The following is an exchange that went on between me and Team Pinkberry. I noticed that someone from the new Park Slope Pinkberry was reading my blog posts and even chiming in about dates and times for their opening.
It occurred to me that it would be nice for them to advertise on OTBKB. So I sent them a message on Facebook. There is no Facebook page for the local Brooklyn business so I guess it went into some national Pinkberry message space.
Yesterday, I spoke with Ryan, the owner of Park Slope’s Pinkberry. He lives in Long Island and is very excited about opening a business here. I asked him directly if he’d like to advertise on OTBKB and he told me that he’d have to speak with the national office about advertising.
Today, I got this email from the national office. I think it’s a form letter response. I feel a little bit dissed, I have to admit.
Louse Crawford
-
Dear Team Pinkberry: Thanks for the comment on my blog and I will let the readers of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn (a popular Park Slope blog since 2004) know that there will be an opening celebration on July 19th. Yay.
I’d like to offer you an inexpensive banner ad. If you send me a banner jpeg or gif, you can have the top banner spot on my blog.
Let me know if you’re interested and I will quote you a low price for 6 months!!!
People know and trust OTBKB and an ad here will speak volumes about our delight in the addition of Pinkberry to the Seventh Avenue landscape.
Best, Louise
about an hour agoPinkberry
-
We are pleased to learn of your interest in partnering with the one-of-a-kind brand that is Pinkberry. We will be sure to share your contact information with the marketing team for further review and follow up. Thank you.
-
-
a few seconds ago
Louise Crawford-
Thanks. Advertising with a local blog would show a real commitment to the community. And Brooklyn LOVES neighborhood-invested businesses. It must go both ways.
-
-
-
Park Slope’s Barnes & Noble got a lot of flack for not, initially, doing things in conjunction with local schools, etc. They changed their ways big-time and now are, I think, considered a part of the neighborhood when they do the gift wrap fundraisers and poetry readings for local schools. It is especially important for chains and franchises to show their love for where they are.
-
Hey! Unfortunately, these are the types of interactions that can sometimes happen with bigger companies and/or franchises. I have been reading about the new Pinkberry and think they’ll be great on Groupon for a Brooklyn feature. If you speak to the owner again feel free to give him my contact info, would love to chat with Ryan about what we can do for him!
Eddie
I’m sure this isn’t what you intended, but don’t you think the way you pitched this could be misconstrued as a threat to give “a lot of flack” if they don’t “show a real commitment to the community” by buying advertising on your site?
I doubt you intended your message to Pinkberry as a quid pro quo of advertising money for positive press, but you may want to be a little more careful in you word your pitch.
Dear Matt, That’s not what I meant at all. But thanks for forcing me to clarify. And if you’ve ever read this blog you know that I would never make advertising on the blog a condition for good press. If that was the case I must be getting advertising from every place I’ve written about since 2004. And that, as you can see, is not the case. It’s actually very hard to get local advertising on local blogs.
I was just suggesting that a national brand like Pinkberry might advertise on a local blog as a way to show its interest in a neighborhood. A blog is part of the cultural infrastructure of a neighborhood and it provides a real service to a community. Hyper local news about people, places and things in a neighborhood. People just don’t think to see it that way. They assume that it should be an unpaid resource but bloggers DO need to make money to support themselves. The separation between editorial and advertising is very much intact. Thanks for writing in. Keep reading.