Todd Defren cuts right to the point in his post, "Press Releases Suck," in which he writes about the standard press release format and how boring and stagnant it is. In principle, I agree with him. I’ve written my fair share of "standard" press releases, to be sure, and have had mixed success in getting them printed.
At the same time, the "standard" press release has it’s upsides, too. Most importantly, the media is familiar with the format, and is accustomed to scanning releases for relevant and interesting pieces of information. I’d be worried that if I sent a release in a radically different format, a reporter might not (at least at first) respond to it at all simply because it’s unfamiliar. It must be said that a well-written press release about a newsworthy topic still works, even if it is "boring."
While it’s certainly worth investigating alternative methods to distributing messages, I think the press release will remain the most important piece in any PR pro’s toolbox, at least for the time being. Using new and innovative means of communication alongside the press release, however, could offer the best of both worlds, piquing the interest of reporters while still providing them with familiar tried-and-true methods of communication they’re used to.
I agree that the press release is still a very important part of the PR toolbox and that something needs to be done to make them more effective. I think promoting the two along side each other is a great idea that you bring up. Blogs are a great addition and an outlet for people to get engaged with the new announcement (press release). Maybe at the end of each press release we could guide the readers to carry on a discussion to the company blog.
That’s a great idea! I’d love to see a company try that. I, for one, feel like I would have more motivation to purchase products from a company where I felt I had a part in the dialog, and an opportunity to make my thoughts on the product heard, positive or negative.
Thanks for commenting on my post. I agree that the typical press release has its place, given the media’s familiarity with the format (and that a good one has real merit). I would just like us – as an industry – to push ourselves harder than we do currently.
It’s a brave new world and yet my sense is that we tackle everything (like blogs) in a defensive mode, i.e., “NOW what am I gonna have to deal with!?” Instead we should be trying to innovate.
Heck, even most members of the media don’t know how the newfangled Internet stuff will change their profession, so maybe they’d be open to our new ideas…if we had any, or had the guts to try them!