Press Releases are Broken (But Not All Hope is Lost)

Insights from Matt Panichas, SVP, Corporate  

TL;DR: Press releases have lost their purpose and utility; the reasons abound, but the overarching cause is that they don’t tell us anything. Press releases should adhere to the journalistic standards of news writing: the who, what, where, when and why. Instead, press releases have devolved into a confusing mix of hyperbolic mission statements and executive quotes saying a whole lot of nothing. But the good news? Not all hope is lost and, in fact, there’s quite a bit that we can do to get back on track.

Hardly a day goes by without journalists bemoaning the current state of press releases. And their frustration is justified; press releases have lost their purpose and utility. The reasons abound, but the overarching cause is clear: most press releases don’t tell us anything at all.

At their core, press releases should adhere to the journalistic standards of news writing: the who, what, where, when and why. Instead, they have devolved into a confusing mix of hyperbolic mission statements and executive quotes saying a whole lot of nothing. Don’t get me started on boiler plates. 

Charting a new course

How can we fix it? Getting back to the basics is a good place to start. The book Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less, authored by Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen, serves as something of an instructional guide for communication that cuts through the clutter.

A quicker reference point is looking at a company’s investor relations page. When done right, investor decks and earnings reports tell us the most important elements of a company’s story, grounding us in the context of the industry, addressable market opportunities, the clients it serves (with names), revenue projections and (shocker) what the company actually does! KWT client Tanger does this very well.

When doing new business research, I almost never start with a company’s newsroom. Why? Because I’m not going to learn anything of substance. Instead, I go directly to the investor relations section, which typically gives me everything I need to know (as a start). 

Reimagining the press release

Now, some of you reading this may say, “man, this Matt fellow is quite down on the press release.” And I am, but it’s not too late to salvage it.

Before even contemplating drafting one, you should do yourself (or your clients) a favor and honestly assess if a press release would be worth the time and money needed to develop and distribute it. When evaluating any announcement—customer win, product announcement, personnel hire, industry research—it should be viewed through the lens of multi-stakeholder communications.

For instance, some information may be more important to communicate to customers, prospects or investors and may not have as much inherent news value or interest. That’s not to suggest the information isn’t worthwhile; rather, it should be strategically examined to determine what audiences and channels make the most sense to pursue. Announcements without inherent newsworthiness can be used to build a larger external narrative that feeds into important industry trends and timely hooks.

Here are a few other things to consider:

• Does the announcement materially demonstrate how the company is addressing a significant industry challenge?

• Is the news timely, or is it more evergreen?

• Does it demonstrate how the company is solving a customer pain point?

• Does it contain data, proof points or use cases?

• Does it communicate clearly, adhere to brand voice and avoid buzzwords?

• Can we accomplish everything we want to say through a company blog post and then amplify with targeted outreach instead? 

Putting some of these proverbial guardrails in place can make the difference between hitting targets or wasting efforts (or worse). Journalists are savvy at picking through what’s truly newsworthy and what’s just corporate fluff, so there’s a real risk of diminished brand credibility when outreach is unintentional.

Keeping it simple

George Costanza, the misanthropic neurotic from the timeless sitcom Seinfeld, once mused that he wasn’t going to dumb down his writing for some “mass audience.”

Well, to George, I have a bone to pick: when you do write something for a mass audience, it often needs to be straightforward without getting too fancy. Adding a little simplicity and intentionality can spare our journalist friends a lot of heartache.

Ultimately, the press release is not dead, but on life support. We can bring it back to glory if we challenge ourselves to throw out the traditional playbook, ask thoughtful questions and work smarter rather than harder.

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