How Not to Write a Press Release

Score another one for corporate babble. My e-mailbox contained a press release announcing that two companies--which will remain nameless--were joining forces to offer something “special” to the market.

The press release headline jumped from the page:

"Proven Identity Management Experience Combined With Context-Based Identity Services Unlock the Value of Existing Information Assets for Fine-Grained Security, User Administration, and Federated Identity."

Huh?

Granted, I’m no expert on writing press releases, and some aspects of technology, while important, are bound to be incomprehensible to the layperson.

But no press announcement about a product or service should be so opaque. After all, if you want media coverage, you need to present a compelling story in your press release that is newsworthy and understandable.

It’s a waste of time and money to throw a generic, jargon-laden press release into the ether. And the PR people producing such drivel should be sent back to “Value Proposition 101” before being allowed to write for another client.

Before you begin to write a press release, ask and answer at least these basic questions: What’s really different about the offering? How would a media person use this information? How might your story benefit the media person’s readers? Is a press release the best way to communicate what you have to say? What do you want the press release to accomplish?

With those answers in mind, you’ll be able to craft a communication that has a much better chance of grabbing coverage than if you send out the typical buzzword-based press release.

Comments

[Harry Hoover]

Several news releases have crossed my screen recently that made me wonder if perhaps a new secret language was being used and I didn't have the code. Here's an example:

"Freely accessible by the entire OSS community, PatentCafe's Open Source Software Patent Search Engine adds significant value to IBM's contribution by accelerating the integration of IBM's patented technology into the marketplace, helping to foster worldwide interoperability standards."

With a little help, I'll bet they could add significant value by leveraging robust end-to-end technology and thus foster worldwide interoperability.

[David A. Kearns]

Actually, it makes perfect sense to me, but I'm part of the intended market - people who write about Identity Services. It's not a large market, certainly, but the announcement isn't useful to the general market no matter how it's worded.

-dave