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The press release is dead

June 28, 2005 |

Despite the popular image of PR firms as press release factories and their account personnel as pitching machines, the reality is that the press release is pretty much dead as a piece of the strategic communications arsenal.

Think about it. As a society, we’ve gone from the era of mass production, mass merchandising and mass marketing to one where customization is king.

In this environment, press releases are to PR professionals what the 30-second television commercial is becoming to the advertising industry. As far as most reporters and editors are concerned, they are overproduced, they lack differentiation, they generally aren’t relevant and the vast majority just aren’t worthy of coverage.

As a profession, we must be falling down on the job of providing education and counsel. Why else would prospects, clients and their bosses still insist on “expertise” in developing press releases, when the pertinent question should be this: “For our business and our purposes, what are the most effective ways to get media coverage?”

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