Ten Smart Press Releases I Didn't Delete

As promised, I scanned through my emails last week and dug out 10 press releases that I think avoid some of the mistakes discussed in my earlier post about poor releases.

In reverse order, my favourite ten press releases of the last month or so are:

1. "The commitment and hard work from the DSP project leader and his team has been astounding, not only during the cutover weekend, but throughout the implementation … DSP staff should all be proud of each and every member of the team for making this a success." (I like this quote. It’s gushing, but at least it sounds like something a real person said, and it isn’t bland)
2. "Positive discrimination, as a general rule, is unlawful under both UK and EC law, because positive discrimination in favour of one gender tends to result in unlawful discrimination against the other gender. Therefore, companies wishing to promote more women must be careful not to do this in a way which could be construed as positive discrimination." (Another nice quote. It’s not overly formal and it’s practical, useful information not corporate fluff.)
3. "I was determined not to spend my life travelling, but still needed quick access to data. After the start of the pilot, my average mileage has now dropped by 75%.” (This quote is in a release about a new mobile working project. It sounds like a real quote from a real person and it’s a genuine benefit – how often do you see that in a press release?)
4. Reuters chooses local green energy to power its business (I love this headline. It’s not trying to be smart or include puns, it is absolutely straightforward, to the point and relevant.)
5. FoneShield UK Ltd, a UK mobile phone insurance provider, is set to launch the first mobile phones insurance that meets the ethical standards of Sharia compliance. (A practically perfect first sentence, and a great client descriptor.)
6. An international survey launched today by global business performance consultancy McKinney Rogers finds that senior business executives believe the private equity market will remain stagnant for at least the next 12 months.” (A great survey release intro. I always advise PRs to pick one finding from a survey and lead with that, rather than messing around with percentages and dollar values)
7. Opus Energy (www.opusenergy.com), a leading independent supplier of electricity to UK businesses…. (Another great client descriptor. And guess what? Including the URL means if I want more detail, I know precisely where to find it) 
8. A leading UK Private Investigator has found that more than three quarters of workers have stolen from their current or previous places of work. (It’s a great intro. Short and snappy, has a point. The release goes downhill from here: it’s a mess of statistics, it’s based on anonymous web data, there’s one of those really dubious “this is costing the UK economy £xm per year statements that I really hate)
9. Management should commit to skills say senior healthcare professionals (A great headline with strong opinion and well targeted, as it’s two areas I cover in one. I also loved the two words that came next: photography available. Genius.)
10. Whilst WebitPR Ltd endeavour to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this Release, WebitPR Ltd cannot accept any liability for:- the inaccuracy or otherwise of any information contained in this Release; or any loss liability or expense which may be suffered by any party in consequence of acting or omitting to act as a result of any information contained in or omitted from this Release; or any loss or suffering which may be caused by or to any party either as a result of the information contained in this Release or such information contained in this Release being inaccurate or otherwise misleading. (Okay, it’s not a press release I spotted, I saw it over at Hacking Cough. It’s actually a new disclaimer on the end of a release issued through Webit PR. Good grief! A press release admitting it might contain utter nonsense. Love it.)

Comments

[Adam Parker, Chief Executive, webitpr]

Hi Sally

Had already read last weeks post and so thanks for the mention in your Top 10 press releases today even if it wasn’t for a reason that would be at the top of my list :)

The disclaimer is there because despite our name we aren’t a PR agency we are an online press release distribution service working on behalf of in house PRs and Agencies. Not trying to mislead anyone it’s a historic thing and something we are looking at changing at the moment to make our identity less confusing – though our website and any outbound correspondence do make this clear. All of our releases actually specifically state who we are distributing each release on behalf of and give their contact details.

As an online press release distribution service it is practically impossible for us as a third party to verify the accuracy of the press releases that we receive due to time and access constraints e.g. via an agency to the originating companies themselves. However we do take steps to verify the standing of the organisations on whose behalf we operate before we send a single release to try and ensure we are only operating on behalf of bona fide companies/agencies/PRs. In addition the networked nature of the internet and the power of search can lead to indirect parties finding our releases in all sorts of ways and places.

However Peter van der Sluijs has made a good point about T&Cs on Hacking Cough and in light of this coverage we will review how we should be managing this risk.

We are actually in the middle of planning a detailed feedback exercise where we will be looking for a sample of sites to whom we distribute releases to give us feedback on how we could improve how we do this. I have extended an invite to be part of this to Chris at Hacking Cough and would be delighted if you would also like to be involved given your obvious keen interest :)

Thanks
Adam

[Sally Whittle]

Hi Adam

Thanks for commenting. I’m familiar with Webit PR and have recommended your services to a number of contacts in the past looking for good, cost-effective distribution services.

I take your point that you’re protecting your business from potential misuse by rogue clients, but I agree with Peter that the disclaimer shouldn’t really be necessary if the liability issue is addressed in the terms and conditions with your client (be that a supplier or PR agency). It’s just making readers even more suspicious that the content of a release is, in fact, complete hokum.

I can now imagine marketing execs across the land ignoring the counsel of their PR agencies and stuffing releases full of exaggerated claims and unsubstantiated benefits, crying: “It’s alright lads, just stick a disclaimer on the end!”

On a related note, I receive releases from Webit PR but don’t remember any initial communication about the nature of the service or the fact it’s not a PR agency (perhaps I deleted it for having a boring headline, who knows?) . At any rate, I’m always delighted to be involved in discussions around making this stuff work better, so thanks for the invitation.

Sally

[Adam Parker, Chief Executive, webitpr]

Hi Sally

As I said we are going to review this having had our ribs tickled :) Suspect our lawyers thinking had something to do with the ability of our users to truly indemnify us i.e. would they all have sufficient financial clout, and the potential impact on our PI insurance costs. But as with all things of this nature one balances benefit against cost and if this statement is turning anyone off or giving the impression that we dont care about accuracy then we need to take account of this. Thing is we arent a PRN/BW et al so might not weather a storm quite as well :)

On a different note I am looking into your comment about not receiving an introduction about us which is a complete no no round here. Thanks for agreeing to get involved with our research project though. Will keep you informed and be in touch with relevant details when it kicks off.

Cheers
Adam

[Sherrilynne]

Great list Sally.

[Sally Whittle]

Thanks!

[Adam Parker, Chief Executive, webitpr]

Hi Sally

I am wondering if I can hold you to your kind offer of being included in our research? We have just started and some great people have kindly agreed to be part of it and we would love it if you would be one of them. If you would then please email me and I will provide you with some more info before you sign your life away :)

Thanks
Adam

[Sally Whitle]

But of course. Have mailed you.

[Adam Parker]

Hi Sally,

Apologies, I haven't received your email.

Will look into it but in the meantime I've supplied a different one with this comment. That should get through.

Alternatively, maybe you could contact me through LinkedIn if it's better for you:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamparkerwebitpr

Thanks,

Adam