How to get reporters' attention at Web 2.0 Expo

Meet my new octopus! What should I name him?

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News)

NEW YORK--In the press room at the Web 2.0 Expo at the Jacob Javits Convention Center here, there are a ton of fliers, stickers, and press kits lying around for us reporters and bloggers to peruse.

It's kind of hard for any one of them to stand out. Unless you're like collaboration software start-up Octopz, which we reviewed last year.

The company's strategy: Leave out some bright turquoise-and-green stuffed octopi, free for the taking. No corny company logos, no attached pitch, just a cute stuffed sea creature with a flash drive press kit tied around its neck with ribbon. They were way too adorable for me to say no. And it might actually serve its PR purpose of keeping Octopz in this reporter's memory.

But even if you aren't really into cute stuffed toys, there are plenty of uses for an octopus. I was sitting next to ReadWriteWeb contributor Blake Robinson in the press room, and he said he thought it might make a nice toy for his dog. Another reporter told me that maybe he'd pick one up for his kid.

And props to Octopz for aesthetics: the flash drive tied around the octopus' neck was lime-green and turquoise to match the color scheme.

Click here for full coverage of Web 2.0 Expo

[geoperdis]

Hey Caroline, his name is Inky. His partner is Pinky and their baby offspring is Stinky 8-)

If you're on the show floor and stop by our booth, say hi to Ann Christie our marketing genious who came up with this media kit idea.

Thank's for the shout-out.

Best,

geo

[honorable1]

How about just emailing you and saying "Hi, take a look at what we're doing" ?

Stuffed gimmicks a company does not make.

[caroline.mccarthy]

You're right. But if you looked at the contents of any reporter's inbox, the sheer influx of "Hi, take a look at what we're doing" messages that show up every day is enough to convince anyone that the occasional silly gimmick does help, at the very least with name recognition. (Side note: I do cringe when they blow too much venture money on these things!)

[benjaminstraight]

Cool.

[siteworxinc]

Great idea, but does this mean you stopped by our booth to Web 2.0 Yourself and be able to win a Flip Mino? You should check out the videos we got of people talking about Web 2.0 technologies.

[msdiane2004]

Caroline, I am the new pr agent for the absolutely best Website Consumers Aren't Using , Yet--how do we privately contact you so that you can have thesite featured.

msdiane