The Well-Tempered Press Release | |
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by Daniel P. Dern (c) Copyright 1994, 1997 Daniel P. Dern This originally appeared as my "PR Tips and Techniques" column in the Computer Media Directory, March 1994. CMD was a quarterly looseleaf of editorial contacts and other info.
Like an Elizabethan sonnet, a Broadway ballad, a haiku, or a meatloaf,
the press release is a well-defined art form, with certain rules, do's
and don't's.
The experienced PR practitioner may decide to bend or break the form at
times -- but you can only do this once you know what you're doing, and
why. And in order to do that, you have to know how to write and issue a
standard, "vanilla" press release. In this column, we'll go over those
basics, complete with a Mad Lib style, fill-in-the-blanks, generic press
release sample.
*
The press release is one of the staples of public relations. It's that
one-plus page document issued periodically by the Marketing Communications,
Public Affairs, or PR department, announcing some Very Important Fact.
Typical reasons for press releases include:
o New product (announced, available, shipped, etc)
o Major new customers, contracts, relationships (signed, shipped,
working, etc)
o Corporate activities -- CEO, management and other high-level
hirings, promotions, reassignments (and leavings -- we've seen a
lot of all these lately); layoffs and other "reductions in force,"
facilities changes
o Financials -- quarterly/annual earnings, revenues
o Technology updates and backgrounders
o Events, other new items.
Given a "shopping" list like this, it's easy for any company to generate
a dozen or more releases each year -- and a big player, such as IBM, Ma
Bell, Digital or Northern Telecom can easily have that many in each
week! And most, in the eyes of their issuers, are important, world-
shaking, stop-the-presses info. (Some, such as personnel and financial
announcements, are acknowledged to be pro forma, as much for editorial
background as anything.)
Trade press editors estimate that several THOUSAND press releases cross
their desks each month.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know there isn't room for
each magazine to print them all. Heck, there isn't time for editors to
READ them all.
But by understanding how to write and issue a press release, you can
maximize your releases' chances for being opened, read, and used or
otherwise followed up on.
CONTENTS: SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, MEAN WHAT YOU SAY
The world doesn't need yet another hype-heavy release over-dense with
unsubstantiated qualifiers like "unique," overuse of terms like "price-
performance," "functionality," and "customer benefit."
Mark Kellner, [who at the time was] a free-lance reporter whose credits
include being former news editor of MIS Week, advises release writers:
"What nobody likes to see is hype like 'proudly announces' or other
self-serving phrases. Concentrate on the five W's -- Who, When, What,
Where and Why, and try to make it interesting to the editor.
[ Mark's now a PR person, I believe; we'll see if he's still singing the
same tune :-) - DPD ]
"Start with the facts -- what it is, who you are, and who/what it is
for. Cut to the chase -- and write clearly so that people who aren't
in your specific niche will get the necessary context, and explanation
of any jargon and acronyms."
Jean Young, President of Young and Associates, a nine-year old high-tech
PR firm in Gaithersburg, MD, observes, "The main mistake I see is that
the person writing the release assumes too much -- that the journalist
will be familiar with the product, company, jargon and industry. Often
the reader may have this familiarity -- but journalists are reading
about hundreds of products, industries, etc., every week. Be sure you
make statements that the readers can translate and understand your
company's information easily."
Consider including a glossary, with your company's terms, and the
industry ones you use, as an add-on piece. (I assure you, this is an
invaluable piece, and may often make the difference in getting a)
placement and b) accurate coverage.)
*
Because the press is often on deadline, working at odd hours or
otherwise not in a position to reach you, the more self-contained your
release is, the greater the chance of its being used, adds Young. An
added benefit -- "Once you've established this level of reliability for
your organization's releases, reporters will be more likely to grab them
first -- because they'll know they'll get what they need for a usable
story."
Another caveat from Young: "Avoid editorializing in the text of your
news releases. A 'news release' is expected to contain news.
Editorializing belongs within any quotes."
INCLUDE USER AND ANALYST REFERENCES!
If the press release is a product announcement, few editors will give it
a first, much less second glance these days unless it includes:
o Price
o Availability/shipping date
o Beta sites or customer names available for comment.
"The press is not doing rip'n'read, single-source stories any more, even
on what might be a simple story," says Kellner. "The reporters are
expected to contact analysts, users and other expects, and deliver not
only the facts as provided by the vendor, but also community response,
and some analytical context. Wherever possible, press releases should
include names and contract information for two or three beta sites or
customers, and two or three industry analysts who have been briefed
prior to the announcement."
That late, great American fiction writer, Theodore Sturgeon, advised his
students to "never underestimate the readers' intelligence, and never
overestimate their information."
I have found this to be true in high-tech PR as well. The trick is to
assess the current position of the readership's familiarity with up-and-
coming acronyms and terms.
The best us PR folks can do, as a rule, is write a release that would be
clear assuming the reader knows enough, and then add just a smidgin more
information for good measure. And sometimes lobby for a backgrounder
to go with it.
THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE: CONTEXT COUNTS AS MUCH AS CONTENT
Every release should include the following information:
o Company name and full address
o Contact name and phone number. If possible, a REACHABLE public
affairs/PR person within the company. An agency contact is also
acceptable -- what counts most is that it's someone who will
answer their phone or otherwise respond PROMPTLY to messages,
requests for further information and interviews, etc.
o SHORT (3-6 line) corporate summary at end, including full company
name, headquarter location, and recent revenues.
In the PACKAGING, don't forget:
o Your card
o Company/technology backgrounder, if appropriate
o Photo, if appropriate -- with company name and a caption attached
in some non-losable way.
To be helpful, consider putting a sticker or stamp on the outside of the
envelope indicating "Press Release Enclosed."
THOSE EXCITING QUOTES
No press release is complete without quotes -- a quote from the
corporate prexy or CEO, from any other relevant marketing manager,
someone high up in the customer organization, and an analyst.
Do these people really say these quotes? Perhaps. But just as often,
they come from the MarComm boilerplate -- usually, variations on the
same quote will serve for almost all releases -- or are made up by
somebody like you or me, and passed up the line. (Really. We make
them up, or recyle old ones.)
Whatever the case, what counts is that the quotees have agreed in
advance that they said these things. Getting corporate and legal
approval for said quotes, particularly from customers and in large
bureaucratic-intensive places, usually takes up most of the time in the
process.
A FEW OTHER DO'S AND DON'T'S:
This will get you started on the road to proper releasing.
** DO: **
o Make sure your release has been reviewed by top management, technical
management, and any users or other cited parties.
o Make sure everything is spell-checked
o Include appropriate copyright and trademark notes.
o Check your mailing list EVERY TIME before using it, to be sure it's up
to date, accurate, and reflects the target editorial readership FOR
THIS RELEASE.
o When in doubt, say "NEWS EDITOR" instead of a name.
o Include your business card.
o Be ready to e-mail the text.
** DON'T: **
o Go overboard on fancy fonts or presentation.
o Include unnecessary cardboard, paper, or other packaging
o Fax or courier anything that can go through regular mail
o Call editors "to see if you got our press release" unnecessarily
(i.e., most of the time)
o Put in too much other materials.
If you follow this advice, and use common sense, you, too, can write
press releases the press will open, read, and maybe even use.
Now here's that "instant press release" I promised:
** INSTANT PRESS RELEASE STARTER KIT: **
[ On company stationary, in a clear, easy-to-read font ]
[ Top of first page should include:]
"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE"
"For more information, contact:"
<PR or Marketing name, phone #>
[ Clear summary headline, e.g., ]
BIG WAZOO CORP. INTRO'S NEW RELEASE OF WINDOWS-COMPATIBLE
MICROWAVE OVEN AND MIXER/BLENDER
"Blah blah blah," exclaims over-dressed company figurehead.
[ Now skip a few lines and start the text ]
MONTH DAY#, YEAR (CITY, STATE) -- YOUR-COMPANY announced
today PRODUCT-NAME version VERSION#, its new WHATEVER-IT-IS, for
WHAT-IS-DOES-AND-FOR-WHO.
"By enabling our customers to DO-SOMETHING, PRODUCT-NAME
strengthens our strategic position in the ____________
market(s)," according to NAME, TITLE of YOUR-COMPANY. "PRODUCT-
NAME also follows our demonstrated plan for ANNOUNCED-PLAN-IF-
ANY."
Products like PRODUCT-NAME are an important part of the
growing market for _____________, estimated by MARKET-RESEARCH-
GROUP to be BIG-NUMBER in the coming ## years. "More and more
companies are using PRODUCTS-LIKE-THIS in bottom-line, mission-
critical applications," says RESEARCHER. "PRODUCT-NAME can be a
major player in this arena."
Already, YOUR-COMPANY has sold over NUMBER of RELATED-STUFF,
to NUMBER Fortune 100, banking, government and manufacturing
corporations (OR OTHER APPROPRIATE NAME-DROPPING).
Available in DATE, the new YOUR-COMPANY PRODUCT-NAME consists
of/requires [PRODUCT INFO HERE], and will cost $NUMBER.
#
Headquartered in CITY, STATE, YOUR-COMPANY is a world leader
in INDUSTRY/MARKET-SEGMENT, with ( over NUMBER users ) in
( NUMBER cities/states/countries/Fortune 100 corporations/etc ),
with FY YEAR annual revenues of $NUMBER. Founded in YEAR, YOUR-
COMPANY has over NUMBER employees, and ANY-OTHER-NEATO-FACT.
COMPANY-NAME is listed on the STOCK-EXCHANGE as XXXXX.
Beta Site Contacts:
User Contacts:
Briefed Analysts:
Attached:
Company/Technology backgrounders
Photos and caption lists
Terminology summary
- END SAMPLE RELEASE -
- END ALL -
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