In praise of the press release

Public relations is locked into content and workflow that is more than 100 years old.

A survey by Cision in 2021 reported that media relations came third in the list of reasons for distributing a press release via a wire service after brand visibility (68%) and thought leadership (36%).

The first press release was sent in 1906 by Ivy Lee on behalf of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Lee wrote a statement about the event to ensure that journalists had accurate information. It was published verbatim by The New York Times.

Lee would have no problems recognising the modern version of his original document. In that period we've seen the invention of the television, jet engine, space travel, the internet, and the computer.

Almost 20 years ago technology writer Tom Foremski wrote a polemic against the press release. He lamented its abuse as a means of community engagement with a variety of marketing audiences or publics.

“Press releases are nearly useless. They contain pat-on-the-back phrases and meaningless quotes. Often, they will contain quotes from C-level executives praising their customer focus,” said Foremski.

“[They are] created by committees, edited by lawyers, and then sent out at great expense through [wire services] to reach the digital and physical trash bins of tens of thousands of journalists.”

Despite the fragmentation of media, a shift to more personalised forms of communication, and the ability to create audio, text and video content, organisations remain fixated by press releases.

If your public relations activity starts with a 600-word document you’re almost certainly starting from the wrong place. Today progressive agencies and in-house teams make the case for alternative formats of content and channels to engage with audiences or publics.

A reason that the press release continues to be used despite a multitude of alternative formats is that they are well understood by organisations. Everyone knows how they work irrespective of their training or background. It's a common format created through a process of iteration and approval.

Press releases are multi purpose, multi functional documents. They are the Swiss Army Knife of public relations.

In digital marketing they are used to earn back links. In financial markets they are a legal form of communication. This is the exception where the press release is an absolute requirement.

Public relations and marketing teams take comfort from distributing a press release on a wire service to ensure that it will be pushed out to a multitude of websites.

Publication on an owned website and via social channels becomes a public statement intended to reach multiple stakeholders from employees to media and from customers to suppliers.

Smart vendors have spotted the opportunity to add a modern twist to the press release format, giving rise to the social media press, and social media newsroom, with the addition of images, video, and links.

The press release is often reverse engineered into social forms of media. Headlines, summaries, and quotes are cut up for tweets and website content.

The press release is a fundamental part of organisational communication. That isn’t going to change anytime soon.