Developing a PR Strategy
Chapter 12 Content Creation
4. Tools and Tactics of Content Creation – External Communications
4.1 The Press Release
The Press Release is the cornerstone of all PR content generation. It forms the main
communications tool for a campaign, enabling newsworthy information to be distilled into an easily digestible format that informs the reader as to what the story is, who the story is about, when the event is happening or has happened, where it is taking or took place and why it is
important. The construction of a press release should follow the ‘inverted pyramid’ structure, which is used extensively in journalism.
The Inverted Pyramid reportedly came into being with the invention of the telegraph by Samuel Morse c.1845. Because telegraphs were expensive to produce with the
communicator being charged per character, the communicator was required to be clear and brief in his or her messaging. As a result, and combined with the technological
advancements of the day, news writing evolved to become less verbose and more factual (Scanlan, 2003). There are other theories that suggest that the Inverted Pyramid evolved out of the American Civil War when communications were required to be brief and to the point in case the wires were cut. (Scanlan, 2003). Regardless of how it initially emerged, the Inverted Pyramid has stood the test of time and is commonly used today by public practitioners around the world when developing press releases for media consumption.
Figure X: The Inverted Pyramid
In the Inverted Pyramid a story is turned upside down and starts at the end with the headline or angle. It takes the opposite format to a good story in a book or a long winded joke for example that usually begins by setting the scene and building interest. A PR story starts at the end with the punchline and works backwards from there. For example an announcement about new jobs for an organisation might lead with a heading like ‘300 new jobs announced at X.’ This would be followed by a first paragraph explaining where the jobs would be based, when they were being created, what positions were being created and why. This would be
followed in the next paragraph with the finer detail on how the new jobs will be created and most likely then a quote from the spokesperson from the company. Finally, the press release would include the superfluous information on the company that might help explain its
business to a journalist and provide some additional information for the journalist to flesh out an article if needs be. This information may include detail on where the company is based for example, how many people work there now, how many employees it has worldwide and what its core business objectives are. Examples of press releases are included in Appendix X.
The key point to remember when writing a press release is: What is you angle? This is what the journalist is most interested in – the ‘WHY?’. Why is this important? Why does it matter to the public? It’s important to note also that a journalist is unlikely to delve any deeper into the press release than the first two paragraphs. Journalists are busy and are receiving news and press releases from numerous public relations consultants and therefore it is important that your press release has a clear angle to attract attention and identify the importance of your story to the public. This is why the information on the Who, What, Why, When, Where and How is contained in the opening two paragraphs of the press release.
Although there may be slight variations between styles of press releases between agencies and organisations, on the whole, a press release will follow the same format as is seen in Appendix A. This is what is referred to as a ‘House Style’ and is extremely important as the reading journalist will be familiar with this layout.
Likewise, attention to detail is vital when writing a press release. The press release is a representation of the company or organisation and it is important that the journalist who reads it has a good impression of the organisation on reading the release. Clients are generally paying good money to their PR consultancy to manage their image and the press release is a demonstration of how the PR consultancy treats that responsibility. Accounts have been and will be lost because of grammatical errors or spelling mistakes on press releases. There is therefore zero tolerance towards grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in a press release. To ensure that this is avoided it is best practice to ensure that every release that is issued from an organisation or consultancy is read and proofed by at least two people to ensure it is accurate and mistakes are picked up.
In addition to grammar and attention to detail, language and tone are extremely important in a press release. A press release should be written in a factual manner and cliches and superlatives that cannot be substantiated should be avoided. For example, a new product
should not be described as ‘top drawer’ or ‘the best in the world’. Similarly, cliches such as
‘the early bird catches the worm’ should not be used to describe a product that is first to market. Also personalised language such as ‘we think’ or ‘we are’ should be replaced with terms such as: ‘research reveals’ or the ‘company is’. Company jargon should also be avoided as it leads to confusion. In every industry, acronyms or abbreviated terms can be commonly used in day-to-day communications. However, these terms mean little to people outside of the organisation and therefore should not be used in a press release that
ultimately is intended to communicate with the public.