different from the competition, but [just] describing the its
capabilities leaves me unclear about what Brand X is trying to prove."

A few important wireless trade pubs to keep on your media list:

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