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The press release is not dead – it’s not even sick

Guest post by: Bonnie Harris

Article Overview: Think the press release is on on its way out? Think again.

The press release is not dead – it’s not even sick

If the press release is dead, why am I continuing to use them as an important tool in my daily PR work?

Here’s why – the badly written press release and the press release used badly were never alive to begin with. What IS alive and well is the use of press releases for the following purposes. No tweet, Facebook post or email sent to HARO can do these, at least not well:

• Press releases provide the 5W’s that media use for background on a story. (who, what, where, when, why) THEY DO NOT REPLACE THE PITCH. First I pitch a journalist, then I often send the release as a follow up to provide more detail.
• Press releases provide an important vehicle of information for breaking news or crisis communications. For example, this fall I helped manage media relations for a plane crash that involved a lengthy search and missing family members. The county sheriff’s daily press releases were the key tool to manage the information sent to the media. Without those releases, it would have been chaos.
• Media alerts, or shorter versions of press releases, communicate the basic facts about events to calendar editors and regional dailies and blogs. In fact, many online news sites just use these verbatim.
• Press releases provide good information for TV reporters who need quick sound bytes for their stories, as well as assignment editors looking for the best stories to cover. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked on a story and seen the reporter pulling out my press release as their backgrounder, to prepare for their on air commentary.
• For publicly held companies, the press release is the only way to distribute information that must reach the public first. In the case of mergers and news of this sort, the press release must be distributed over the wire before the news is broken in any other way.

I could go on and on regarding this topic – PitchEngine and other tools like it are great but frankly, we’re using them as a new method for sending out releases – they’re not replacing them. Neither is social media.

Do journalists and bloggers get tons of spammy releases on a daily basis? You bet they do. Do companies think a press release is all they need to do to generate stories? You bet they do. And it’s been the fault mainly of lousy (and lazy) public relations people try to make a document do their job for them. I agree – let’s kill the bad press release and the press release used badly. But please stop saying that press releases are dead. It’s really annoying for those of us who use them every day.

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Article Tags: press release is not dead, Press Releases, Public Relations, traditional PR



Related Forum Posts
Re: New site promotion - how to begin? - Since you are targeting English speaking area, you will need to do a press release. Write press release and submit them to free press release sites or paid sites.
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - [quote="OmnivoreInk":dmj1i0sv]I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?[/quote:dmj1i0sv] I think the most important factor is whether your press release will reach the most number of your target audience or not. It won't matter if the press release is well written if no one has the opportunity to read it. I also believe that credibility comes with having your press release in an established source like The New York Times, LA Times, etc... For instance, if you enjoyed playing tennis, who would you trust more? The advice from a recreational tennis player who has his own column in [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] [u:dmj1i0sv]or[/u:dmj1i0sv] the recreational tennis player who has his own blog? I don't know about you, but I'd listen to the guy on [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] over the blog owner at least 9 out of 10 times.
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I agree with Kevin [quote:3b8fyubd]I think the most important factor is whether your press release will reach the most number of your target audience or not.[/quote:3b8fyubd] You dont a big company that will charge mega bucks as Im sure they will even add a %age to the cost of the press release. Im sure if you approach New York Times, the LA Times with every thing presented professionally I think it will still stand the same chance. I would start advertising online, then locally thats when the NYT can see what there missing out on! And to test the water first!
Re: How to get a company profiled in magazines - Hi GT, This is a good point. Good press release is the best way to go.
Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?


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