The PR Files: Call Me 'April'

me in my garden wearing a scarf I'd knitted
The only time I've featured an 'outfit' on the blog - the scarf I knitted for Kathryn's project 

It appears we're all badly mistaken. According to a number of emails I've received lately...
  • My name isn't VP, Veep or Michelle; it's April
  • My blog has nothing to do with vegetables or gardening. Instead I have a 'fashion forward sense of style' which allows me to rock various outfits
  • After careful scrutiny of my website which is called tuscanymotorcyclerentals -  not Veg Plotting - I could also do with some help from an 'ethical internet marketer'... whatever that is
I kid you not - here's some of the evidence with their exclamation and quotation marks retained to prove authenticity. The first piece is from November - I binned the one I received in October, before I realised 'April' was going to have quite an extensive correspondence...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi April,

Spoof image of me wearing a little black dress
Me and my LBD
My name is Korrie, I'm the Outreach Coordinator at DailyLook.com. Here at DailyLook we believe the "little black dress" is essential to every stylish wardrobe. It's easy to dress down for a daytime look or glam up for an evening out on the town! We admire your creative sense of style and would love to invite you to participate in our "LBD from Day to Night challenge!"

We'd love for you to put together the perfect "day to night" look by using one of our little black dresses as your inspiration. Take the image from our website and pair it with the perfect pieces to complete both look. You can create your outfit by using our Style Sets (http://stylesets.dailylook.com/) or any of your favorite styling platforms, from there simply share it on your blog! We are looking forward to sharing our favorite posts each week on our social media platforms!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then last December...

Question for April! (in the subject line)

Photo of my eco-friendly watch which stops and therefore needs a sunshine top up in the winter
My eco-friendly watch
basking on our windowsill
so it starts working again
Hi,

My name is Sam and I'm from Invaluable, the world's premiere online marketplace. We feature all sorts of jewelry, watches, antiques, collectibles, and even entire estate sales. I'm emailing you because I think you would be a perfect fit for a project we're running.

Watches are still a fashion statement and many people value them more for their elaborate craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal and glamorous design than for simple timekeeping. Whether it is for a night out, a professional meeting, or a just a small get together the watch is something that cannot be neglected. However, it takes quite the eye to put these looks together; this is where we need your help.

We are looking for bloggers like yourself to showcase some of the amazing timepieces on our site and style a look that is sure to turn heads no matter what the occasion. From what I have seen on your blog you seem like the perfect candidate for this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, only last week...

Hi April!

Photo of me mucking around with a football sized dahlia
Here's a dahlia selfie...
...because I've never
been a bridesmaid 
My name is Alex and I am the Community Coordinator at Weddington Way! For the month of January, we are virtually hosting our very own style challenge. We noticed your fashion-forward sense of style from reading your blog and would love for you to participate!

There's something irresistible about saying "I dos" with a romantic wintry setting. We're asking bloggers to help us create the perfect bridesmaid ensemble for a winter wonderland wedding using an image from our Weddington Way dress collection. The challenge is this: If you were the Maid of Honor and the bride asked you to style the bridesmaid look for her big day, what would you suggest? Feel free to set the tone for this frost-covered fete with festive details such as color recommendations, hair ideas, makeup looks, jewelry, clutch/purses, shoes, etc!

You will be entered into the style challenge as soon as you publish your look on April's Creative Corner. We will adding our favorites to our January Style Challenge Pinterest board as well as our Facebook page for our 200,000+ followers to see!

Simply respond to this email if you're interested and we would love to provide you with more details and exclusive bridesmaid dress images!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All I need to do next is take these 'outfits' off to Tuscany, hire a motorcycle and my blog is sorted ;)

Needless to say, if 'April' receives any more correspondence, I now have the perfect reply. I wonder if April's Creative Corner mentioned in the last example is a clue. It looks like Veg Plotting could be mixed up with her blog and I'm on some kind of master list somewhere, destined forever to receive these emails on a regular basis.

If you're a PR person who's stumbled across this post, it's nice to see you're here to do your homework and ensure your email isn't the next one featured in The PR Files. No wait... forget what I've just said - that means I couldn't have any more fun!

Have you had any amusing PR gaffes? Tell all in the comments below.

Comments

  1. CJ12 January 2015 at 10:21

    I'm laughing, how do they manage it?! I'm very much looking forward to seeing your bridesmaid's ensemble though. Something with carrots?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP12 January 2015 at 10:25

      Hi CJ - I'm glad it's made you giggle on a Monday morning. I'm sorely tempted to dress up and pose on the allotment. Most of these emails get binned, but I couldn't resist with these ;)

      Delete
  2. Mark and Gaz12 January 2015 at 10:38

    That is so funny Michelle, we can definitely relate! Have to say PR people contacting us and addressing us by our names (rather than just 'Dear blogger') gets some automatic plus points already...

    ReplyDelete
  3. VP12 January 2015 at 11:14

    Hi guys, yes I agree - an actual name is a plus point, except I had one addressed 'Dear Dave' once :o
    I'm supposedly a 'great mom blogger' too ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Victoria Summerley12 January 2015 at 13:18

    How funny! You get really interesting emails - I just get ones that ask me if I want to change my office cleaning contract, or offer workshops for my sales staff. When I worked on the Evening Standard, I used to get PRs ringing up and asking if they could speak to the "women's page editor". I would point to them that we didn't have a women's page - as they would know, if they read the paper on a regular basis. They would then ring off very quickly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP14 January 2015 at 19:09

      I can imagine you enjoyed telling them that ;-)

      Delete
  5. Sue Garrett12 January 2015 at 14:52

    I wonder whether April is being asked about vegetables.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jean Campbell12 January 2015 at 15:36

    You get a more interesting bunch of spammers. Yours even have passable grammar. Mine just want me to link to their gaming sites. There is another bunch who want to tell me for a fee how to attract 'traffic.' Usually those criticize my writing style.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP14 January 2015 at 19:14

      I get those too Jean, via the comments. These examples are from emails from Pr companies

      Delete
  7. Rose14 January 2015 at 14:09

    How funny, VP--I love your outfit! You could do a post on how to dress fashionably for winter gardening:) My emails aren't nearly as funny, but apparently some of them think I must make a lot of money from my blog, because they all want to do guest posts for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP14 January 2015 at 19:16

      Aren't those emails simply tiresome Rose :-( As you say, they're not so interesting, though.

      Delete
  8. Janet/Plantaliscious15 January 2015 at 08:09

    Priceless! Gmail's spam filter robs me of the more interesting spam, yours are so much more interesting, and funny than the ones that make their way to me.

    ReplyDelete

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