Content We Love: Mundipharma's Innovative Use of Gaming Shines Light on Cancer Awareness
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="384"] Courtesy of Pawel Kadysz @ Unsplash[/caption] Happiness is when you are drowning in a sea of press releases that need to be handled, and there is one release that instantly catches your attention, because it presents you with a car-racing game to play! So if my supervisor comes to my work station and asks, “Abby, what are you up to here?” I, with eyes-brightening, can legitimately say, “I am checking if a website URL in this client’s press release is opening, and the page features a cool racing game for fund raising!” I would say this is one of the best applications of gamification -- doing it for fund-raising campaigns. Mundipharma is a pharmaceutical group with a mission to “substantially improve the quality of life of patients by alleviating the global burden of pain”. Seeing the rising prevalence of cancer in Asia, the group launched a three-day campaign named #HumanRace this September, in an attempt to raise awareness of the disease in the region. This is how the campaign works: Players can access www.human-race.net to participate in a virtual car-racing game and for every race completed, the company will donate SGD1 to the Singapore Cancer Society, regardless of the final ranking of the players. Read the release here for more details. Gamification is defined as “the use of game elements and game-design techniques in non-game contexts" in the book, For The Win, co-authored by Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter [1]. The term should not be restricted in a narrow sense to creating games simply for its own sake, as The Guardian has put it, but rather, gamification is “about how using game mechanics can lead to desired behavioural outcomes. It's this very premise that makes gamification work for any cause.” [2] The benefits of gamifying (or introducing game elements to) your press release, products and services, business or any other causes (in the case of Mundipharma, it is to raise money) are: Make it Fun. The pursuit of happiness and enjoyment is part of human nature; Gamification makes your cause more attractive to the players. Boost Engagement. As opposed to promoting your cause to the players in a one-way manner, such as a press release on a company's charitable deed, gamification raises the audience engagement level a notch by making the company’s cause become the player's cause as well. In the case of Mundipharma, it is the company’s goal to raise funds for the Singapore Cancer Society, but by adding game dynamics into the campaign, the cause and its results (the proceeds) are now in the players’ hands. Come Back For More (Loyalty). Gamification does not only leave a deeper impression on the players if done correctly (or incorrectly, either way works I guess), it also brings tangible benefits other than the funds being raised. The #HumanRace game ran for three days and the total play time, according to the company, was equivalent to more than nine years of game play or 79,000 hours. According to the press release, the company has attributed the success of the campaign to the simple and easy-to-play game design. It is not hard to imagine that there are players like me who came back to the game more than once to earn a higher ranking for each race completed (it’s a game!), and the positive feeling from knowing that one is playing this game for a charitable purpose (a win-win situation). The company recorded a higher number of clicks on its site during the race period: “Active interaction with the corporate website also rose significantly during the campaign period with a 600% increase in organic website visits and a 1,900% increase in cross-channel, unique user reach.” The company has also promoted the campaign on digital social platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, so the influence of SOCIAL MEDIA is also a point that should be noted. True, you don't get the chance to design a game for every business campaign you are planning, but let’s recall what we saw earlier in this article: gamification is more than just creating games for its own sake. It is likely that we have already seen gamification in our everyday lives, just with different mechanics. Gamification is involved when consumers (or players) collect stamps after every purchase to redeem freebies, accumulate air miles for free flight tickets, and answer questionnaires for coupons or discounts. The list goes beyond profit-making businesses into the fields of education, human resources, and even sustainability. Here's an interesting read on how gamification can help humans live more sustainably. While it is important to know that gamification is not a cure-all, as it cannot save an underperforming business [3], it is surely a pinch of salt worth adding when one is considering ways to enhance the flavour of one’s product/service and whatever else is being promoted. Notes: [1] Werbach, Kevin, and Dan Hunter. For the win: How game thinking can revolutionize your business. Wharton Digital Press, 2012. [2] Marrins, Kirsty. "Five ways charities use gamification." The Guardian. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2014/apr/17/gamification-charity-gaming [3] Zichermann, Gabe, and Christopher Cunningham. Gamification by design: Implementing game mechanics in web and mobile apps. " O'Reilly Media, Inc.", 2011. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The blog post was written by Abby Tsang, Editor at PR Newswire. Please indicate the source and link for reproduction.
