Setting the Record Straight: Press Releases that Stand Out in the Digital Age
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Join PR Newswire as we discuss ways to leverage multimedia, social media and proper formatting of your press release content to ensure you reach the right audience.
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Setting the Record Straight: Press Releases that Stand Out in the Digital Age
- 1. WEBINAR Follow PR Newswire: Follow CNW: @PRNEWSWIRE @CNWGROUP #DIGITALAGE
- 2. #DIGITALAGE Michele Putman (moderator) Director of Customer Engagement PR Newswire Presenters Rebecca Mosley Co-Founder Duo Public Relations @rlhm @duopr Daniel Watson Manager Partnerships and Advocacy Marketing PR Newswire @danielchwatson
- 3. #DIGITALAGE • Based in Seattle • Founded in 2004 • Four key focus areas: • Consumer Tech • Travel & Hospitality • Food & Beverage • Fashion & Beauty
- 4. #DIGITALAGE How do you help a client break into a Crowded Market? The Pivotal Living Band Launch • Pivotal Living believes personal technology can make life not only better, but specifically, healthier • The brand decided to launch its software and family of products with a device that was familiar and accessible—a fitness tracker • Pivotal Living Band = $12 • For new companies and new brands, early PR/marketing that clearly communicate your brand promise is key
- 5. #DIGITALAGE CURRENT MEASUREMENT PRACTICES SELECTING A COMMUNICATIONS PARTNER Be realistic about what you need: • Brains or brawn (or both) • Chemistry • Complementary skills
- 6. #DIGITALAGE CURRENT MEASUREMENT PRACTICES PLAN YOUR LAUNCH CAMPAIGN • Know your audience (no, you are not for “everyone”) • Know the life cycle of your audience influencers • Timing will make or break your launch • Coverage is never the end game (it’s sales) • When it comes to assets, more is always more • It will cost more than you think it will
- 7. #DIGITALAGE ENGAGE MEDIA & CONSUMERS WITH COMPELLING VISUALS
- 8. #DIGITALAGE In communications, content is king… LAY THE GROUNDWORK: PRE-LAUNCH MEDIA OUTREACH • Targeted 1:1 media previews prior to official announce • Previewed product at NYC media event • Conducted 1:1 media outreach at anounce • Seeded product to 150 press prior to product availability
- 9. #DIGITALAGE CURRENT MEASUREMENT PRACTICES WHY CHOOSE THE TOOLS YOU DID? • Multimedia assets • National press release • Catchy, attractive headline
- 10. #DIGITALAGE Choosing the right vehicle for your release • Hero MNR • ARC • Wire + Asset
- 11. #DIGITALAGE WHY A MULTIMEDIA PRESS RELEASE FOR THIS LAUNCH? Press Hub
- 12. #DIGITALAGE HOW DID YOU MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS?
- 14. #DIGITALAGE
- 15. FOR MORE INFORMATION: US: (888) 776-0942 CANADA: (877) 269-7890
Editor's Notes
- Daniel – what are we doing on this page, are you doing introductions or are we both introducing ourselves?
- National clients, as well as clients seeking to really get a foothold in the Northwest Consumer campaigns – very disruptive for their segments
- Daniel – is this you teeing up what we’re discussing today or me introducing the Pivotal Living launch? Pending what the goal is of this slide, perhaps we shift it to after my intro slides?
- The articulation test – agency qualifications & 3 question informal RFP Can they problem solve on their feet? Throw them a curve ball or have them brainstorm around a real problem/challenge you’re working on Do you like them (go with your gut) Do they love your vision/company/product/service? Do they complement your in-house strengths? Who is your end consumer?
