Christmas is coming, and some bloggers and journalists would like presents, although they may term this as a need for “products to review“. Dan Roche, head of PR at communications services provider Azzurri, says this is a prime time of year for PROs to be inundated with requests for Christmas gifts to evaluate, with no mention being made of them being returned. The problem, Roche adds, is deciding when to comply, as ultimately, doing so could undermine the PR industry: “This is a big ethical dilemma for PR professionals. They are paid to generate positive reviews for their clients. So if a blogger/journalist asks to keep the products, the natural temptation is to think that this will mean a better review, and to let the return of the products slide. This may see short-term gain, but it certainly does nothing to help the PR industry as it seeks to build a stronger reputation as an upholder of ethics.”

If a journalist, or blogger, is making a reasonable request, then there should be no moral dilemma. As Simon Turton, owner of agency Opera PR, points out, it is vital for consumer products to get the thumbs up from respected writers: “If you're working with clients in the consumer arena and you want to get published reviews of their products, to help drive sales, then it is more than reasonable for journalists or professional bloggers to request expensive products to review. Consumers want third-party endorsements to help them decide between product X or Y.”

The problem is deciding which writers are key influencers. Turton advises: “I would recommend that clients only give away expensive items to a given number of writers. If random requests come in for such items and the target number of journalists have already written reviews then they should be declined.”

Some rogue journalists and bloggers may be trying it on when they ask for freebies, but there are other reasons apart from greed that have led to more demands for review products. Product reviews are an easy way to fill pages, which helps publications under pressure to cut costs without cutting content. But as valuable as a good review is to your client, you have to weigh up the benefits of giving away their assets.

When should you give bloggers what they ask for?

Daryl Willcox, chairman of media communications specialist DWPub, suggests criteria for deciding when a blogger request should be fulfilled:

“First of all, there is no point in responding to a blogger request if it is not relevant to your client or you are unable to provide what has been requested, for example your client doesn't provide review samples. Offering something to a blogger and then not being able to come up with the goods is as bad as doing such a thing to a journalist, and the blogger is much more likely to expose your shortcoming. Remember to take a look at the quality of the blog. There is no scientific way of doing this. Although 'unique user' stats are nice and do give an idea of a blog's popularity, it does not tell you the whole story and, in fact, a good quality blog that does not get many hits is still very much worth engaging with. Quality can be judged by how well written the blog is, how frequently posts appear and the overall look of the blog – though don't be put off by a blog that appears a bit rough around the edges, but is otherwise well-rounded. Blogs that show details of the author – name, experience and contact details – benefit from higher perceived quality. Focus on the blogs that you feel are higher quality and you'll probably get good results.”

The blogger’s view

Alan Spurgeon, owner of sports blog Footy-Boots.com, says PROs need to be strategic about sending out freebies:

“Running a blog with a niche focus (ours being football apparel), we are often forwarded new products by the top sports brands. We will only write about products that are of interest to our audience, so unrelated gifts will have no impact on our editorial process. Access to prototype technology that we can test ourselves will almost always lead to coverage when the product is relevant, lives up to the hype and is provided alongside someone who can answer our questions.”

Written by Daney Parker