Media Q&A – PanaJournal, Indonesia
Media Q&A is a series of interviews with media insiders about big shifts that currently reshaping their industry, so that PR and marketing people can better understand and engage them. Her stint in the local edition of Fortune magazine earned her the 2011 Anugerah Adiwarta, one the prestigious journalism award in Indonesia. But when she isn’t drafting articles, Andina Dwifatma devotes her times to looking closely at today’s ever-changing media landscape. She’s passionately curious about the powerful force of new media which disrupting journalism. In fact, she cofounded PanaJournal last year as a way to reveal her take on the digital media. The blog features long-form contents and human interest stories. (A disclaimer: The writer of this post is also one of PanaJournal co-founder.) I caught up with Andina to ask her about how the traditional news outlet intersects with social media, and what drives this trend. Our conversation, lightly edited, below: Q: The traditional media landscape has drastically changed, and we’re witnessing the flood of social media. Is technology driving these trends? [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="180"] Andina Dwifatma of PanaJournal says that the rise of social media in Indonesia is really about the way people consume information, not merely about technology.[/caption] A: For the media shifts, technology isn’t everything—at least in Indonesia. I teach communication studies at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, and we discussed about this too. Though we’ve seen big pickups of internet users, internet connection in Indonesia lags far behind its regional peers. Our internet speed is still roughly around 2.4 Mbps. Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand get way better speed, over 3 or even 5 Mbps. So the rise of social media in Indonesia is really about the way people consume information. They now use social media as the new source of information. For all we know, traditional media no longer serves as the primary outlet for news and information. Part of that shift has to do with a culture of instant communication. People shares content over social network because they want to be among the first to know, and the first to inform or to break on the “news”. Share first, verify later. Q: So, news outlet couldn’t keep up? A: Interestingly enough, news outlets get dragged down by these trends. They’re sourcing their news items from social media. We’re seeing journalists exclusively write a news article based on a tweet or Facebook status of celebrities or politicians. In addition, tv stations broadcast video from YouTube as news items. This is now part of newsroom routine. News media just couldn’t differentiate itself from social media. They’re leaving the so-called journalism creeds far behind. Q: What does this mean for business or brands? A: It could be a double-edged sword. If brands or companies want to capitalize on this trend, they must do it effectively, with well-spoken campaign. Just recently, a photo went viral about a consumer who allegedly received a bar of soap from a big e-commerce company, instead of a smartphone he had previously ordered. Suddenly everyone woke up to it. Lots of news websites picked up the story which first broke on Twitter. But not long after that, people discovered that the incident was perpetrated by the rival company. It was only a part of the e-commerce wars—one of the fastest-growing sector in Indonesia. *** Visit PanaJournal at www.panajournal.com for further reading. Patrick Hutapea is the Audience Development Executive in Indonesia for PR Newswire.
Media Q&A – SWA Media Inc., Indonesia
Media Q&A is a series of interviews with media insiders about big shifts that currently reshaping their industry, so that PR and marketing people can better understand and engage them. SWA (pronounced “swah”, not S-W-A) Media Inc. started out with a business magazine, SWASEMBADA—literally means “self-supporting”—which was first published in 1985. At that time, the Indonesian government initiated an economic program to curb imports by increasing domestic production. Since then, SWA—its present and shortened name—has been considered as the country’s largest business magazine with over 200,000 readers, according to the latest Nielsen Media Index. Moreover, it now has several sister publications, such as MIX MARCOMM, book publisher, research units, and business events under SWA Media Inc. I recently sat down with Kemal Effendi Gani, SWA Media Inc.’s Chairman and Group Chief Editor, to talk more about publishing business, content strategy, and where SWA is headed next. Here’s an edited excerpt from our conversation: Q: How do you cope with a falling trend of print readership? [caption id="" align="alignright" width="235"] Kemal Effendi Gani, Chairman and Group Chief Editor, SWA Media Inc., says he will not abandon print media.[/caption] A: First of all, we’d like to think that our products & services have now gone beyond the magazine. We have organized major business events and awards. Not only that, we also conducted business-related research and surveys. But beyond-the-magazine strategy doesn’t mean that we will abandon the print business. Thanks to our corporate subscribers, we can still maintain the print copy sales. In fact, some companies purchase a quite large number of our print copies on many occasions. Q: So you still can’t abandon print—yet? A: Well, it’s really a matter of choice. Some of our consumers still prefer to read our print copy. But some prefer the digital edition, or even online. For example, I love to read Fast Company on my iPad. As for local magazine or newspaper, I still prefer the print version. Q: Where does the digital innovation take place at SWA? A: For recent years, our digital editions have been available at the local digital newsstand. In near term, we plan to revamp our website. The new web design will be more responsive, and work well across all devices. Also, there will be more new channels. We’re going to feature our business surveys and corporate ranking onto the websites. These will be reference guides to Indonesia’s business landscape. What’s more, we will be opening up for more content partnerships. In recent months, we have established content syndication with Tempo, one of the leading media group in Indonesia. Nowadays, collaboration is the key to a sustained success.*** SWA is our current content partner in Indonesia. Visit their website at www.swa.co.id for further reading. Patrick Hutapea is the Audience Development Executive in Indonesia for PR Newswire.
