Press Release – The First Step Of The Marketing Campaign

A press release is usually a definite statement about a new product or service, released singly or simultaneously via the media. There are many ways to issue a press release, i.e. call for a press conference and give a concise statement regarding your product, write a descriptive note and send it to the editors of all newspapers which you identified for this purpose, send it to the local TV network, the national and international TV channels, depending on its importance and your marketing strategy.

Most of the times, official press releases are short and power packed with the news and details about the product or service,  in order to get the attention of the public to it. A press release acts like a launching pad for any marketing strategy; once the product is launched in the knowledge of the public at large, the marketing campaign can formulate ways and means to complement and build upon the official press releases to keep the image of the product fresh in the minds of the public.

An effective press release usually has a definite structure. Its body contains the information in a given pattern; so as to ensure that the news is presented in such a way as to create the greatest impact on the mind of the person who reads it. The best format will have a two-line title, normally a very catchy one, describing briefly an event or an important aspect of the product or service. In newspapers this could even get to be headlines on the first page.

This is followed by one paragraph which gives a summary, or a synopsis of what the press release intends to say. This paragraph will be able to tell the whole story for those who will not have the time to read or listen to the whole story.

Next, you will have the lead sentence – which is actually a paragraph - whose main aim is to grab the interest of the reader or listener. For this purpose, this is one of the most crucial components of the official press releases.  The catchier the starting phrase or paragraph, the more effective your campaign will be.

The body of the press release should carry enough information about the product as to whet the public’s appetite to know more, to see more, to have more. It should showcase its advantages, its qualities, its use and its edge over the competition.

The whole things may be wrapped up in the last paragraph, summarizing the best features of the product or services so the readers carry this last picture in their minds long after they stopped reading the press release or listening to it.

Most of the times, the first indication of success will be the generation of enquiries from the public about your product or service. The more enquiries made, the more interest is generated. Gauging from the results of the first press release, you need to plan and design your marketing strategy to take your campaign to full success. Though this sounds easy, a marketing campaign is a very challenging task. Since the press release is almost always the first step in this direction, it has to be done well, since this will become the launching pad of the whole campaign.

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