Press Releases Are Not A PR Strategy
By: Jayse Nelson
This title may be shocking for some of you reading this because for the past four years of college we have been taught, as a Public Relations student, that press releases ARE a PR Strategy. The author of this text, Linda B. VandeVrede, takes a different approach to PR, one that does not focus on using press releases as the main PR strategy.
Throughout the book, VandeVrede shared different communication approaches that have proven to be successful for many companies. She covers everything from hiring a PR professional to writing a blog. The communication approaches she discusses in each chapter are all ethical and, “…do not involve spin, manipulation, or questionable an unethical practices.” She even included the PRSA code of ethics in the Appendix of the book.
What the author means by her title is that press releases should not be used as the official PR strategy. It should be used according to necessity and newsworthiness of the story. Press releases should be apart of PR strategy, but not THE PR strategy. In addition, VandeVrede notes the Webster’s New World Dictionary definition, “A statement or story prepared for release to the news media.” She states that press releases are too often a sales pitch intended for a consumer audience rather than a publication for news media. This is a valuable lesson we all must learn.
VandeVrede concludes her book by discussing the importance of working within an ethical framework. The PRSA code of ethics was updated in 2000 to include examples of unethical behavior. The author suggests that the reader review these examples and the code of ethics. She suggests the golden rule as one of the ethical frameworks that can guide a company, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
6 comments:
Thank you for your excellent summary of the book's premise, Jayse. If we can all remember that press releases are just one tiny arrow in a much larger arsenal of strategies available to us, we'll make our target audiences (media, bloggers, analysts, etc) much, much happier!
I love the idea behind this book! I know for me personally, I hate writing press releases and I find that sometimes they are ineffective. You have no control if they get published or if they get viewed by your audience and so I completely agree that a press release should not be the main focus of a PR campaign!
After reading this blog, it has somewhat left me a little shocked. I am pretty sure others will agree with me when I say that as a student in the Gaylord college, we were forced to learn how to write a press release during the very beginning of our PR career. Morever, I do not even think I have been properly taught the correct way. I guess in a sense it is a good thing that a press release does not ultimately represent PR in the most ethical way; and is not a representation of the strateigies we develop as PR practioners. I would have to agree with Vandevrede that the PRSA code of ethics is a more strategic approach to tackle PR issues and situations that are necessities in the field.
I'm glad to see this blog post! I have just started a new job where the pr aspect of it is brand new. I have to start a new program of public relations and develop a strategy to approach it. Obviously, press releases are the first thing that came to my mind. I am learning that my audience isn't quite interested in the news in my department... so I am shifting my approach to a newsletter and possibly blogs. I am really interested in reading this book now! Thanks for the post!
I love the idea that press releases aren't the only PR strategy and tactic that should be used in a campaign. I think that a campaign can be effective even without a press release. I also think it is great that the golden rule is included as a guide to ethical behavior. If people used the golden rule not only in PR but in all life practices, then we would all be much happier.
Touché VandeVrede. Looking back on our team’s PR campaign, we of course wrote and sent out press releases to various print media outlets but I really don’t think they were at all the cornerstone of the campaign and our campaign went pretty well. I say this in agreement with her idea that press releases are not a PR strategy but rather part of the overall strategy.
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