Why Distribution is a Must-Have Strategy for Content Marketers in 2016
Raise your hand if you’ve produced any eBooks, case studies, surveys, reports, webinars, user guides, whitepaper, videos, infographics, in-depth research studies or articles in the past 3 months. Now raise your hand again if your eyes hurt when you saw the ROI, and thought to yourself that you’ve wasted all that time despite your flawlessly-executed hard work. What did you miss? What should you have done? The brutal fact is that the majority of the content published on the internet is simply ignored and receives very few shares and links these days, according to a joint study done by BuzzSumo and Moz on the correlation of shares, links and content. Their data also suggests that people are not very good at amplifying content. Also, in the latest 2016 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends report, only 30% of the B2B marketers say their organizations are effective at content marketing (an 8% decrease from last year). Mmh.. I am not going to ask anyone to raise their hands for this one … Moving forward, content distribution has finally earned its spot on the list of top six content marketing trends to watch for in 2016. In his recent piece, marketing content specialist Ted Karczewski talked about how most marketers have only just started to understand the value of distribution as part of their content marketing strategy, “In 2016, content amplification and distribution will be the latest in the line of skills you’ll need to master if you want your content to be found, read and internalized by a loyal audience. Yes, many brands have invested in amplification already, but their efforts have often missed the mark. No one is doing this well yet.” Karczewski has indeed struck the right chord. Let’s all face the reality for a second here: As content marketers, “content creation” should no longer be your primary job focus. Without a carefully defined distribution and measurement strategy on our agenda, we are just old-school typing machines waiting to be replaced. You need to add distribution to your content marketing matrix, and be able to justify the ROI of your communication efforts to your boss. Too much to put on your already full plate? I get it. Let’s just start with a few things that you need to think about: Leverage paid distribution channels for greater reach. Another effective, and very often overlooked, paid distribution channel to add to the mix is newswires. As technology continues to evolve at a ridiculously fast pace, news releases are no longer the “old-school” and “outdated” corporate announcement tools you're still thinking about. Compelling content combined with eye-catching and relevant multimedia elements have introduced a new form of high quality visual storytelling that can help you expand the reach and amplify your message. Press releases are not only restricted to merely announcing a piece of company news, they are also a key distribution channel for reaching a variety of content goals. More importantly, they can also help you drive leads. You heard me: LEADS. Here’s a great example: IBM published a multimedia news release this year to share its new findings on millennials and today’s workplace. Inspiring conversations around the hot “millennials” topic with the content directly appealing to its audiences (CIOs and human resources professionals), this creative piece incorporated a tweetable headline, viral-ready memes and an obvious call-to-action – a link for people to download the full whitepaper. So what’s the key takeaway from this brilliant tactic? Instead of sharing a boring announcement on the launch of your 90-page case study that no one reads about, identify the most interesting elements of your ebook, study, infographic, video, (and the list goes on, of course), then develop a thought-provoking story around your center message with some sneak peaks of those key elements, and hammer it home by giving your readers access to read the full piece of content via a link. Ta-da! Now you have a winning story and LEADS to show your boss. Content syndication. Another strategy to increase the exposure of your content is to have it syndicated across a network of websites and promote it to their audiences every time you publish a new post. Smart marketers these days will review all their options and take advantage of a variety of distribution channels to achieve their goals. Connect with the Influencers. Keep an eye on the trending/emerging topics within your industry and always be ready to insert yourself into conversations with the experts and influencers around you. If you have the right buy-in in your press release that’s of interest to the influencers (and try to get a quote from them too!), that would encourage them to share your content with their audiences as well. Also, check out this one-stop tool Agility - it allows you to monitor news topics across the web, research and target quality individual journalists, and report on your ROI. Make it shareable. “Today’s great storytelling requires you not only to make a story interesting, but also make it easy for somebody else to tell” was one of the key highlights emphasized by Michael Pranikoff, the Global Director of Emerging Marketing at PR Newswire, at this year’s Media Coffee event in Hong Kong. In addition to embedding all the click-to-share social media buttons, adding multimedia to your content has also proven to help you drive discovery and increase social sharing. Don’t stop there. Today’s customers are hungry for stories. As Karczewski pointed out, content marketers need to go beyond the “one and done” content strategy and begin to see opportunities to expand upon ideas or create ongoing episodic content around themes. Instead of sending one press release to announce the rebranding strategy of your company, think about distributing multiple stories around the rebranding theme to reinforce your core message, appeal to new and current audiences by pitching different story angles and elements, and extend the shelf-life of your topic. Always evaluate results and tweak your strategy when going forward. As marketers, having a comprehensive measurement strategy in mind is a no-brainer. As with any marketing strategy, we need to test the water and factor in the results to plan our next step. Evaluate which type of content was best at generating exposure and bringing in new leads, then incorporate those insights into your next amplification strategy. We can spend hours on this topic, but I hope this short list of remarks will inspire you to start trying a few new things and growing your audience. Pouring your heart and soul into a piece of content does not guarantee lead generation anymore. Allocate your time and hard work wisely and spend more time on a distribution strategy that can fully utilize your budget and deliver maximum ROI. Please share with us if you have any feedback in the comments section below. Cheers and go get some leads! Eki Isabel Lau is the Marketing Executive for APAC (excluding China) at PR Newswire.
