From time to time we get calls about press kits a.k.a. media kits.  Hmmm.  Press kits. 

First, we should discuss what they are.    A press kit is a set of documents that provide the media with information they need to know about you and your company to be able to write a story about you.

They used to be used for every news conference–a sort of must have so reporters had all the information in one place.  You’d put background handouts, pamphlets, CDs and photos into these press kits.

Flash forward now to 2009 (almost 2010).  Almost no one uses paper anymore.  The phone has been replaced largely by email.  And our world has gone electronic thanks to the iPhone, BlackBerry and Web sites.

So, here’s your answer:  Traditional press kits are no longer relevant.  No reporter in his or her right mind wants more paper to lug around.

 

Traditional press kits have been replaced by online press kits or online media rooms.

 

Any handouts, photos, DVDs or background information that used to go into a press kit, can now be uploaded to a Web site and then downloaded by a reporter or producer when they are needed.  Reporters and producers prefer that anyway.

You can also link to these documents in a press release that you distribute.   PRNewsChannel does it all the time.

So, any PR firm or PR agency that wants to talk you into spending  hundreds or thousands of dollars on a press kit, walk away as fast as you can.

Self publishing book companies like talking writers and authors into these press kits to make more money.  So do some PR firms. 

So save your money.  Or give it to charity.  And save the trees.  Traditional press kits are a complete waste.