Do you like to ‘think outside the box’? Well, keep it to yourself! The phrase has just been voted the most annoying office buzz phrase, followed by ‘Let’s touch base’ and ‘Blue sky thinking’.  Here’s the top 10 most annoying phrases.

It’s great to see that list — for a couple of reasons:

Firstly, because that empty phrase has long annoyed me and I was astounded to see that the pinnacle of Wellington’s international cultural scene — the Arts Festival — seems to have used it as the main metaphor in their marketing for this year. Have they no idea?! Or do they mean ‘one out of the box’? Another corporate and empty cliche. Bring back the zing!

The other, more positive reason I like it is because it is a great example of how to get global media attention. The survey comes from a London firm, Opinium; and, if you Google it, it has appeared in more than 70 media outlets around the world.

A snappy idea, a well-crafted media release, the reach of the internet and you have an idea that can quickly go global. The actual content of the release may not have a direct spin-off for the firm, but the wit and relevance behind the whole thing means its name is highlighted globally and positively.

By the way, the annoying jargon came 4th on a list of things that annoy workers the most. Grumpy or moody colleagues, slow computers and office gossip made up the top three.

A common query we get is how we get clients in to the media, and then how can we trust that the media won’t distort or twist our clients’ messages.

We think it’s simple: our clients that get into the media do so because they have a good story to tell, a story that’s worth hearing and worth airing. Our job is to help present the story to the media in a way that is clear, attractive and easily understood by a busy newsroom. The media in New Zealand are, by and large, responsive and responsible towards a good story honestly told; and our ongoing experience is that our clients are well-served by targeted media attention.

That is not to say they don’t get it wrong on occasion … and here’s a good read, a Canadian blogger’s list of media mistakes and corrections for 2009: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections.

Former, high-profile, newspaper gossip columnist Bridget Saunders appeared on a TV current affairs show recently expressing surprise that comments she had made earlier to other journos, off-the-record she thought, were broadcast – putting her in a pretty unflattering light.

So, if a hard-bitten and experienced hack can’t sort out what’s on- or off-the-record, then maybe it’s not as simple as it seems. But, really, it is: If you don’t want the media to publish/broadcast something – don’t tell them it! Easy.

Having said that if you are not generally in the media glare, journos will likely give you a bit of leeway, if the issue is not major.  But if you are regularly in the media commenting on stuff, you’re ‘fair game’. Reporters are talking to you to get a story not to make friends!

Last night’s Media 7 show had four senior journalists on the panel discussing what is off- and on-the-record. It’s invaluable watching for all people and companies wanting to understand the nuances of dealing with reporters. Find the Media 7 show here.

Continuing our look at plans for pay-perview internet: New Zealand had its own version of a pay-per-view internet with the NZ Herald’s premium service a couple of years back.

It reached the level of silliness where even freelance columnists who wrote for the paper were not able to access their own work online unless they paid to see it. That premium service quickly died a death and the site is now totally open again.

But does the idea have legs: a global survey finds readers unlikely to pay for general news they can get elsewhere for free, and local columnist Bernard Hickey thinks not.

And, if you missed our earlier posts, we highlighted free tools for online media releases and PR announcements and discussed whether pay-per-view websites would hinder PR?

For many years New Zealand news website Scoop has provided a free service for anyone to post media releases online, now the National Business Review has started offering a similar service – the Horse’s Mouth – for corporate and political party releases.

The good thing about both services is that the media releases go online unedited letting your message reach the world as you intended it to. Both sites also have good search engine visibility, so your media release gets a good headstart for people searching online.

NBR publisher Barry Colman said the move would allow a free flow of information  from which readers could draw their own conclusions. “Some of these releases would otherwise head straight for the can in a newsroom, or be edited down,” he said.

After my earlier post this week about News Corporation deciding to restrict access to their news websites unless people pay to view them, it’s great to see initiatives in New Zealand that are promoting greater freedom of online information.

Opt-in PR: letting the media actually choose if they want to receive information from a PR agency.

Kinda sounds like a death knoll to all us hardworking PRs working to get our clients noticed (!), but a PR guy in the U.S is banking his business on it and, so far, reportedly, has had 165 media outlets signing up.

The gourmet food publicist clearly has a good feel for the taste of his media contacts.

Last month, we looked at how video could be the new media release. Here’s a good example from Ford showing the power of a simple video compared with a traditional media release and a social media release.

High profile, Unites States blog Techcrunch has a new media policy – break all embargoes, even the ones they agree to.

One reason is that the outlet that publishes a story first in today’s online world get the best visibility online and the best search engine ranking.

And, the second reason is that there is no downside to breaking an embargo. Techcrunch argues that United States PR firms are so desperate to do well for their clients that they will continue to send media relases to anyone and everyone in an attempt to get publicity no matter how they have been treated in the past.

I’d also say that in New Zealand we are doing our clients no favours when we use an embargo simply as a scheduled time slot for a release to be made public.

Video is being used more and more as an online communication tool of choice – including how-to instruction guides; vlogs (video blogs); promotional and marketing tools; and real world marketing activity being videoed and the video put online. The good thing is top-end production values are not always necessary. A strong idea well-constructed inexpensively and quickly can be just as successful, if you know how to find and engage your audience.

Here’s a blog piece that explains the concept and shows some useful case studies; another giving some tips on making and marketing online video; another explaining how to find an audience using YouTube; and here’s an article in the NZ Herald charting the rise of ‘webisodes’.