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Writing a press release is not an easy job. People actually get college degrees in this (and I’m guessing you wouldn’t be on this page if you had a degree in Public Relations, right?) Yet, you’ve somehow been assigned to write a press release.
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would just give you some press release examples, show you some sample press releases, give you a press release template you could use as the basis of your own release, then throw in some additional training on how to write an amazing press release just to make things even easier for you?
On this page, I’ll give you 10 examples of the most frequently-written types of press releases. Then, since I’m sure you’d like to see press releases from your specific industry, I’ll also provide links to pages where we’ve collected about a dozen press release samples from 35+ different industries.
Writing a successful new product press release is crucial for generating buzz and interest. As such, a product launch press release must focus on the news aspect of the product – those things that set your product apart from all the others offering similar products.
MySize Inc. released its Naiz Fit product, that uses AI to significantly reduce the cost and challenges of ordering uniforms for employees. Employees were able to fill out an online form, giving Naiz fit the information necessary to create a uniform that fits, skipping the complex manual process of sizing and trying on uniforms saving time and money for companies that use uniforms.
It is important to recognize that new product press releases are just part of the launch strategy for those new products or services. Consequently, it is vital to work with the developers to clearly understand:
Understanding the specifics (not, this product is the greatest thing since sliced bread and everyone should buy it) is key to writing a press release that will get picked up and hopefully have featured stories written about it by the media.
Improving and upgrading products is a constant process in business. Whether these updates are due to competitive products, new technologies, customer demand, or product improvements, they are news, and if you present them appropriately, they can generate significant coverage by the media.
When Clio, the world’s leading provider of cloud-based legal technology, released its product improvement, they were able to announce a set of new features that allow legal professionals to provide services not previously available through their platform, increasing profitability for the firms through maximizing productivity and expanded capabilities.
The key to success with product improvement press releases is recognizing that the fact that you’ve improved your product is not newsworthy, what those improvements mean to the customer is what makes your update newsworthy.
Thus, product improvement press releases should contain similar information to product launch announcements – focusing on the key benefits for the buyers of that product.
Mergers and acquisitions are major events that typically generate significant press coverage because they oftentimes affect large numbers of employees, investors, and customers.
It is important to recognize that because mergers and acquisitions involve investors, there are exacting data requirements (number of shares being acquired at what price,) and legal aspects that may be new to an employee tasked with corporate public relations, including forward-looking statements. While every press release should be reviewed by legal and management personnel before release, this step is even more important for a merger/acquisition announcement.
Another complicating factor is that there are two companies involved, each with their own lawyers, management, and public relations team, so it is important to be exact, timely, and patient through this process.
Mergers and acquisitions provide opportunities for multiple press release announcements, including the initial announcement, closing of the merger, the success of that merger after x months, any changes to the merger agreements, management and employee announcements, facility openings and closings, etc. Public relations professionals will want to carefully consider a full-fledged publicity campaign around the merger process.
This press release announcing the merger of National Western and Prosperity Life Group is a good example of the complexity of a merger press release, including the strategy, quotes from the managers of both companies, shares acquired, share price, how the merger will be communicated to the SEC, and legally required investor statements (forward-looking statements.)
Company events can be sources for publicity and should be announced using press releases, including:
Event press releases should give all the necessary information for a journalist to be able to cover and announce that event to the public. For example, when Universal Studios and Syncopy announced Oppenheimer Live in Concert, they provided information about the movie and performance and attendance information including the time, place, cost, and where the public could get more information and get tickets to attend.
Key new hires and promotions are oftentimes newsworthy, especially if they represent new corporate strategies and opportunities. New hire press releases can also be a great way to communicate key company information to customers, suppliers, and investors.
New hire and promotion press releases should explain what the new person/people bring to the company, their experience, and how they will support the company’s new/existing strategies, like this example of OVHCloud appointing a new Vice President.
Keep in mind that quotes from company officers, always a valuable element in any press release, can be especially valuable in a new hire press release as a logical way to include strategic messaging in your press release.
Awards and recognitions are outside acknowledgments of excellence. They should be sought after and, when received, should be actively promoted through press releases. We don’t get very many opportunities to have others tell the world how great we are, so let’s take advantage of those opportunities when they arise!
An award/recognition press release should explain the reason for the award and that the award acknowledges outstanding performance. Quotes in these press releases can be used to make strategic points to customers, investors, and employees, about the company’s commitment to excellence. Note the strategic communications included in the last paragraph of this image from the press release by Clarios about their award:
Partnerships oftentimes create significant opportunities for companies, creating new business, hiring opportunities, expansion into new niches and countries, and the ability to capitalize on the name and good will of all the companies involved in the partnership.
Partnership press releases give opportunities for management from each of the partners to include a quote, providing additional chances for strategic communication to customers, investors, and employees like this press release announcing Amazon’s expansion into selling autos online by partnering with Hyundai, plus Hyundai’s tie-in with Amazon’s cloud services in their vehicles.
Achievement of major milestones, like years in business, achieving record sales, selling the xth unit, expanding into new markets, opening new facilities, etc., is a great chance to get additional P.R. through releasing a press release.
Company milestone achievement press releases should announce the achievement, discuss its importance, and include quotes that celebrate the accomplishment while positioning the company for future growth, like Lockheed Martin did in this announcement of the C-130J achieving the milestone of 2 million flight hours.
One of the best ways to get publicity is for your company to actively fund, staff, promote, and otherwise provide support to social causes. This support can be adjusted according to the size of your business – local businesses can support locally-relevant causes (or local efforts to resolve national/worldwide causes, and vice versa.
Social causes support can be more than just cash donations. They can also include staffing (all employees worked 2 days this month for Habitat for Humanity), providing infrastructure support (donating space on their servers to host their website,) providing goods and services for free or at a reduced cost (donating software licenses,) and encouraging their employees or customers to donate to that cause (a portion of every sale is donated to x.)
Giant Food, a greater Washington, D.C. regional grocery chain donated to hep support local farmers. This donation not only gained them publicity, but also was strategically sound, building the infrastructure to ensure fresh produce to their chain of stores.
While we hope you never have to deal with a crisis, they happen. And when they do, press releases can be powerful tool to communicate your company’s position, remediation plans, and actions taken. Publicity is an important element of any company’s crisis planning to influence thoughts and actions by customers, investors, elected officials, and employees.
When a fire broke out in Livent Corporation’s Bessemer City manufacturing facility, Livent released a series of press releases providing updates and their actions to remediate the damage.
These examples help show the versatility of press releases, how they can be used for many different purposes.
I’m sure these samples have been valuable, but I also know that it frequently helps to see examples from companies in your industry. So, I’ve compiled hundreds of press release examples from dozens of different industries.
Finally, here are some tips and training to help you write an amazing press release:
