Question: how long does it take to persuade 10 local journalists to step out on a summer's evening for an all expenses paid booze-up?
Answer: If you're a leading public relations firm working for a white-hot technology company, around 32 hours - for a total bill of £2,240. And that's before you chuck in the vol-au-vents and sparkling wine. Or beer.
This fascinating insight into the workings - and expense - of the hyperactive technology spin sector was delivered to the Guardian this week by what one must assume was a misdirected fax, transmitted twice, both times with a cover sheet marked "Urgent News Release".
The fax was, in fact, a communication between PR company Firefly and its client Motorola, and contained a whole sheet of similar proposals as part of the company's "suggested 12-month retainer proposal" with the mobile phone giant.
The knees-up, planned for August, is one of a programme of events for local journalists, and the price quoted is for the PR effort required to contact the "10 key local press", and persuade them to come along. The annual bill for this kind of work - taking an average 4.5 days a month - comes in "at under £29,000," the document says.
The treats are not just for the local journalists. The inhabitants of Swindon, where Motorola has a large site, will be treated to "100 things you never knew about Motorola" in their local media, if all goes to plan. "Motorola," the proposal reminds us, "is a big part of the Swindon community and an interesting place to work." Reinforcing that point will be press releases that will cost £1,400 to produce.
The most expensive event in the first five months of the plan is a round table discussion for the benefit of four "niche" journalists, costing £5,600 to plan, execute and follow up - or £1,400 a hack. The journalists, joined by a panel of four experts, will discuss what the high-speed UMTS mobile phone market will look like by 2005.
The prices may appear high. But with multi-million pound funding rounds and share offerings commonplace, and with more venture-capital-rich dot.coms than there are reputable PR firms, successful agencies such as Firefly are being pitched to by potential clients, rather than the other way round.
And as those dot.coms splash their cash on attempting to get their names known in the increasingly crowded internet world, mentions of their brand in the press are worth much more than their weight in gold.
This, of course, counts as a "national mention" in that all-important metrics column. Which raises another question: could the accidentally leaked fax be a new weapon in the internet PR war? In which case, all other "accidental" leaks can be sent to the usual Guardian Online number. Just the once will do, though.
Neil McIntosh is deputy editor of Guardian Online
