1. Click to edit Master title style
Media Relations
Miki Haines-Sanger, Golden Goose PR
Tuesday 15 October 2013
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2. Click to edit Master title style
Chair’s introduction
Jenna Oxley, Transport for London
Media Relations
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3. Click to edit Master title style
Media relations
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4. Can to learn to be title style
Clickyouedit Master good at PR?
• Strong people skills
• Likeable personality
• Confident on the phone, good at following up with written communication
• News sense
• Creative thinking
• Good at saying thank you
• Keep in touch with your contacts
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5. Click to edit Master title style
The press release
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6. The press release (wrongstyle right)
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7. A press edit Master title
Click to release isn’t… style
A marketing doctrine
An advert
A letter to journalists communicating a brand’s voice and beliefs to trigger them
to write a proper final article
A brand manifesto
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8. Click brand manifesto style
The to edit Master title
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9. A press edit Master
Click to release is… title style
News
Relevant
Coverage generating
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10. The problem
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11. The exception
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12. The risk
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Unless the news is so huge that it sells itself, if the press release is written word-forword the way that a client or your brand manager thinks they want it, you run three
risks:
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13. What to aim for
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• Well thought out release with a real story
• Speak out if in doubt
• Sound out with a friendly journalist
• If you need to take it back a stage and build more into the story, then do
• No one can blame you if you’ve channelled the right content at the right time in
the best and most professional way
• A journalist who receives this first class kind of communication from you is going
to want to work with you and hear from you again
• A client who has seen your efforts result in great coverage will always trust you
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14. Click to edit Master title style
Different types of releases
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15. A few examples…
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• First to market/real news
• Brand launch/new product
• Celebrity alignment/influencer endorsement
• Surveys and stats
• Stunts, activities and photocalls
• Business announcements/figures
• Crisis statements
• Creative content generation
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16. A brand news release
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17. The potential disaster
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18. Your to
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• Write your releases well and have the
conviction to stand by them
• Push back if the person signing off your
releases tries to annihilate them with:
• Long sentences
• Intellectual words
• Unnecessary words
• Fluff
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19. Don’ts
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• Write in the first person
• If the brand isn’t the story, don’t open with the brand
• Throw away the quote with a cliché
• Bulk mail
• Write a long email intro
• Send attachments or PDF’s
• Capitalise job titles
• Capitalise headlines
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20. Click to edit Master title style
How to write a good release
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21. Read the papers
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Use the sentence structure of
real news journalism
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22. Write like a Master title
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Write in one sentence
paragraphs
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23. Remain objective
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Write like a news journalist NOT
like a columnist
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24. A good edit Master title style
Click to release
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25. Keep it edit Master title style
Click to simple
• 200-400 words
• If there’s a simpler word, use it
• Avoid repeating points
• Forget university essay language (moreover, thus, indeed)
• Try to write a headline of no more than six or seven words
- if you can’t do that you don’t have a story
• If you can’t explain it on the phone in two lines is it a story?
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The big question…
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27. ?
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UT I L
I SE
use
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28. ?
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UT I L
I SE
use
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29. Click to edit Master title style
Pitching to the media
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30. When and how to pitch
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• Look on Gorkana (for features, avoid press days)
• For national news every day is a press day – to get on their lists, call before
conferences. Telegraph timings: 7am (mini conference), 8.45am, midday and
4pm
• In your head, get your pitch right in no more than two sentences
• Follow up your initial call with your email, address them personally. Thank them
for their time on the phone just now
• Paste the release
• Reply immediately and professionally even just to say you’re on it
• Don’t call back to check they got the release – wait then call a few hours later
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31. Tips to edit Master title style
Clickand tricks
• It’s worth one third and last call around 8pm (latest)
• You may find the story hasn’t made it which means you can forewarn
• Set your alarm for 6am and pitch to the online teams
• For light news, work with a news agency (news@nationalnews.co.uk)
• Release Sunday for Monday
• Always be prepared for rudeness
• Google your contacts/check their Twitter accounts
• Have a great visual
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32. One to edit Master title style
Clickapproach fits all
• You have to believe in the story
• You have to be able to picture it - even as a nib - in print or a moment on TV
• If you doubt it, brainstorm around it
• You can always target the Sundays if the mid-week publications haven’t used you
• For radio, the same rules apply but you need to pitch in an even more succinct
written way. Sentences so short they are on-air soundbytes
• Press release writing is a skill that can make or break a campaign, it’s important to
get it right
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33. Content generation
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34. Be creative
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35. Click to edit Master title style
Thank you
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36. Click to edit Master title style
Thank you for attending, please complete
the online evaluation form.
Find out more at cipr.co.uk/fresh
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