3 tips for writing a fabulous fashion news release
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Courtesy of Ryan McGuire[/caption] Got a passion for fashion? Great. But when it comes to writing a story about fashion, how do you dress it up to woo your viewers? An increasing number of companies, including the “higher forces” fashion and beauty industries, are realizing the importance of utilizing news release distribution services to amplify their messages. After all, it does not matter how appealing your piece of clothing is if no one can see it. Yet, in today’s age of everything newer-better-trendier, how do you write a “stylish” story so it immediately catches the attention of all the fashionistas, even to the point of getting them to respond to your desired call to action? Read on for several tips to help you start polishing your story: 1.The no-brainer: Fashion is all about appearance Fashion is all about “the look”, just as your story. It is essential to make your story look just as amazing as what you are selling – it defeats the point when you are hosting a modern, crisp and ground-breaking fashion show when you have a dull and vibe-killing story. Very often, when your readers read a press release, their attention is not first drawn to the content of the article, but the accompanying images. Therefore, you need to include one or even several high quality pictures to enhance the readability of the press release. This April, PR Newswire published a press release entitled Diesel Art Director Presides Over Shanghai International Fashion Week that reaps the benefits of using powerful and relevant images to help the audiences quickly grasp the essence of the story -- what the event was about, the setting of the scene, as well as the look and feel. 2. Unique and interesting formats are emerging and are quickly becoming popular As one of the most influential fashion designers, Coco Chanel once said, “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” With the multiplication of emerging media platforms, news releases are also constantly evolving and companies are finding new ways to connect with their ever-changing audiences. That also means as marketers, you have to be agile and keep thinking of ways to stand out from the competitive crowd. As today’s technology offers more room for brands to be creative with their content, companies should take the liberation in delivering higher quality of content to their viewers. Don’t be afraid to add some attention-catching videos and other multimedia assets to your story – it helps the viewers visualize the content and drives more visibility to your story. Givenchy’s latest multimedia news release is a good example of utilizing multimedia assets to tell a better story -- the content serves as a backbone in providing all the details (yes, also a downloadable fact sheet) to the reporters who need to cover the story, then they tossed in a good variety of compelling videos and images to reinforce the message, and making it shareable by using all the social media buttons. 3. Like fashion, your press release should “wear” all the right elements. I am sure you’ve heard of a list of fashion rules like “Oh dear, brown and black don’t mix” or “Petite girls shouldn’t wear maxi skirts”. Similar to fashion, a good press release needs to be statement-making and unique; yet, there are some “rules” that you need to abide. Be clear on your objective. For example, if your release is about your company, make sure you are communicating the core message your company wants to express, and not merely giving a bland introduction to the company’s products and services. Fluffs are always unflattering. Don’t simply glorify how fabulous your brand is or how you are the best/most prestigious/most respected brand out there in your story. Our increasingly sensitive and smart readers don’t want to read fluff. The advertising-like news release will not be picked up by the media. The trick? Up your storytelling game by angling your story in a way that matters to your audience and helping them connect to your core message. Don’t be boring and let your brand’s personality shine in your story. Be timely. What’s the latest topic in the industry? Can you create your own hot trend? Remember to be newsworthy – like fashion, news need to be fresh and proactive. Answer the “so what”: What makes you stand out? Identify your uniqueness and how your story relates to your target audience. Communicate early and effectively on why they should care. Don’t forget the 5Ws and 1H: A clear mention of when, where, who, what, why and how. The majority of these facts should be included in the most significant paragraph to allow the readers capture the important elements in the beginning. Keep an appropriate length. Like clothing, your story shouldn’t be too “loose” or too “tight”. You want your story to have concise wording and look put-together. So reduce the use of clichés, superficial words and jargons. As a general rule, the ideal length of a news release in most cases is between 400 and 800 characters. Finally, the facts must be accurate.To respect the discerning reader, contents should neither be exaggerated nor deal in hyperbole. Using supermodel and television host Heidi Klum’s quote on Project Runway to wrap this up, “As you know in fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day, you’re out.” Writing a remarkable fashion news releases requires one to be skilled in bringing all the right elements together, while knowing when to break rules and be creative enough to add some super-chic twists to their story. There is no really fixed formula on writing a perfect fashionista story, but the key is to practice more and have the audacity to own your story. Have fun! The blog post was translated and adapted from this original article written by Jill Li, Audience Development Executive for PR Newswire. Please indicate the source and link for reproduction.
Meet the Media: Asia-Pacific Biotech News
Based in Singapore, Asia-Pacific Biotech News (APBN) is a premium monthly magazine offering comprehensive reports on the fields of pharmaceuticals, healthcare and biotechnology, as well as food and agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region. Established in 1997, the magazine boasts a circulation of 4,000 and an electronic reach of 200,000. Its main subscribers comprise pharmaceutical professionals, investors and researchers from around the world, in addition to Singapore’s National Library Board and universities. Readers have free access to APBN’s online articles, but are required to pay a subscription fee for its PDF and print versions. What makes APBN unique? The trade publication reinforces its reputation as a leading life science and pharmaceutical magazine in the Asia-Pacific region by featuring interviews with industry experts, such as Professor Michael Whitt from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Professor Bian Junhui, Dean of Shantou University Medical College. Together with covering the latest developments in the life science industry, such interviews help add credibility and value to the magazine. “We are also working very closely with renowned pharmaceutical companies, especially Merck, Roche and Pfizer to get them actively involved by contributing articles,” added Ms. Lin Yuhui, APBN’s Editor-in-Charge. “The main goal of this trade publication is to have pharmaceutical and healthcare companies learn more about the key activities of academic researchers, as well as broadcast their recent projects.” On top of that, Lin hopes that the interviews would provide the younger generation with a better understanding of the research field and motivate them to pursue their interest in that area. How does APBN carry out brainstorming for feature story ideas? According to Lin, the editorial team draws inspiration from current affairs and topics that potentially interest readers. For example, Lin saw the opportunity to touch on anti-MERS-CoV drug development in the midst of the outbreak and scheduled an interview with Professor Jiang Shibo, a virologist and expert in vaccination development. The feature story was not only pertinent to the theme of “Preventative and Translational Medicine” for APBN’s July issue, but also touched on a viral news story. Who handles the media at APBN? “The editors handle the media and interviews, because there should not be a second person who knows the magazine and the content better than the editors,” explained Lin. “We also attend media invites from pharmaceutical companies, as we are familiar with the industry and are able to relate to them.” Having jumped on board the social media bandwagon with the creation of APBN’s Twitter and Facebook pages this year, Lin plans to expand the publication’s social media presence by registering for an Instagram account in the coming weeks. “The previous editors were probably new to social media and not too confident about dealing with it; hence, they decided to focus more on the print version and website,” elaborated Lin. “Social media allows us to share news and knowledge with individuals who might not be too familiar with the life science industry but want to know more, and helps our content go viral.” Tips for conducting an interview: Lin believes in the importance of performing adequate research before carrying out an interview and taking on a more diplomatic approach when probing into sensitive issues. “Editors and journalists need to consider the repercussions that might come with the questions posed to interviewees when addressing such matters,” she explained. Interested individuals may arrange a meeting with the editors via biotech_edit@wspc.com or +65 6466 5775. For more information, please visit Asia Biotech or follow APBN on Twitter and Facebook. About the Editor: A graduate of Imperial College London, Ms. Lin is well-versed in the fields of demography, epidemiology and molecular biology. She has pursued a PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, and resided in Europe before returning to Singapore. Lin joined Asia-Pacific Biotech News in June 2015, and enjoys attending media invites, conducting interviews with industry experts and reading. One of her all-time favourite books is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Janice Tan is the Audience Development Executive in Singapore for PR Newswire. If you would like your publication to be featured, please get in touch at hkmedia@prnasia.com. Follow us on Twitter for more media related news.
