How Releases should be written

The easiest way to learn how to write a news release is to study newspaper reports. You should observe how they are written because there is a special technique. The following two important charac­teristics will be apparent from reading newspapers:

• The subject is mentioned in the opening words. In a release the subject is rarely the name of the organization but what the organization is doing.

• The opening paragraph is a summary of the whole story, and if no more was printed this single paragraph would tell the whole story.

Busy editors say they have one moment in which to accept or reject a news release. They receive hundreds daily. The first para­graph can make all the difference between acceptance and the waste-paper bin.

Here is a well-tried formula for checking data to be included in a release, for which its' creator Frank Jefkins is well-known.

1. Subject— what is the story about?

2. Organization — what is the name of the organization?

3. Location — where is the organization located?

4. Advantages— what is new? What are the benefits?

5. Applications — what are the uses? Who are the users?

6. Details — what are the sizes, colors, prices, performance fig­ures or other details?

7. Source — is this different from location. Location might be where the work is done, source will be the head office address.

The formula provides a checklist of data required before writ­ing the release.

It is a plot for the release, showing the sequence of informa­tion.

It provides a checklist to use after writing the release.

The formula does not mean that there should be as many as sev­en paragraphs, or no more than seven paragraphs. It only pro­poses a sequence of information.

The first paragraph should tell the subject; the name of the or­ganization, the location.

The final paragraph should tell the full name, address and tele­phone number of the organization. The release should be dated.

NEWS RELEASE

• Short paragraphs, short sentences and short words

• The story should be kept to one page if possible.

• A news release must present factual information only

• Do not use cliches like unique', 'a wide range', 'this point in time', and 'facilitates'.

• Do not quote remarks from leaders unless they have something original to say

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Sponsoring

Sponsorship is about providing financial support for events or people. It originates from the patronage given to artists and musicians by royalty and rich aristocracy. Beethoven and Mozart would not have survived without such patronage. Later, rich busi­nessmen such as Carnegie, Ford and Rockefeller sponsored many institutions.

Today we have three kinds of sponsorship which may be con­nected with advertising, marketing or PR.

First, there is the form of advertising when a company sponsors a radio or TV show. It began with the soap operas on American radio in the 1920s and 1930s. This is a typical way of mak­ing money for radio and TV companies.

Second, there is a kind of sponsorship when a whole programme ii sponsored by one company.

Third is the kind of sponsorship which is the modern commer­cial counterpart of patronage by rich patrons. Here, a sport, art exhibition, theatrical show, literary prize, expedition. Financial support may be given to an individual. The reward for this is usu­ally media coverage.

There are many reasons for sponsoring, but usually there is a PR element which helps understanding and goodwill.

The principal reasons for spending money on sponsorship are as follows:

• The widening of advertising campaigns through the publiciz­ing of company and product names.

• To help the marketing policy because a company or product is associated with youth, health or beauty.

• To show a sense of social responsibility. The example can be when companies sponsor university awards, medical research, libraries.

• The principal PR values of sponsorship are in creating aware­ness of a company and its products.

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