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April 09, 2007
Stupid Embargo Tricks
I can sum this up in two parts--
1) If you can't trust a news outlet with an embargoed press release, why are you talking to them in the first place?
2) There's no such thing as a "verbal NDA." And NDA <> Embargo.
Given the total flow of e-mail per day I have, I don't like embargoed (i.e. press releases sent out a couple of days before they actually are "published") releases. I've seen companies send out releases, then turn around and say they have "retracted" them. Or they send out a release, don't even label it as embargoed, then turn around and say "Wait, we didn't want that information going out until next week."
There are some PR firms (ALWAYS PR firms, never actual company communications people) who e-mail "We'll send you the release, but I need to get you to say you'll honor the embargo." Not, "What is your embargo policy?" but it's a little game where you have to say the magic words "yes, we honor embargo" before they'll send out a press release that is going out in 24 hours anyways and nearly always turns out to be mundane. Or better yet, a venture capital funding announcement... do you know how much VC talk?
Thank you for the little game, because you've wasted my time and racked up some more billable hours for your firm. Sooo, I should reward this behavior, because...?
My other pet peeve here is the casual way that (typically young, barely out of college, ill-trained) PR people throw around the phrase "NDA" in "We can give you this under NDA until Tuesday." It's just so cool to use the phrase, like wearing all-black or smoking clove cigarettes.
NDA is short for Non Disclosure Agreement. I've read and signed a number of NDAs back in The Day. NDAs have nothing to do with embargos.
You SIGN a NDA when you want to protect company trade secrets. They are long legal documents that threaten onerous action should you violate them (i.e. blab about company trade secrets).
You DO NOT sign an embargo. An embargo, when applied to press releases, implies that an editor or writer will not disclose information in a press release until the date/time of the release comes up. So if a company has a press release it is putting out on Tuesday, it could send out an embargoed press release on Monday with the reasonable expectation that it wouldn't show up until Tuesday.
Note that embargo and press release have nothing to do with company trade secrets or signing documents threatening legal action.
Therefore, a "verbal NDA" is an oxymoron, worth the paper it is written on...
Posted by dmohney at April 9, 2007 02:51 PM