Content We Love: Using Infographics to Dominate the Competition like a “Terminator” at the Gym
By Niphon Goodyear One thing that weightlifting has taught me is to NEVER just show up. When it is time to train it’s time to go 100% and for press releases and life in general, you never just want to go through the motions. Go hard or go home. You don’t want to be that guy or girl who goes to the gym and mopes around in the corner doing an occasional set of curls whenever their friends stop replying to them on WeChat. You also don’t want to be that guy who lets out a primal scream each time he manages to lift more than 3 pounds. No, you want to cut through the distractions with something bold, something different! -13 celsius and windy? No problem. Time to do a set. Agoda has really pushed the envelope with its newest press release. You can tell they went to the gym ready to do a thousand squats. No, there would be no slacking by Agoda, they came out ready to lift some heavy weight. The release "Agoda.com Study Reveals Travelers' Prefer Free Wi-Fi to Free Breakfast" jumps out at you with one of the more effective press release enhancers around: the infographic. Surprisingly, I don’t run across very many release with infographics and there really should be more companies out there that utilize these wonderful tools. Here are two UNFORGETTABLY AMAZING reasons why infographics will help ANY press release: Does Things that Photos and Videos CANT Do! We all know that the inclusion of multimedia powers up your results. But what if you want to try something different? And why would using an infographic be worth it against the proven results of photos and videos? Well, infographics convey information quicker than any video can and they are more in depth than a simple picture. Previously boring statistics suddenly become fun and colorful via the magic of colors and design. The key is to providing relevant information. Information regarding what people prefer in terms of hotel amenities is interesting to those who would read an Agoda release and useful to not only consumers but also hotel management. Encourages People to Share the Release! Infographics are popular because most people are visual thinkers. Therefore infographics are much more effective in terms of allowing readers to retain information than a standard press release which would take several paragraphs to summarize everything in word form. Of note, per Graphs.net, searches for infographics increased by 800% between 2010 and 2012. Being easy to understand, infographics are often shared on social media allowing for increased exposure that can be measured. Notice that Agoda has included their logo at the bottom right of the infographic. This increases brand awareness. People will associate the numbers presented with Agoda which means next time they are preparing to book a room online, they will probably visit Agoda.com. Unsure if Agoda was thinking about social media when they wrote this release? Look no further than the following call to action: "To connect with Agoda.com and learn about special deals and promotions on hotels worldwide, like us on Facebook or follow us on Google+, Instagram, or Pinterest." As if that wasn’t enough, Agoda could take things even further by expanding their presence on other popular international social media platforms. Infographics are international and people everywhere regardless of their level in the language appearing on an infographic will be interested in what an infographic conveys provided it is designed similar to how Agoda designed theirs. The sky is truly the limit when you are thinking of adding an infographic to a press release!
