9 September, 2014

Over the summer nfpsynergy wrote an interesting blog post about press releases.

Press releases can, to some, seem rather anachronistic. Certainly our profession has been churning them out for decades. There was a time when teams of PR bods diligently photocopied on to headed paper, stapled and posted them out in neatly labelled envelopes.

Obviously things are very different now. There are many more ways to package-up and to distribute content, particularly online, in images, film and audio. Being newer, many PR and comms people prefer to develop these more interesting, richer packages for media, as well as for broader audiences.

However the journalists that nfpsynergy spoke to said they still prefer the traditional press release.

Many said they don’t have time to watch videos or listen to audio, and don’t want large image files clogging up their already overflowing in-boxes. They want to be able to quickly scan a written press release, clock the key points and contact details, and then – if they are interested in the story – they’ll delve into further content.

Which means nothing has changed. Relying on format rather than content doesn’t work. You still need a good story. You still need to write a good press release.

And you still need to recognise when in fact it’s best to work with an individual reporter on an exclusive package, rather than send round a generic press release (however well written).

In an increasingly competitive field, it’s important to get the story, the writing and the approach right.