One thing I've never understood is why marketing departments are so hung-up about allowing vendors to issue press releases regarding the customer / vendor relationship and the associated procurement.  I could see where the marketing types would want to review and comment on the press release beforehand, but blanket prohibitions against these types of press releases are ridiculous considering the amount of money it's potentially costing the company.  What I mean to say is that I know for a fact, even after I negotiate my best deal, that I can still get more concessions if the vendor was permitted to issue a press release.  Certainly, I don't want to put my company in the position of being a reference call or site visit for every prospective customer of Vendor XYZ, but why the heck not get some value out of a press release?

Where I've worked in the past, I've had the marketing folks give me all sorts of bogus reasons for not allowing vendor press releases.  Example bogus reasons follow with my typical response:

• Marketing Guru: We don't want to favor one vendor over another.  Me: Why not? We "favored" the vendor over others by buying from that vendor and other vendors haven't given us the same deal.
• MG: We don't have time to review every vendor press release.  Me: Come on, I'm not talking about a press release for every Tom, Dick, and Harry vendor—I'm talking a few big deals here!
• MG: We don't want to have the press release out there if something goes wrong with the vendor.  Me: Give me a break—the press release is forgotten the day after it's issued, and I can handle this problem via contract language anyway by prohibiting the vendor from re-issuing a previously approved press release and by not approving any future press releases.
• MG: We don't want to dilute our brand.  Me: That's nice.  Now that you've just graduated from Marketing school, please get real.  A few vendor press releases aren't going to "dilute our brand."
• MG: Because if we have a legal dispute with the vendor, then it'll hurt us.  Me: By the way, I'm also a lawyer, and what you just said is called a "non-sequitur" in the legal world.
• MG: If we endorse the vendor, and the vendor does something bad, then we'll be associated with it.  Me:  First, we're not endorsing the vendor—the vendor is merely issuing a press release saying that we bought something from them.  Do you really believe that our company will be impacted because we bought something from a vendor that later did something wrong or is it just your irrational fear of the nearly impossible occurring?

When I communicate the value of press releases, the marketing types just don't get it as indicated by their typical lame responses:

• Me: I can get a concession of [insert lots of money or extremely favorable terms and conditions here] from the vendor if we allow them to issue a press release.  Marketing Guru: Uh, I'll have a half caff, quad-Venti, two pump sugar-free vanilla, two pump sugar-free hazelnut, non-fat 180-degree no foam, double-cupped with a sleeve, two and a half Splenda-latte.  What, where am I?
• Me: A vendor press release helps to build our brand by showing that we're on top of things by doing business with Vendor.  MG: Exactly, that's what I mean by diluting our brand!
• Me: A vendor press release will help garner the vendor's commitment to the business relationship with us.  MG: Yeah, uh, I'm sorta busy, my mom's on the other line...

To date, I've not heard of a legitimate reason why a company should not allow vendors to issue customer / vendor press releases.  I'm not saying that every deal should result in permitting a press release or that press release has to say that we're in love with the vendor.  It has to be the right vendor, the right product or service, the right concessions, and the right press release.  Marketing departments that don't allow vendor press releases are stuck in the Stone Age and are causing their company to leave substantial value on the table.  Fortunately, the company I work for now sees the value in such press releases.  Over the past few years, zero problems and lots of bucks.

What's the position of your company on allowing vendors to issue press releases and what's your feeling on such releases?  I would love to hear if anyone has gotten what they think is a legitimate reason from their marketing folks.