The Case of Moleskines: Old-School is Still In
The below article was written by Celine Wu, the Audience Development Executive for PR Newswire. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the advent of online notebooks and word processors amongst various other digital solutions, one wonders if old-school traditions remain relevant in The Internet of Everything era. Surprisingly, the answer is yes. The consistent double-digit sale growth of the Moleskine proves the relevancy of traditional tools. Their success lies at the core of their brand; the Moleskine has evolved. The analog now has a digital strategy that has aided its exponential growth, such as the brand’s new app, “Timepage” that syncs online calendars into one interface, or its newly-launched “Moleskine Smart Notebook”, that will sync what’s on physical paper digitally into Adobe Photoshop. The cult following of the Moleskine and other paper notebooks such as the viral Passion Planner over online solutions proves its purpose resonates still with consumers, that it’s more than mere nostalgia for the past. People still prefer substantiating their thoughts and ideas into tangible form on paper. Thus, tellingly, it’s the tandem growth together of digital and analog that is the resilient trend. This savvy bridging of physical and digital worlds is the next big trend and will continue to engage audiences, as seen with the Internet of Things and 3D printing. The lessons learned in the case of the Moleskine can be carried over to press releases, another “dusty relic” that has some skeptical of its relevancy. Despite critics, the majority of both PR professionals and journalists still insist on the importance press releases and newswires as a communication channel. Much like those who use Moleskines as a way to synthesize their thoughts, PR professionals still use press releases as an important means of corporate communication, whether as an official statement verifying facts and direction of the company, or demonstrating thought leadership. In fact, while journalists are slowly turning to social media for story ideas, reliability is a major concern and still depend on PR professionals for primary research and context. The trick then, is to evolve digitally. Take Chevy’s emoji press release. As analyzed in our previous blog post, this release had the elements to optimize your press release, capturing the attention of your digitally-native audiences. Firstly, it was creative and fun, writing specifically for the texting-savvy generation. Secondly, they included multimedia, and thirdly, the release invited engagement by including the vital call to action with Chevy’s social media channels. Therefore, even as tech geeks have apps and journalists have social media and alternative channels, the tandem growth of the Moleskine along with Apple, as well as press releases along with social media, have proven that integration of new-school and old-school is the more sustainable strategy to adopt.
Content We Love - Setting a precedent: Why producing an unexpectedly good press release is only the beginning
http://en.prnasia.com/story/119912-0.shtml I do my grocery shopping online, and when I do I always get the same American red apples delivered. I’ve probably bought them every week for the last six months. But the last time they arrived, they were battered, bruised and spongy. I hate soft, grainy apples so even though statistically they’ve been exactly what I wanted 98% of the time, I’m considering not buying them again. As press release editors, as with consumers, the expectations we have can make us complacent, so the good experiences – be it a good apple, a good meal at a restaurant or a good press release – pass with very little fanfare. I got what I have come to expect. But the bad ones? They live longer in the memory. The more releases we read, write and edit, the more experience we gain. Experience breeds expertise, and expertise in any field invariably leads to snobbery; so for those of us who’ve chosen a career in the journalism game, it’s important to address the balance and give credit where credit’s due. The majority of the releases we receive pass through the editorial team without a hitch – high quality, and as such unremarkable in that ironically and complacently forgettable kind of way. But poor releases are not uncommon, especially from companies taking their first fledgling steps in the arena that is news distribution. What is less common, is when one of these newbies hits the nail on the head at the first time of trying. Down to a science The release I have in mind is by a company called Air2Nitrous (A2N); it has stuck with me for a number of reasons, and I’ve referenced it several times before. Firstly, I put quite a lot of my own time into advising the client on what he should and shouldn’t include. He freely admitted he was ‘new to all this’ but he was very open to advice, a humility that is much appreciated by editors. Secondly, I didn’t understand the science behind what the product does, but such is the simplicity with which it was explained, I now kind of do. Speaking in layman’s terms is something I think even experienced clients often fail to grasp. Allow me to demonstrate: “Air2Nitrous is a 'first phase' (prior to and during combustion) electronic emissions control system. It works by increasing the amount of oxygen molecules and decreasing the amount of nitrogen molecules present in the combustion chamber. More oxygen in the combustion chamber means a more complete burn of particulate matter and less nitrogen means less NOx output.” I’d say that’s some complicated science explained in a way most people can at least get some sort of handle on. Getting it right first time But what struck me most about this release, is it sounded like the guy had invented a really good product. For a company distributing its first release, it sounded genuinely newsworthy, and although I’m not aware of A2N sending any subsequent communications to date, I think they could be on to something. A good title: “Breakthrough Engine Technology Simultaneously Reduces Emissions, Saves Fuel and Increases Engine Power” and a good first para: “Air2Nitrous (A2N), a breakthrough engine technology that lowers critical emissions in engines while both saving fuel and increasing engine torque, is now available for global markets” and there’s the backbone of a good release right there. So if Air2Nitrous does decide to send any releases in future, the bar has been set high and likewise my expectations. I expect to understand what I am reading, I expect the content to be engaging, the product to be impressive and now that a precedent has been set, I will be disappointed if my standards are not met. Welcome to the cut-throat world of business and consumerism. How do you like them apples?
Chevy’s emoji press release: thumbs up or unamused?
