My LinkedIn profile states “no boring press releases” and it’s something I try to stand by. Recently, a journalist I follow posted about the cliched statements filling his in-box that make him vom in his mouth just a little bit. “XYZ is thrilled to announce” or “Company A could not be more excited by their win at The Average Awards”.

Add in a sprinkling of AI-generated copy and suddenly your press release is nothing more than a clone of all the other ones, stuffed with jargon, buzzwords and over-reach.

So far, so beige.

*Beige on beige on beige in a conference room. Oh no*.

The problem isn’t just that these releases don’t generally get picked up by media, but that it makes PR professionals look lazy, unoriginal and completely lacking any spark or creativity. And by extension, the brand being publicised is tarred with the very same brush.

If you’re a person writing press releases, or commissioning PR consultants or comms experts to magic them up, here are some ideas to help yours stand out in a sea of drivel.

Write for the reader, not your CEO. Your boss may love words like “synergy” and “innovation pipeline” but the audience wants something that feels human.
Keep it tight. Short sentences over long, active voice over passive.
Add facts, but make them fun. “Enough loo paper to fill Eden Park” sounds a lot better than “2,599,731 rolls”.
Use seasoning! You wouldn’t serve a steak without a grind of salt and pepper. Ask yourself, what makes this unusual, unexpected, or just plain tasty? A first, a biggest, a twist, a turn…

Your press release gets about two seconds to make an impact. If you can’t wow a journalist with the information you have, you shouldn’t be sending one. Or, maybe, you need someone like me to help turn it around. (You know where I am.)

Your beige press release is ruining everything

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