1. Aaron
Abbott—www.BrandLessBox.com
1
Running
Head:
PRESS
ROOM
FOR
FORENSIC
DEATH?
A
“Press
Room”
for
www.ForensicDeathInvestigation.com?
Aaron
Michael
Abbott
www.BrandLessBox.com
2. Aaron
Abbott—www.BrandLessBox.com
2
While
the
technology
seen
on
crime
related
television
dramas
paints
a
picture
of
an
industry
that
should
be
stepping
in
tandem
with
Web
2.0
developments;
the
Criminal
Justice
System
lacks
this
presence
on
the
Web.
This
is
seen
with
the
amount
of
competitors
that
do
not
have
any
form
of
a
press/media
room
on
their
Web
site.
This
being
said,
www.ForensicDeathInvestigation.com
is
no
different.
“Overlooked
by
many
PR
professionals,
the
power
of
a
press
release
can
be
extended
beyond
just
media
outlets
with
search
engine
positioning,”
(Press-‐
Release-‐Writing.com,
n.d.).
Understanding
this
allows
one
to
harness
the
true
power
of
implementing
an
effective
Web
site
“Press
Room”.
Whether
the
digital
assets
being
presented
to
the
users
are
for
a
journalist,
blog
author,
researcher,
or
for
a
re-‐seller,
this
is
the
modern
day
media
kit
and
is
a
must
for
each
and
every
Web
site
owner.
Since
there
is
no
existing
Press
Room
on
this
site,
the
goal
of
this
analysis
is
to
understand
what
users
need
and
what
they
expect.
The
Federal
Bureau
of
Investigation’s
“Press
Room”,
and
Apple’s
“Apple
Press
Info”,
will
both
be
examined
in
order
to
understand
how
the
best
in
the
Criminal
Justice
System
presents
their
information,
as
compared
to
a
public
relations
and
marketing
giant.
These
insights
will
best
suit
the
successful
development
of
an
effective
and
purposeful
“Press
Room”
for
this
site.
The
FBI
makes
it
very
easy
to
find
the
“Press
Room”
link,
as
all
links
are
localized
to
the
left
column.
With
a
vast
sea
of
related
documents
spanning
just
about
anything
and
everything
related
to
politics
and
law
enforcement,
the
FBI
keeps
the
layout
of
the
information
they
provide
very
simple.
With
defined
links
to
major
areas
of
interest,
such
as
the
link
to
“FBI
Social
Media
Sites”,
one
was
not
3. Aaron
Abbott—www.BrandLessBox.com
3
overloaded
with
choices
(Figure
1).
The
press
releases
are
organized
within
categories—by
location,
stories,
issues,
and
multimedia.
This
architecture
lets
the
user
see
what
they
get,
and
where
they
go
to
get
it.
However,
once
you
click
in
one
level
deep,
the
unity
of
the
navigation
falls
apart.
Many
of
the
expected
“Back”
links
take
you
to
a
different
page.
These
pages
are
within
the
“Press
Room”,
however,
one
could
be
left
feeling
lost.
Keep
the
information
organized
and
allow
the
user
to
move
forward,
backwards,
and
even
sideways,
in
the
hunt
for
the
information
and
the
media
they
seek.
This
ensures
use
and
consumption.
Apple,
while
not
related
to
the
Criminal
Justice
System,
is
an
arguable
branding
and
communications
champion.
The
experience
they
have
always
presented
to
their
consumers
has
carried
over
into
the
experience
of
their
Web
site.
With
re-‐sellers,
reporters,
bloggers,
customers
of
all
levels,
and
many
more
personas
who
desire
access
to
this
content,
Apple
needed
to
guarantee
a
fluid
platform
to
share
press
related
content.
The
link
to
“Apple
Press
Info”
is
found
at
the
bottom
of
the
Home
page,
but
is
called
“Media
Info”.
Then
the
link
changed
labels
as
you
click
into
the
site.
This
is
confusing,
and
should
be
labeled
the
same
throughout
the
site.
As
expected,
layout
and
organization
of
the
“Apple
Press
Info”
room
was
perfect
(Figure
2).
By
implementing
the
use
of
breadcrumb
navigation
at
the
bottom
of
the
page,
they
have
created
a
great
way
to
navigate
between
the
ample
media
and
press
resources
they
provide.
Both
Apple
and
the
FBI
are
masters
at
organizing
the
amount
and
variety
of
press
releases,
video
clips,
contacts,
and
other
niche
specific
content
for
their
relative
personas.
Both
clearly
understand
the
value
of
providing
digital
media
4. Aaron
Abbott—www.BrandLessBox.com
4
content
and
white
papers
for
those
who
seek
this
content
for
particular
use.
One
surprise
noted
was
that
the
FBI
actually
linked
their
“Press
Room”
to
the
social
media
resources,
while
Apple
did
not.
All
lessons
learned
will
lead
to
an
extremely
valuable
“Press
Room”
on
www.ForensicDeathInvestigation.com.
The
“Press
Room”
to
be
developed
will
feature
a
very
organized
structure
to
allow
clear
navigation
for
each
persona
that
utilizes
the
section.
With
video
being
the
main
component
of
the
training
resources,
there
will
be
numerous
sample
videos,
as
well
as
sample
Flash
applications,
that
can
be
easily
downloaded
and
shared.
With
only
two
press
releases
in
the
existing
library,
more
will
be
authored,
distributed,
and
added
in
the
“Press
Room”.
Contact
information,
testimonials,
as
well
as
information
of
partners
and
alliances
will
be
included.
It
will
also
be
a
good
idea
to
implement
a
news
feed
that
features
articles
related
to
the
resources
being
sold,
and
other
Criminal
Justice
System
training
stories.
The
goal
is
to
provide
the
necessary
information
and
content
to
the
media,
and
anyone
else
who
is
interested.
It
must
be
accessible
and
usable.
For
example,
providing
multiple
formats
of
the
logo
at
different
dimensions
is
one
such
facilitation.
There
will
also
be
clear
links/buttons
on
each
component
of
the
“Press
Room”
that
will
enable
the
user
to
share
directly
via
social
networks
and
other
Web
2.0
tools.
“The
socialization
of
the
Web
has
resulted
in
myriad
news
release
formats
that
serve
different
audiences
and
different
purposes”
(Solis,
p.
111).
This
is
the
foundation
for
any
successful
“Press
Room”
on
any
site.
The
goal
must
always
be
to
create
an
easy-‐to-‐use
portal
of
navigation;
so
the
journalist,
consumer,
or
affiliate
can
access
all
of
the
digital
media
content
they
would
need
and/or
want.
5. Aaron
Abbott—www.BrandLessBox.com
5
References
Apple.com
(n.d.).
Retrieved
March
14,
2010
from
http://www.apple.com/
FBI.gov.
(n.d.).
Retrieved
March
14,
2010
from
http://www.fbi.gov/homepage.htm
Press-‐Release-‐Writing.com.
(n.d.).
Retrieved
March
14,
2010
from
http://www.press-‐release-‐writing.com/creating-‐an-‐online-‐press-‐room-‐
extending-‐the-‐life-‐of-‐your-‐press-‐release/
Solis,
B.
&
Breakenridge,
D.
(2009).
Putting
the
public
back
in
public
relations.
Upper
Saddle
River,
NJ:
FT
Press.
6. Aaron
Abbott—www.BrandLessBox.com
6
Figure
Caption
Figure
1.
Screenshot
of
the
FBI’s
“Press
Room”
page.
Figure
2.
Screenshot
of
Apple’s
“Apple
Press
Info”
page.