Who says press releases are old-fashioned and boring? On June 22, Chevrolet published the first-ever emoji-only press release to introduce the new Chevy Cruze. “Words alone can’t describe the new 2016 Chevrolet Cruze,” the company explained, “so to celebrate its upcoming reveal, the media advisory is being issued in emoji, the small emotionally expressive digital images and icons in electronic communication." Different. Isn't it? As a 24-year-old millennial who considers herself as quite emoji-literate, I’ve taken the liberty of decoding the first section before I looked at the official translation (and no cheating!) Happy people love car If you’re cruising around in a big city with loud music blasting, then stop. In two days, a new car that chicks will love will arrive at 11 p.m. Remember to charge your phone and stay connected for this striking announcement. Also fill up your basketball, football, soccer ball, baseball, tennis ball, tennis ball and your bike with gas. Yes, get pumped up, give a thumbs-up to all good breads, dress pretty, and let all the happy faces know what is going on. “The new car is going to turn your world upside down with brand new ideas,” said a beardy auto-mobile salesman wearing an old red tie. Well, okay, I was way off, but at least this emoji-laden press release caught my attention, challenged my thoughts and was entertaining. And, obviously, I was not alone. This emoji-packed teaser drew many attempts on the Internet before the official translation came out, and some of these emoji-savvy gurus were beyond hilarious when deciphering all these smiley faces and heart emoticons (for your entertainment, look up #ChevyGoesEmoji on Twitter to see all the bizarre translations). Chevy is not the only brand that is dipping into this emoji craze. In 2014, Oreo targeted mainland Chinese parents with a successful mobile social campaign that allowed them to take pictures of themselves and their children offline and paste their heads into emojis. In less than three months, the campaign generated approximately 100 million emojis and nearly 10 million emojis were shared on WeChat. Although some may dismiss Chevy as being overly gimmicky or trying too hard to be trendy and relevant, all in all, I do think there are some great elements in this press release that we can all learn from: 1. Be creative and have fun! Press releases about events, new product launches, anniversaries and awards can be very formulaic and tedious. Before you say, “Oh, but the emoji press release was too cryptic and completely incomprehensible”, think about this: Could a 500-word news release about the seating and fuel efficiency of a new car draw your eyeballs and generate as much enthusiasm as this emoji-only press release? Yes, this emoji-filled press release may seem vague and limited. But isn’t that the point? The ambiguity piqued the interest of the audience to see the decoded version. While I don’t encourage you to jump on the emojis bandwagon, it is refreshing to see a traditional brand taking a step out of the box and being a little playful with their stories. 2. It captured the media’s attention. Any PR pro can tell you how challenging it is to grab the attention of journalists these days. The brutal truth is that many journalists may receive up to a hundred press releases each day. Exacerbating this fact is the shrinking of newsroom staffs and the proliferation of media platforms. Journalists now only spend less than one minute reading each press release they actually open, according to a study by Greentarget. That means that PR and media professionals need to be more creative if they want free press. Chevy’s news was picked up by many major media players, including USA Today, The Guardian, Business Insider, Fortune, MarketWatch, PR Daily, The Verge, AdWeek and Morningstar. I would assume that the media team at Chevy popped a great amount of champagne in the office for this successful PR stunt. What Chevy could have done better though, was to offer well-rounded meals to whet the reporters' appetites. Remember, most reporters would still want the nuts and bolts (yeah, the 5Ws) so don't just serve them desserts and forget to provide them the fulfilling, hearty entrées. If you are not helping the reporters determine what to write about your story, then you are leaving it to them to cover whatever they want, and in the end, it may not comes across as you had intended. And yes, press releases can be creative and functional at the same time. For example, last year Amazon.com did a cool variation on press releases when it distributed a press release to announce the new Kindle Reader in a series of 14 separate tweets, each plugging a different element of the new product. The innovative, yet informative, press release was picked up by many journalists, and more importantly, its shareable nature allowed journalists share the tweets extensively on social media. 3. Tell an interesting story – humanize it and use multimedia elements. While an emoji-only press release may not be for everyone, I do applaud Chevy’s effort in injecting some personality into their story and relating to its audience in a more human way. Another good way to tell a good story is to support it with multimedia elements, such as compelling photos, videos and infographics. Multimedia content is considered as one of the most powerful components in storytelling. Not to mention that adding visuals can help transcend language barriers and allow brands to tell their stories across borders. The rich elements help increase media pick-ups and drive audience engagement with the content. For example, check out this Porsche’s multimedia news release that compiles all of the rich multimedia assets including logos, compelling images a video, social updates, and related links - it's comprehensive, it's rich with content, more importantly, it gives the reporter everything they need to write about you. 4. Invite engagement. The call to action in your press release is vital, whether you want people to download your content, follow your social media or seek more information about your product. It’s not every day that you see a brand asks its customers to decode an emoji press release, but there are other ways by which you can invite engagement and plug in your call-to-actions in your press releases. The use of multimedia, including videos (check out our latest hand-drawn corporate video), images, landing pages and social media feeds have proven to increase engagement when included in part of your communications strategy. While a smiley face-filled press release might be seen as a clueless attempt if Chevy’s goal was to get a message across, it has outdone its job if the primary goal was to get the young consumers talking about Chevy. Again, it all depends on your primary objective and how strategic you want to be. 5. Write for your audience. We always stress the importance of understanding your audience’s interests and reflecting them in press releases. Think about what you can do to differentiate yourself from other marketers and what story angle you can use to capture your audience’s attention. As one of the most traditional, well-respected automobile makers, Chevy has taken a creative approach when catering the message to a younger generation of consumers. Again, that’s quite risky, because not all journalists like gimmicks, but the effort paid off. Just hours after the release was issued, different versions of the decoded release surfaced and were shared on social media. As media and audience demand change in our increasingly digital world, press releases will continue to evolve. The prizes are there for those who take the initiative to experiment, learn from their mistakes and are willing to captivate the readers with engaging and creative elements. The key is to always keep your audience in mind and constantly re-evaluate what you can do to engage with them. I personally would like to give my two thumbs-up, smirking face, and muscle-flexing emoticons to Chevy for their recent effort. What do you think the future holds for press releases? Eki Isabel Lau is the Marketing Executive for APAC (excluding China) at PR Newswire.