- Who is your sweet spot demographic – what do they do for fun, do they have kids, where do they shop, where do they live, where are they getting their news Older demographics take longer to percolate; social has a lifespan of a nano-second – but you need a comms plan that brings the timing of multiple channels together at once Timing matters – this isn’t to say there is only one right or wrong time to launch, but it does mean timing should be a consideration vs. simply “launching when we’re ready”. Don’t push a product that isn’t ready; don’t hold a product too long; it’s a delicate balance … pay attention to seasons, buying/retail cycles, etc. Be clear with your launch goals – how is PR/marketing driving sales – to the website, a retail partner, how are you tracking traffic? Start planning visuals and multimedia assets early – as early as humanly possible and with both your end user and media in mind (more on visuals in a moment) Launches are expensive – and I’m not just talking about money; resources all up …. Man hours, sweat equity and – of course – cash … I only bring this up because no one has beer taste and a champagne budget – be realistic about your resources and plan accordingly. Prioritize. Don’t just have a launch plan – don’t just ask your agency for a launch plan – have a FULL YEAR plan, and plan on executing it You’ll keep your eye on the ball (long-term vision) You’ll have a better relationship with your agency – you know (and they know) they’re in it for the long haul
- As I mentioned earlier, visuals count – and there are two key audiences to consider when building visuals: (1) media (2) your users – some times this is the same content and sometimes this is very different Pivotal Living is the “average Joe’s” fitness band – it does all the basics really well, it has a gorgeous software interface and it costs about the same as 3 lattes – we weren’t targeting the super fit, super affluent or super techie Here, we have lifestyle shots that appeal to the every day user – a busy mom and a rather non traditional fitness shot – these are not the svuelt, perfectly styled fitness shots our competitors were all touting last fall TIP: the Pivotal Living shoot was done almost exclusively in-house, using friends and family and passer-by volunteers (for the price of a band) In addition to lifestyle shots, create visuals or graphics that appeal to your target media – if you’re launching a product you want the beauty shots – here that’s the software and the band It’s different for every industry and if you’re not sure what to create, READ the media you’re trying to get in front of and see what types of visuals they’re using for similar products, services or stories Infographics or other educational graphics/renderings are also another extremely effective way to garner eyeballs on your product Mention our POEM approach
- We set up preview meetings in Seattle, SF and NYC with 10 targeted consumer and tech press No embargo, but timed approx. 3-4 weeks prior to our national announce SHE’s Fit (Style Hunt Events) or for food industry Food Fete events (or host your own) About 1 mo prior (met with approx. 75 consumer press) Important event as we hit a lot of consumer press and could demo the band 1:1 We pitched a lot more previews than we secured – and all of those press got the release before it went on the wire, and were offered interviews with the founder and CEO In total we had 21 national placements in advance of the formal launch
- Take a moment to share views on press releases – we, as communications have so many great tools for communicating news – and the press release is one of them, and still a very effective tool … but it has changed Write like you’re writing a Google search headline - we still see the boring “company x had released product y” headlines Numbers, problem/solution, seasonal ties (when appropriate) – write a headline you actually want to read Longer is not better Bullets or numbered lists are great tools If you have a visual product or a great video or extremely viral, engaged social following – multimedia releases are going to be worth the slightly higher cost
- When we’re evaluating what type of announcement tools to use, the asset library is always a key factor in that decision Additionally, so is the company/product website – where do you want to drive traffic? Is the website clean, easy to navigate for press? Does it house assets and press materials in a clear easy to download format? Is the website live? (in the case of Pivotal’s we had just launched – but there was no press room, so our release became our press link moving forward) We included a “order now” call to action on the site, so anyone landing on this hub could easily redirect to the sales cart on pivotalliving.com
- Daniel, let me know how you’d like to address this slide – did you want to talk to the back-end success/numbers or do you want me to take it? Can you all pull numbers on the release to-date before our webinar? I’d love to have those on hand Online Engagement Results • The launch press release drove more than 10,000 click-throughs to the pre-order and PivotalLiving.com main site • More than 20,000 unique views of the images and release within the first month Increased Brand Awareness • More than 20 retweets reaching more than 20,000 followers Direct Revenue Creation • Within three months of launch, Pivotal reported seven-figure revenue and had a membership base in the six digits. 369M media impressions in 2.5 months
- Just speak to depth and quality of coverage Note on the $12 price point – one, this was a key message of ours, but you’ll note it’s not in our release headline (it was one of the first bulleted points in the release) Additionally, we used the “3 latte” comparison in all of our outreach and that resonated with both press and consumers – make your price or product relatable
- Thank you, everyone, for spending the hour tuned into this webinar. Note about next webinar. Have a great day!