The Ideal Presskit

Andrew Manly
Published on 31 July 2011

PReleaseLet’s face it, there is no such thing as the Perfect Press Release. However there is a lot of scope for improvement in 90 per cent of what most editors currently receive.

REMEMBER, if it is well written, to the point, tells us what is new or what is different and has a good (digital) picture, it stands MUCH MORE chance of being published.

 

 

20 Press Release Commandments
 

  1. DO start the release by saying what it is about, ‘Acme Packaging has launched a new....’

  2. DO NOT: Begin telling us about the history of the company ‘Acme Packaging, founded in 1880 by the visionary Dr XX and has, over the years become a world leader..’ Oh Yawn!

  3. DO get to the point quickly

  4. BE as technically specific as possible: ‘HDPE’ or ‘tri-wall corrugated’ not ‘plastics’ or ‘board’

  5. DO NOT start the main topic in paragraph three

  6. DO write in the language of the country you are marketing to. It is NO GOOD sending a German language Press Release to an English/French/Spanish/Italian/Chinese magazine. If that is a problem, at least do an English version. But expect to be asked for a local version too!

  7. DO get it properly translated.

  8. DO try to keep the Release to one page. Remember - the average published story is less than 300 words

  9. DO NOT make the story run to three or four pages.

  10. DO make quotes relevant, ‘We needed to increase our line speed/pack size...’

  11. DO NOT include irrelevant or subjective quotes ‘Our Company found Acme very helpful and we would certainly recommend them...’

  12. DO give clear and understandable technical information which is of interest/value to the readers.

  13. DO NOT reproduce your catalogue or brochure.

  14. DO think what the editor/end user would be interested in reading, NOT what you like writing.

  15. DO NOT waffle or repeat the same point.

  16. DO consider regular application or installation stories, particularly for different sectors.

  17. DO NOT re-write the same story more than once. We notice!

  18. DO NOT send us an email (or phone us!) telling us toy are going to send a Press Release - just send it!

  19. DO NOT call us after you've sent it asking if we are going to publish i

The relationship between the packaging media and the industry it covers is  symbiotic - readers subscribe to trade publications because their information is timely, well written and informative.

Our markets frequently depend on trade magazines for the latest news. The reality is that they do not subscribe to read endless pages of press releases about the latest, fastest, greenest products from the world's leading end-to-end solutions profiders.

While editors depend on industry press releases to tell them what is new on the market, these form less than 25 percent of the editorial mix that appeals to our readers.

So it is important to build relationships with editors and journalists in the packaging media, find out their preferences, get a copy of their Editorial Calendar, understand when their deadlines are. Editors are human, and strangely do respond to requests that will help them do their jobs more efficiently.

A few general guidelines
Editors and their journalists get hundreds of Press Releases every month, particularly around big exhibitions. If you want to get yours noticed, make sure it grabs their attention quickly.

If it does not do that by paragraph 3, it usually goes straight ot the Trash Can!

Make sure you are aware of Publication Deadlines and Features Lists. It is no good sending a Release for a particular Feature or, just as important, Exhibition Preview, on or after the deadline.

Prepare your release as early as possible and send it well in advance as both Features and Previews are put together over a period of time and the earlier you are the better the chance of being included.

If you get a reputation for claiming something is new when it is not then you will soon find coverage of your products dwindles. Remember the story about the man who cried ‘Wolf!’ once too often. If it is not new but is an interesting Application, tell us the Facts about that, not a re-write about the product or machine.

A good image is VITAL. Get it done properly by a professional, not the salesman with the best digital camera!

If you are not confident you can write a good Press Release internally there are plenty of technical writers available to do it for you.

TIP: See the IPPO Freelance members list. Many of them will be able to help you on an Ad Hoc basis without the need for a costly PR contract.


Often PR companies do not have specialists in your product area, or much knowledge of the market. Those that do are worth their weight in Gold and charge accordingly!

So it may better and cheaper to find someone who actually does understand the packaging industry, and your product/market and is available ‘on demand’.

The Technicalities: Formating the Press Release
Getting the format of the Press Release correct is half the battle; you’re trying to impress on a busy editor that your news is more ‘worthy’ than some other company’s news.

  • MAKE sure the Press Release is clear and concise with good line spacing, font size and layout
  • DO NOT make headlines too long (certainly not two lines of text)
  • NEVER send your press release as a Pdf – they are hard extract the text from. Also editors, like everyone else, use ‘Cut & Paste’ so paragraph-breaks in the mi-ddle of w-ords just add to the editors frustration.
  • DO NOT insert a picture into the text as it is hard to extract either words or images.
  • ALWAYS send a low resolution image (or link to your website where the high resolution image can be found)
  • DO NOT send emails above 1.5mb in size – they clog up the system and can take ages to open. Some publications block emails above 1mb & simply trash them
  • ALWAYS have your image in 2 formats: High Resolution (300dpi) & Low resolution (72dpi) for print and web publications
  • UNDERSTAND the media interest and customize your mailing list (please don’t SPAM us)
  • UPDATE your mailing list regularly.
  • MAKE SURE contact details are clear and someone is available to answer follow up questions.

 

 

Editors' Pet Hates

PR SPAM!

Worldwide IPPO members work for approximately 70 different publications - each has its own editorial focus - technology, package printing, design, plastics, paper, metal etc.

Understand that each of these publications has its own target market which it is never going to deviate from without good reason.
So don't mass-mail the entire IPPO Member list.

Put yourself in the position of the editor of, lets say, a plastics publication, and amongst the hundreds of press release emails you receive there is always one or two, every month, from a company promoting corrugated carton erectors.

The solution is simple, reset your spam filter to include all correspondence from that company - effectively blacklisting them!

 

Worse:

The email that reads "Please find attached our latest press release, hope you can find space for it"... well we might, if they could be bothered to tell us what it is about.

What that company mail is telling us is that "we can't be bothered to summarise the basic content of the Press Release so you'll just have to open the attachment and read it for yourself"

That's interpreted as being rude and disrespectful. No surprises for guessing how long it takes for that to hit the trash can!

Worse still:

The above, but in German (only!) and sent to an English language publication.