PR Newswire Asia’s Top Highlights of 2020
2020 presented a constant wave of changes for the comms industry. Switching to crisis management mode, many PR pros had to tackle challenges such as putting out cohesive messaging and working with leaner budgets. Likewise, PR Newswire also quickly pivoted and served the PR community in APAC through our series of webinars, eBooks and blog posts that provided PR & media insights in the new normal.
Read on for a recap of the 2020 highlights of PR Newswire in APAC.
1. Press Release Overview 2020
COVID-19 dominated the news cycle in 2020. PR Newswire Asia distributed more than 4,000 COVID-19-related press releases last year – close to 15% of the total number of press releases distributed. This is a result of brands adjusting their communications plans to employees, customers and other internal and external stakeholders.
According to our press release distribution data, the top 4 industries that distributed the highest volume of press releases were Computer/Electronics; Banking/Financial services; Healthcare/Hospitals, and Telecommunications.
Notably, the healthcare industry (60%) and the publishing/information services industry (27%) saw a marked increase in the amount of press releases distributed as compared to 2019. On the other hand, industries such as travel (-34%) and sports (-28%) saw significant declines.
Subject-wise, press releases on public safety increased significantly (562%) as compared to 2019. Other hot subjects include corporate social responsibility, clinical trials and economic news. Conversely, subjects such as trade show news (39%), future events, joint ventures and corporate expansion saw the biggest drop last year.
- Top 4 industries with the most press releases distributed in 2020
- Computer/Electronics (11,985)
- Banking/Financial services (7,092)
- Healthcare/Hospital (6,113)
- Telecommunications (5,668)
- Top 4 press release topics that showed the largest jump (as compared to 2019)
- Public safety (+562%)
- Corporate social responsibility (+80%)
- Clinical trials/medical discoveries (+67%)
- Economic news, trend and analysis (+54%)
- Top 4 press release topics that showed the largest decline (as compared to 2019)
- Trade show news (-39%)
- Future events (-28%)
- Joint ventures (-26%)
- Corporate expansion (-22%)
2. Supporting corporate communications in a COVID-19 world
The importance of communicating swiftly and accurately was put to the test with the COVID-19 pandemic. With a rapidly evolving news cycle and unpredictable developments, PR pros had to spring into crisis comms mode. We set up a dedicated COVID-19 Comms Resource Page, which compiles toolkits, tip sheets and blog posts on best practices on crisis comms, press release writing and recovery planning. Our Audience Development team also interviewed journalists and editors on COVID-19’s impact on the editorial directions and operations of newsrooms across APAC in a series of blog posts.
3. Product updates
Over the past year, PR Newswire’s parent company Cision enhanced its media monitoring and analytics capabilities on Cision Communications Cloud®. The Analytics Dashboard and interactive report functions were added, which makes it easier to showcase data and tie earned media back to business outcomes. Another addition is Cision Connect, which enables communicators to effectively target, pitch and build stronger relationships with the media through the relationship management solution. Falcon.io, Cision’s social media management platform, added Instagram messaging support to its capabilities.
4. Further strengthening our news release distribution network
We continued to expand and deepen our media network in APAC despite the significant headwinds faced by the industry, such as shrinking revenues. Our Audience Development team developed more than 290 content partnerships. Our comprehensive media database in the region was enhanced by the addition of more than 5,000 journalists and influencers last year. Markets such as Australia, South Korea and the Philippines saw significant breakthroughs in their local distribution networks through content partnerships with major media outlets such as News Co, Hankyung and UNTV.
Lynn Liu, Head of Audience Development at PR Newswire said: “Growing our network of content partnerships provides additional platforms for our clients to amplify their news. By tapping into the local markets through establishing closer collaborations with the media, we are continuously building a more comprehensive news distribution network both locally and regionally.” Read more here.
5. Connecting comms professionals with industry experts
Last year, we organized 33 webinars across APAC that featured over 70 industry professionals from the PR and media industry and attended by close to 10,000 people. The experts shared their insights on a diverse range of topics, from adapting comms strategies in the new normal, crisis communications to enhancing media relations and pitching.
