Working with Foreign Media:5 Steps to a Better Press Release

A SHORT PRESENTATION FOR:

• Japanese companies working with foreign media; and • PR pros working with Japanese clients

Purpose:

• Japanese companies are known for attention to detail that results in outstanding products and customer service

• But corporate HQs often skimp on the details when it comes to meeting the needs of foreign media

• This presentation is a guide for drafting good press releases for a non-Japanese media audience

Good press releases are:

• Between 1.5 and 2 pages long

• Written in an inverted pyramid format

• Include links to related resources

• Tell media how to get in touch

5 elements of good press releases:

• Headline

• Lead

• Body

• Quote

• Closing

1. Headline = Hook

If your bait sucks, the fish won’t bite.

If your headline sucks, reporters won’t read your press release.

You have mere seconds to convince a reporter to read beyond the head.

0:05

So cut out the fat, get to the point.

Good headline:

“Big Company Does Something”

Better headline:

“Big Company Does Something For First Time Ever”

Even better headline:

“Big Company Does Something For First Time Ever, Saves Billions”

Elements of an attractive headline:

• Concise

• Simple grammar (S-V-O)

• No jargon

• No articles, auxiliary verbs

• Present tense

Want extra oomph? Use a subhead.

• Expand on headline content

• Nudge reporter toward lead

• Keep it simple (1 line)

• Don’t need it? Don’t use it!

When you first meet someone, you don’t bore them with details, do you?

… blah blah blah and then we had to invest in a new extraction system blah blah blah …

Oh, look!Shrimp cocktail!

Same goes for headlines: Essential information only!

“Award-Winning Self-Sealing MD Tank Series from ACME

Expanded to Add Next-Generation MD-20, MD-40 Ranges

to Existing Lineup for Greater Customer Choice”

“ACME Develops Mid-Size Self-Sealing Tank Series -

New Range Fills Gap in Best-Selling Product Line”

2. Lead = Your News

Hook them with the headline, convince them with the lead.

A good lead will:

• Briefly state essential facts

• Try to answer most of the 5 Ws

• Is the first paragraph of the press release

A good lead will explain yournews in 1-2 crisp sentences.

Doing cool stuff

Having lotsa fun

A good lead tells readers who, what, when, where and why.

ACME Inc. today unveiled a technology that will revolutionize

the wireless widget industry and treble revenue by 2020.

Not every good lead has all 5 Ws. Never feel obliged to cram them all in.

A good lead is the first paragraph of your press release. Always.

When you bury the lead, the reporter has to waste time looking for it.

Help reporters find your news by putting it on top, where it belongs.

3. Body = Your Details

You’ve got their attention … so dance.

A good body will:

• Explain news in greater detail

• Use inverted pyramid format

• Include a quote

“Greater detail” means facts and figures, dates and names.

“Greater detail” does not mean buzzwords, jargon or cheerleading.

The inverted pyramid is the format used by most foreign media.

Most Newsworthy

Important Details

General Information

Background Information

The inverted pyramid allows for quicker rewriting and editing.

Inverted pyramids protect the most important information from being cut.

4. Quote = Your Message

Quotes are helpful because:

• Reporters want them

• Reporters may not have time to chase them down

• Reporters often use them verbatim

Reporters want authoritative quotes from relevant spokespeople.

Quote me!

Reporters will often call for a quote – put it in the press release to save time.

Quotes used verbatim deliverstrong, unfiltered messages.

5. Closing = Resources

Close the press release with:

• Links to additional resources

• Boilerplate

• Contact details

A press release is an invitation to engage, not the engagement itself.

A press release introduces your news, but it’s not your whole, epic story.

Help reporters see the big picture with links to external resources:

• Your related content

• Your visual content libraries

• Relevant third-party content

Reporters use boilerplate for basic info about your company. Give them:

• Company name and HQ

• Key executive names, titles

• Key business sectors

• Snapshot of latest business results

If you’re going to send media a press release, be prepared to talk to them.

Go away … Go away …

Let reporters know who to contact:

• English-language spokesperson

• TEL and FAX numbers

• Email address

And then be ready to answer their Qs: “No comment” is not engagement.

THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT.

PRESENTATION BY:

TOTAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM INC.TOKYO, JAPAN

@TOCS_PR

http://www.pr-tocs.co.jp/?en

Icons made by Freepik: Slides 1-2, 8-10, 16, 19, 21-28, 30-34, 37-38, 40, 42-43, 46, 48-49 Icons made by Scott de Jonge: Slide 6Icons made by Icons8: Slide 7Icons made by Situ Herrera: Slide 18Icons made by Designmodo: Slide 35Icons made by Picol: Slide 39All icons are from Flaticon.com and used under a Creative Commons 3.0 license.