Part 3. The Future of the Press Release

Pre-reading tasks

Work in groups and discuss the following questions:

1. What is the most effective way of disseminating news releases?

2. What changes and transformations will a traditional press release undergo in the nearest future? Will Social Media Releases replace old conventional media forms?

Reading

Read the text and answer the questions above.

The marketing landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. The reliance on the mainstream media to break stories about companies and products is waning, while the number of press releases grows daily. It’s increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized businesses to gain mainstream coverage from conventional media forms. So, rather than narrow their focus towards journalists in the hope of hitting the publishing jackpot, small and medium-sized companies are now producing press statements that target web site publishers and bloggers relevant to their niche, as well as targeting customers directly. Tools, networks and services are facilitating and simplifying the system for creating and distributing new media releases. PR experts believe that the traditional long form press release will continue to be influenced by the brevity and accessibility of social media. Though, the format of the press release isn’t the only factor in its evolution. PR professionals are now experimenting with the new distribution channels. Likewise, many are finding that the form of the press release isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for every channel. Vistaprint’s Public Relations Manager Jeff Esposito believes that the press release will continue to evolve into multiple iterations for various audiences, channels, and situations: “Over the next five years, I think we’ll see three types of press releases that will assist different audiences. The first is in a video format where there will be a short description followed by a link to a video giving information on the news from a company source, hitting on the five W’s and also offering sound-bites that can be used for stories or added to a news story. The second iteration will be a further evolution of the social press release that is being used today, except more brief and more focused. The final is similar to what we see now with company boiler plates, stock quotes and additional information.” In the end, the press release’s future may simply depend on media consumption trends, according to David McCulloch, director of public relations at Cisco Systems “…It’s pretty clear where the press release will go next: It’s going to get shorter; link to more sources; be focused on simplification and explanation; and it’ll come in many more flavors. Practically speaking, that means the press release of the future will deliver its content in text, video, SMS, microblog and podcast form, to any choice of device, whenever the reader decides, and preferably it will be pre-corroborated and openly rated by multiple trusted sources.” Kelly McAlearney, an account supervisor at Edelman Digital, agrees that based on natural progression, the press release will continue to get shorter, for concision’s sake: “And interactions have naturally become more concise as many brands are in constant, direct contact with consumer audiences and media via online channels.” Lou Hoffman, CEO of The Hoffman Agency, brought an interesting perspective to this conversation. He said that the back links generated by press releases are reason enough to continue syndicating them, even if the contained information is of little use to the audience. He speculates that if search engines were able to point out and devalue republished news releases and their included backlinks, companies would find better ways of dispersing news. “Looking beyond five years, I could see the algorithms of search engines becoming smart enough to discern whether a backlink comes from syndicated content, which in turn causes it to greatly reduce the value of the backlink. In other words, even if a news release is syndicated on the Wall Street Journal, with all the “authority” that comes with the site, the search engine figures out that it’s nothing more than a republished news release, so scores the backlink super low. If this happened, we would see the volume of news releases significantly decline.”

Scanning

Choose the best ending to these incomplete sentences:

1. The reliance on the mainstream media to break stories about companies and products is …

1. increasing

2. declining

3. persistent and sustained

2. Small and medium-sized businesses gain mainstream coverage from …

1. multiple iterations for various audiences, channels, and situations

2. the new distribution channels

3. conventional media forms

3. In the hope of hitting the publishing jackpot, small and medium-sized companies…

1. narrow their focus towards journalists

2. are now producing press statements that target web site publishers and bloggers relevant to their niche, as well as targeting customers directly

3. are aimed at professionals

4. PR experts believe that the traditional long form press release …

1. won’t undergo any changes

2. will soon die out

3. will continue to be influenced by the brevity and accessibility of social media

5. The evolution of a press release will mainly concern…

1. the format of the press release

2. Tools, networks and services

3. distribution channels

6. The press release will continue to get shorter, …

1. for the sake of transparency

2. for concision’s sake

3. for the sake of consistency

7. The back links generated by press releases

1. can help you achieve rankings, authority, and qualified traffic.

2. make the volume of news releases significantly decline

3. are reason enough to continue syndicating them

Language development

1. Give English equivalents for the following:

зависимость от, основной, идти на убыль, добиваться освещения в основных СМИ, сосредоточить внимание на журналистах, преуспеть/сорвать куш, быть нацеленным на что-либо, краткость и доступность, содействовать, решение на все случаи жизни, одновременно публиковать в нескольких изданиях, повторное действие/шаг, эффектная реплика, обратная ссылка, лаконичный, распространять новости, распознавать, обмен информацией, лаконичность.

2. Find words and phrases in the text that mean:

1. any text that is reused in new contexts or applications without being changed much from the original;

2. expressing much in few words; brief and to the point;

3. to decrease gradually in size, amount, intensity, or degree; decline;

4. a very short piece of a speech taken from a longer speech or an interview in which someone with authority or the average "man on the street" says something which is considered by those who edit the speech or interview to be the most important point;

5. appealing or answering to a wide range of tastes or needs;

6. a software program that searches a database and gathers and reports information that contains or is related to specified terms;

7. a list of prices;

8. to drive or send off in various directions;

9. incoming links to a website or web page.

3. Fill in the blanks with the suitable words from the previous exercises:

1. Last month, Full Count Communications, a Seattle-area public relations company, ___________ a press release announcing Kaminski's award.

2. You can improve your page rank and keywords ranking by having few relevant ___________for our website.

3. Business Wire, the leader in Press Release Distribution gives hourly updates of business, government; provides business news and _____.

4. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "We have nothing to fear but fear itself," is an example of a __________ that uplifted the American people during the Great Depression.

5. There's no easy, _____________ answer.

6. Quizzes are useful public relations tools because their popularity does not _________.

7. It is important to remember _______ should be up to date, clearly written and short in length.

8. We work closely alongside our clients to create clear, ______ and consistent messages that are guaranteed to bring them closer to their desired audiences.

After-reading tasks

Answer the following questions:

1. What audience do modern small and medium-sized companies try to target when producing press statements?

2. Why are PR professionals experimenting with the new distribution channels?

3. What are the three types of press releases that will assist different audiences, according to Jeff Esposito?

4. Does David McCulloch associate the press release’s future with the media consumption trends?

5. What media and devices will the press release of the future use to deliver its content, according to David McCulloch?

6. Do the back links generated by press releases help to increase web traffic and boost sales?

7. What format will the press release of the future have?

Speaking

Prepare a monologue on the following topic:

“A perspective on the future of press release distribution services”.

UNIT IV