Please don’t vote for me
It appears to be time again for that annual farce that is Ranking Arizona. I know this post might put me in the dog house over at AZ Big Media, but let’s be real for a moment. Ranking Arizona is nothing more than a popularity contest that is manipulated easily by the firms that wish to spend enough time asking all their friends to vote for them. It says nothing at all about whether or not your firm is any good.
A few years ago when I was just starting out with Open Door Communications I played the game and ended up ranked as the 4th best small public relations firm in Arizona. What did it get me? A crapload of calls from Ranking Arizona to advertise in the book and buy various items to showcase my big win at my office.
In the past few years I have received endless emails from friends in the business asking me to vote for them or vote for their clients. A few years ago one local PR firm didn’t even bother asking me to vote, but rather simply asked for my permission to let them vote on my behalf (I am not going to name names but you publicity hounds know who you are!). I’m not going to play anymore.
Here’s an idea for AZ Big Media. Why not simply open up the rankings to the highest bidder? You want to be the number one ranked large PR firm in Arizona — show me the money! Let’s dispense with the sham and make this contest what it’s really about — making money for AZ Big Media through advertising and cardboard stand-up sign sales.
AZ Big Media is really all about pay to play anyway. Why should we keep pretending that it’s anything different? You think it’s a coincidence that right next to the page in this year’s book that proclaims KTAR as the best radio station in town there is a full page ad for KTAR? I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with pay to play media, it has its place. But let’s be real about it. How about simply posting a price list so we know what it’s going to cost us to buy editorial? That would at least be honest.
Please don’t vote for me
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Comments
May 14th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
YES! So glad you stepped up and posted this… Grats.
Next to tackle… the ridiculousness of the Top 25 “insert vertical industry here” of the Phx Business Journal. I’ve talked to a few big firms (friends) out here about that fiasco and how it’s complete BS.
Anyways thanks for posting this – somebody with a bigger voice than mine had to say it.
May 14th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Awesome, Len. I will say this about the Biz Journal: while a joke, I appreciate that they just DO it and don’t ask us to vote. When has the popular vote EVER resulted in the “best” candidate for anything?
While we’re on the topic, lets talk “Azcentral Readers Poll”, which doesn’t even make a pretense of being legit. You can still fake the entry form, which is why you can see in some verticals such a disproportionate number of votes for places you’ve never heard of.
The BEST agencies are hopefully too busy working their ass off for clients to solicit votes for any of this crap.
May 14th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Being the new guy on the block, I’ll gladly take ALL the votes we can get! So spread the word… Rainmaker Communications is open for business and we’d greatly appreciate ALL of your votes!
May 14th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Thanks Len, great stuff and well said! I guess you won’t be getting a Christmas card from AZ Big Media this year…
May 14th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
I am one of those firms that is asking for people’s votes, I admit it. We at least run toward the problem and ask for people’s votes in a humorous way, acknowledging that we know it’s self-absorbing and absurd. Of course these rankings and lists are popularity contests! But, these are tough, scary times, and I am going to follow the advice that we give to our clients and that is to increase your (our own) marketing and PR in a down economy. (duh)
I am trying to build a business and am looking for clients just like everyone else. And speaking from experience, we have received new business phone calls because people have seen our ranking. Why shouldn’t we continue to go after a good ranking? Many of us see these rankings as bullsh*t, but people outside of the industry look at them differently. We all know it’s about perception.
By asking people to vote for us, I realize we are leaving the door open to get our asses kicked by fellow marketers. I am OK with that. But there’s nothing wrong with a little self-promotion once in a while to increase our chances of finding business. If we run our company with integrity and respect for others, then that’s all that matters.
Sam
May 14th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Sam,
I don’t think less of you or D&S PR for playing the game. I just think AZ Big Media is being dishonest and that the whole thing is a farce — and remember that Valley PR Blog is primarily made up of people in PR who know it’s a farce — so my comments are pointed at us as an industry. I’m also frustrated at the lack of real business pubs in the Valley and so there’s some resentment there on my part too. With a tiny four-page Republic business section and one weekly business newspaper there isn’t much place for real business news anymore.
Len
May 14th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I hear ya, Len. I respect your opinions. Just thought that I needed to speak up.
AZ Big Media knows that people are going to pay for the ads in the book as well as the networking event associated with the event. My views of running a company are different than Atkinson’s, but I respect his business savvy and know-how. He obviously knows how to make money.
I am also frustrated with the lack of real business news in the Valley. The Republic’s business section is abysmal. Unfortunately, I don’t see it getting better any time soon. It’s really sad.
Sam
May 14th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
The pay to play is extended further with the opportunity to buy reprints of the “rankings” and use them in sales kits, RFPs, etc. Most of the sales people that I’ve worked with who’ve used these know this is a farce and just don’t care.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Len, couldn’t agree more. Sam, couldn’t agree more. Lists such as this are like making sausage. The process is gross, but the end result is typically overlooked by the masses. And some in those masses use lists such as this to find and hire agencies. We like to be included in the mix.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I’ve been in business for years, and I’ve never even heard of AZ Big Media. True story.
I HAVE had people ask me to vote on that thing tho, I vaguely remember that Ranking Arizona logo.
Point is, who cares what that Ranking Arizona says. If you have clients who refer clients, you probably don’t need to beg people for votes in a contest like that.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I personally blame Sam Alpert for all of this. In fact, I even blame him for the current downturn in the economy. BTW, I did vote for you today.
I already have a rule setup in Outlook to send these requests to a special folder.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Someone should go to Yelp and in every category find the top reviewed company and publish that list and where the “pay for play” winner sits in the yelp list.
May 14th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Don’t forget all the past years they didn’t have anyway to prevent people from running scripts to submit votes over and over and over and over and….
May 15th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Here’s the God’s honest truth – we’ve advertised every year, and we’ve gone through years when we’ve aggressively pursued votes (as Sam said, in a tongue-in-cheek manner) and years when we’ve blown it off and then it’s too late. This year we decided to do nothing – no asks. And guess what? We’re #1 – first time since ‘04. I’m not sure what to think.
There’s a reason that Mike Atkinson has a nice home in Coronado though – wish I’d thought of it!
May 15th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
What Ranking Arizona can tell you: Who is the best in its industry for viral marketing. Really, it’s just about who did the best job emailing everyone under the sun and getting them to vote. (Or maybe who had enough time on their hands to create bogus email accounts to vote from.)
May 18th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Cramer-Krasselt sums it up pretty well with their flash intro: http://www.c-k.com/
May 21st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Of course everyone knows it’s a tool for the publisher to make money on ads and add-ons. Of course everybody knows you get your friends to vote, or you vote on their behalf. People get that. So what. It gets your name out to the public.
The Business Journal Top 25 is no more credible.
I’m guessing P.T. Barnum would approve and he was a better marketer than anyone here.
Cheers.
May 27th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Great post! Re: Business Journal’s list:
http://www.valleyprblog.com/media/girl-you-know-its-true-biz-journal-pr-list-out/
Valley PR Blog » Blog Archive » Tonight I’m gonna party like a Nittany Lion Says:
July 27th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
[...] are so easily manipulated. But that doesn’t mean people don’t pay attention regardless. You know how I feel about rankings. So I don’t think there’s any credibility to this poll, even if it is administered by [...]