Issue 1: How can a box of pizza make headlines? On press releases and publicity

The relevance of press releases in 2023

Someone asked me recently, “Do press releases still work? I’ve never paid for publicity before.” 

My first job was as an intern in a food magazine in 2011. One of my tasks was to sift through a stack of press releases mailed to the office. I would then pick the ones that I thought would give the readers value and lay them out on the magazine's last pages. 

The textbook definition of a press release is a written document prepared for the media that announces something newsworthy about an event, product launch, business update, or any significant occurrence to journalists and media outlets. I know, it’s very dull. 

I’ve worn different hats in the communications industry in the last ten years. I’ve even sent and received press releases. My definition of a press release is a knock on the door. 

There's an art to getting them noticed, not just trashed or archived. Here’s what I’ve learned so far after all the trial and error: 

1. A pizza can make headlines. 

Recently, I attended a workshop on how to pitch to editors. The workshop was conducted by Tim Herrera, who has worked for the New York Times and The Washington Post. And, he emphasized that editors get a lot of emails. Catching their attention is a skill! 

Here’s how Domino’s Pizza caught the media’s attention. In the early to mid-1990s, they released the “Pizza Meter,” a short-lived annual report on how their delivery-based data could tell the state of the White House. 

The report claims that turmoil in the White House can be traced to pizza. For example, it was “pizza night” when the news came out about Monica L. Lewinsky and President Clinton in mid-January 1998. In those days, the White House placed $2,600 in orders. It was one of the highest orders they’ve had from the White House. 

This is a clever way to make a product relevant and pique readers' interest. Who knew pizza could say a lot more about the state of a nation? 

2. Do editors use press releases? Yes, they do. So, it's worth thinking about way in advance. 

There's a study in the Columbia Journalism Review where the researchers looked at The Wall Street Journal and noted: 

111 stories came from press releases. Only 30% of those stories did reporters put additional information before publishing. 

To get a story noticed, think of the timeliness of the angle. A good way of doing this is to look at trending topics or events of interest to your community. 

One of my hats is working on press releases for a culinary school. Before the pandemic, we released press releases based on anything new in our company, whether a campus, program or instructor. This is very limiting because it doesn’t consider the bigger picture. 

A game changer was having a calendar of potential topics for the year and working on each story one month ahead, then aligning them with our crucial launch dates. It’s also common practice to give a press token that’s relevant to the story. 

Here’s an example of sending a timely press release. 

In January, people often write their New Year's resolutions. This an excellent time to write about products or services that help an audience achieve their resolutions. Here’s a press release announcing The Nike Training Club, a collaboration between Nike and Netflix for people to achieve their fitness goals. 

Here’s another example of a creative yet timely press gift.  

You must look at luxury brands to see how next-level press gifts can be. Gucci, Celine, Saint Laurent and Tiffany & Co. all sent luxury mooncakes last year to celebrate their East Asian market. 

The lesson here is timing is everything. 

3. A press release can sometimes sound like that overly perky cheerleader. 

At times, a press release can come out as too hard sell.  And an editor can return and say, “I can’t publish this. It’s too hard sell.” I’ve heard this before. And it’s balancing what management wants to put out there with what the public will find interesting. 

Ask yourself these questions: 

• Why is this release worth the reader's time? 

• Did I provide the 5 w’s: who, what, where, when, why? 

• How does it affect the reader’s day-to-day lives?

• What value does this story bring? 

Be prepared to get rejected with your first pitch. And think of other angles for your story. You can also use Chat GPT to do so. 

Prompt: This press release was rejected for this publication: (insert publication name). The feedback was it came out too hard sell. List five other story ideas I can pitch to the editor. 

[Add your press release here]

You can also prepare other pieces that the editor can use: 

• How-to articles 

• Case studies 

• Expert opinion piece 

• A feature article 

• Background story on the founder

Make sure also to have a portal where journalists can go on your website. Lelo, a sexual wellness brand, is a perfect example of having a clean and easy-to-navigate section for press releases.

They share press releases once or twice a month. 

• Sex trends to elevate 2023: Sexual wellness continues to be the focus. (January) 

• LELO celebrates 20 years of orgasms (February) 

4. Quality + consistency = success 

The common saying is "out of sight, out of mind." With consistent press releases, a company can gain better visibility. And, there’s more opportunity for a customer to see a company’s messaging in multiple media outlets. 

I once heard in a podcast that potential customers need to see a brand's message about 6x before deciding. That’s a lot! You basically have to craft the message in different ways and distribute it in several channels. 

To put that theory to the test, I created a calendar of releasing stories every month, not just when we had something new. And unlike the year prior, our website traffic became much more consistent. There were no drastic spikes. In six months, I saw that our customer base grew by x4. 

You don’t want a rollercoaster when it comes to press coverage. You want to build brand credibility at a steady pace. 

** 

Nowadays, the distribution of press releases happens at such a rapid pace. Press releases now get sent via email. A press release is just that knock on the door. But, you have to be ready with a quality story that brings value to the audience of the media outlet you are pitching to. 

Think of it this way:

A poorly thought-out press release is like the milkshake mixer in this scene from The Founder. It’s bulky and irrelevant.

You want to create the McDonald’s of press releases, one that provides value to a community.

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Toolbox

The Copywriter’s Handbook: This book is for anyone wanting to create persuasive copy. Keep it beside you in times of need! I review it before drafting any copy.