Our webinar speakers include John Kerr, CEO of Edelman Singapore, who spoke about the 4 areas of opportunities that PR pros should consider when planning for recovery. “The best path towards resilience is agility and planning for the reality of dealing with multiple issues that pop up every day,” he said. Danny Tan, Senior Vice President at Omnicom PR Group shared how the PR industry need to move beyond the traditional Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) value and highlighted a 4-stage measurement approach – Outputs, Outtakes, Outcomes and Impacts. On gaining media coverage in a COVID-19 world, Luisa Tam, Senior Editor of the South China Morning Post said: “Stories do not always have to be about people suffering, they can be about heroes in our lives – Put a human face to this outbreak by sharing survival stories on what people are doing to help one another. Being organic and authentic is the most important thing.”
Besides webinars, we held Media Coffee events in Vietnam and Taiwan for PR pros to network and connect with the media in 2020. In Vietnam, PR and media experts shared how companies can thrive through achieving earned media coverage, while in Taiwan, the spotlight was on how biotechnology companies could share their news in a COVID-19-dominated news cycle.
6. Drawing insights from the APAC comms industry
- 2020 Asia-Pacific Corporate Communications Report
We launched our inaugural Asia-Pacific Corporate Communications Report this year to better understand the strategies, priorities and challenges that PR and comms professionals face when planning regional campaigns. The report surveyed close to 950 industry professionals across 10 markets. Key findings include top communications challenges faced in the region such as content production, measuring the impact of communications and budget constraints, top comms priorities and channels for APAC businesses.
- 2020 Travel Media Pitching Kit
The travel industry was one of the hardest-hit industries by the COVID-19 pandemic last year. With travel restrictions and lockdowns enforced, tourism and hospitality businesses declined due to the fear of the viral infection. To help businesses connect with travel media and better position their stories, we launched the 2020 Travel Media Pitching Kit, which compiles pitching tips and industry trends from 28 travel journalists and influencers in APAC.
- 2020 Tech Media Pitching Kit
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital adoption in businesses. As technology continues to transform industries, brands have more opportunities to present their tech stories. We reached out to tech journalists and influencers across Asia-Pacific for the 2020 Tech Media Pitching Kit. The kit gathers pitching tips from the tech media and emerging tech trends to help make media pitches more engaging.
7. Sharing success stories from APAC brands
Last year, we produced case studies that share stories of our clients who have achieved success from using our products and services, such as news distribution, Multimedia News Release and communications strategy. Manulife Singapore optimized its campaign reach with the Multimedia News Release and Golden Agri-Resources promoted its sustainability efforts with our communications strategy services.
8. PRN’s Vietnam National PR & Communications Awards 2020
The National PR & Communications Awards 2020 in Vietnam marks PR Newswire’s debut awards programme outside mainland China. More than 100 guests, including C-suite executives, communications professionals and entrepreneurs, attended the gala ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City in last July. Winners include popular Vietnamese brands such as low-cost carrier Vietjet Air, technology company VNG Corporation and insurance company, FWD Vietnam, as well as independent firms such as technology start-up Yellow Blocks, and sneaker brand Biti’s. Read more here.
9. Key accolades
Chinese technology giant Baidu recognized PR Newswire for being a “Quality Content Creator for finance and economic news” last year. We also received the “2020 Growth Value Award” at the 2020 Financial Technology Awards organized by the Shanghai Services Federation. The award recognizes contributions to the development of the service industry in Shanghai.
Cision, PR Newswire’s parent company, won 10 awards at the 2020 International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) Awards last July. The accolades included two gold awards – one for best use of integrated communication measurement/reach with its client Macmillan Cancer Support and the other for most effective planning, research and evaluation with CSM and the Formula E Championship
As we enter a new year, we would like to thank our clients for their continued support. We look forward to working closely with you in 2021 as we improve our services to reach and engage your target audiences through news distribution, content partnerships and PR technology.
For more information, visit here or email us at asia.marketing@prnasia.com.
This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire. A former journalist, he relishes keeping track of breaking news as much as telling stories with trends and data. Connect with him via Linkedin.
Kenneth Goh 