News Releases

News Releases. Think anyone can write an acceptable news release? Talk to a few reporters. The media receives baskets of poorly written, poorly targeted, inaccurate and badly timed press material -- AKA, trash -- every day.

When I create your press materials, we'll start with your goals. Not the reporters you want to reach, but the business objectives that make you want to reach them in the first place. Then, we'll go on to craft communications tools that achieve those goals.

Please review the following capsule summaries of four communications programs, then follow the links to read several of my news releases.

Better timing, targeting yield 9.2 million 'impressions' for Randall survey

Randall Publishing of Tuscaloosa, AL, is the information source for the U.S. trucking industry. It publishes Overdrive, Truckers News and Trucking Co. magazines. In addition, the company runs several trucking-related websites, sponsors a widely syndicated radio show targeting long-haul truckers and hosts several truck-focused trade shows annually.

So, why was the news media mostly ignoring Randall's annual survey in which truckers announced their "picks" of the best and worst U.S. highways? My analysis revealed a naturally newsy story hampered by both poor timing and poor targeting. Previous years' results had been announced in January, when the media wasn't ready for this type of story. In addition, too much attention had been focused on worst-road "winner" Arkansas, a small state of low interest to the national press.

This release was distributed two weeks before Thanksgiving, a heavy-travel holiday during which the media was especially receptive to news about the state of the nation's roads. In addition, I crafted the release to emphasize aspects of the survey of interest to high-population states such as California.

Please click the news release image to read this news release and a summary of its impact.

Effective communication with firefighters made interFIRE launch a success

Arson accounts for about 25 percent of all fires in the United States and destroys about $2 billion worth of property annually. Who pays? In many cases, an insurance company ends up with the bill. And who pays their bills? Re-insurance companies such as American Re-Insurance, Princeton, NJ.

That's why, in the late 1990s, American Re funded development and distribution of interFIRE VR™, a CD-ROM-based software program designed to help firefighters improve their fire-investigation skills. Research showed that many -- maybe most -- arsons go undetected because too many firefighters (74 percent of whom are volunteers) simply weren't trained to recognize the signs of arson.

Better fire investigation skills, reasoned American Re, would increase the percentage of arsons identified and decrease the amount of money insurers must pay to people who really ought to be in jail.

To create this news release and its accompanying press materials for interFIRE VR™, I worked with American Re and its partners (the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the National Fire Prevention Association and other groups) to fine-tune a message that was harmonious with the goals of each partner and effective in reaching the nation's 1.1 million firefighters. (To introduce the product, I also wrote commentary pieces that appeared under the byline of American Re CEO Ed Noonan in publications such as Business Insurance.)

Since releasing interFIRE VR™ in 2000, the project has won a Hammer Award from the National Partnership for Reinventing Government for successfully bringing together fire investigation expertise from public and private sectors. More than 75,000 copies of the CD-ROM have been distributed to fire professionals, including 250 copies to the New York City Fire Department alone. The interFIRE VR™ website receives about 6,000 hits a month.

Please click the news release image to read this news release and related publicity materials.

Constant flow of news kept L&H top-of-mind in its target markets

What does an organization do when it is THE source of information about the U.S. hotel industry? Try to stay on top, of course.

That was the daily challenge at Laventhol & Horwath, in its day the Avis of the Big Eight accounting firms. With a continuous flow of studies, conferences, commentary and news alerts, L&H kept itself in the faces of those who needed its consulting expertise to do their deals in the hotel building-boom of the 1980s.

As L&H's PR manager, I worked closely with the firm's research department and experts to identify and confirm trends, then design and execute a strategy for maximum impact.

Please click the news release image to read this news release and a summary of its impact.

Tip: A news release isn't always required. Sometimes, a single phone call to the right reporter will accomplish your goal.

Mark E. Dixon

757 Upper Gulph Road

Wayne, PA 19087-2022

USA

610-971-0649

dixon_mark@verizon.net