Wash me, dry me, spin me. . .

A dirty little secret lives called VNR.

Three years out from an undergrad advertising course and 18 months out from a public relations course, today's reading of Gillmor's reference to what he calls video press releases [more commonly called video news releases] (p. 184) reminded me that I had studied them from a practitioner's point of view.

So I dug out my textbooks, and found these references:

Marketers like to have as much control as possible over the time & place where information is released. One way to do this is with the video news release, a publicity piece produced by publicists so that stations can air it as a news story. The videos almost never mention that they are produced by the subject organization, and most news stations don't mention it either. Many pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Aventis, and AstraZeneca have used VNRs, as have GNC, Mercedes, Nieman Marcus, and others (Belch, 2004, p. 581).

Even more insidious:

News releases in video form, known as VNRs, have become standard tools in the practice of public relations. The best VNRs are those that cover "breaking" news--a press conference or news announcement that broadcasters would cover themselves if they had the resources. Such "breaking" news VNRs are delivered by satellite directly to TV newsrooms. [Caption reads:] The real thing. Once a VNR makes it into a newsroom like CNN's and over the airwaves, few viewers question the story's authenticity or origination.

Satellite feeds of unedited footage, called B-roll, include a written preamble-story summary and sound bites from appropriate spokespersons. The TV stations then assemble the stories themselves, using as much or as little of the VNR footage as they see fit.

Questions practitioners are asked to consider include: is the VNR needed? How much time do we have? How much do we have to spend to make the VNR effective? What obstacles must be considered, including bad weather, unavailablity of key people, and so on? Is video really the best way to communication this story?

Oh, yeah, and one more thing is mentioned in the text: Then, too there is the controversy surrounding VNRs in general. . . . TV guide's researchers reported that, although broadcasters used elements from VNRs, rarely were they labeled so that viewers could know their sponsor's identity.

. . . The fact remains that if an organization has a dramatic and visual story, using VNRs may be a most effective and compelling way to convey its message to millions of people (Seitel, 2004, pp. 247-249).

Anybody besides me feel like they want a shower?



Belch, G. and Belch, M. (2004.) Advertising and Promotion, 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Seitel, F. (2004.) The Practice of Public Relations, 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.



Additional reading:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Video_news_releases

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/06/1432244