MEDIA NEWS: Media Moves at Hong Kong Economic Journal, Thomson Reuters Jakarta, Johor Times, Today Singapore and More......
PR Newswire’s Media Research Department makes thousands of updates to the database of journalists and bloggers that underpins our Agility media targeting and distribution platform. Below is a sampling of recent media moves and news across Asia-Pacific from the research team Hong Kong Hong Kong Economic Journal @HKEJGROUP Ms. Miu Lau joined as Reporter (Supplement) Indonesia Thomson Reuters - Jakarta Bureau @Reuters Mr. John Chalmers replaced Mr. Jonathan Thatcher as Bureau Chief Malaysia Johor Times @JohorTimes Mr. Zulkifly Ali joined as Online Editor Singapore Today @TODAYonlin Mr. Derrick Paulo replaced Mr. Agatha Koh Brazil as Voice Editor Mr. Carl Skadian replaced Ms. Jenny Kong as Deputy Chief Editor Mr. Tan Yo-Hinn replaced Mr. Leonard Thomas as Deputy Sports Editor Mr. Christopher Toh replaced Mr. Phin Wong as Features Editor Ms. Annette Tan left as Food Writer Mr.Joni Ng left as Product Manager Mr.Shamir Osman left as Reporter Mr. Peter Yeo left as Deputy Editor Ms. Venessa Lee left as Correspondent . To see the rest of the recent media moves and news across Asia-Pacific click here Charmaine Chow is the Media Research Manager for PR Newswire. For more media related news, follow us at @PRNA4media.
5 ways to use press release analytics to define your international PR strategy
The world is a big place, but with every passing year, it feels a little smaller. Thanks to e-commerce, goods can be sold anywhere. Search engines allow people to find you halfway around the world, and a bit of cultural immersion is possible through social media. Today’s brands must have a strategy in place for communicating their message across different geographies. In the APAC region, many corporates distribute their news releases globally or within the region through PR Newswire’s solutions and services in order to increase their exposure, expand their media coverage and reach their target markets. Although distributing a press release to international media can expand your reach farther than ever before, the challenge lies in gauging the success of your efforts – especially if you don’t have offices or teams located in all of your key markets. Knowing whom you are reaching, and why you want to reach them, is essential. Here are five tips on how your brand can use press release analytics to define your global communications strategy. 1. Start with a look at your campaigns’ overall performance. You must be able to show the overall ROI of your project at a glance. Maybe that means giving a high-level view of your success from project to project, or using metrics to demonstrate the validity of a particular expense. Being able to quickly share data with your brand’s leaders is crucial to marking your campaigns’ success. Although they may not want to hear about every outlet that ran your content, the top 10 websites with the most visitors per day can give them an idea of the audience (and potential customers) that saw your message. For example, in the Visibility Report that we send to our clients after the news release distribution, they can review their audience engagement and web traffic. If your management is interested in knowing the lead generation, tracking how readers engaged with your content is a helpful indicator of success. Performance overviews can also be useful in better aligning future content with your business goals. For example, if you see your content is continually ranking high in search results, but clickthroughs, social shares and other engagements are on the lower end, try adjusting your calls to action so that they more clearly prompt your audience to take the action you want. Case Study: This May, Destination NSW issued a press release to promote Vivid Sydney, an 18-day festival of light, music and ideas, using PR Newswire’s premier global distribution package and generated an impressive media pickup from all over the world. With vivid photos and compelling content, the news release was picked up as a news item by more than 933 media organizations and leading industry websites including Bloomberg Asia, Reuters, AAP, , International Business Times, MarketWatch, The Jakarta Post, Kyodo News, Antara News, Yonhap News, Johor Times, The Telegraph India, The Malay Mail Online, and The Business Journal. 2. Dive into individual markets/regions. Although report overviews have their merits, it’s also important to examine how your content did on a micro level. Are there international markets that did (or didn’t do) particularly well? Pay attention not just to which regions are responding to your news, but also how your message is performing in different languages. Seeing which news organizations viewed your content could help you identify new leads for more personal media follow-ups. Did a journalist at a key outlet view your content? You might have just identified a trade publication that could help build your brand in a new local market. Doing some research is always an essential step when you enter a new market - you need to have a good understanding of your target markets in order to shape a strategic local communications plan. To get you started, here is a free download of the first Asian Media Landscape Series white papers that provide you some insights into the media landscape in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. If you are interested in knowing the unique media environment in Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia, download the second series of white papers here. 3. Use benchmarks to gauge personal success and develop content. Almost every aspect of business has benchmarks, or gold standards, companies aspire to. Reporting is no different. On the one hand, it’s helpful to know how your campaigns compare against other brands in your industry. However, there are a number of external factors that go into developing these benchmarks. Many times, your campaigns can be more accurately measured by comparing your success against previous campaigns you did. For instance, you can learn a lot by taking note of content that prompted a larger-than-usual number of search results. Most likely, you used keywords that were appropriate to your audience and their particular search habits. The audience you’re writing for isn’t an algorithm; it’s a collection of unique individuals across different geographies. You need to understand how they are searching for content like yours. The successes and failures of your previous content are good places to start. 4. Track engagement success in your known markets. If you haven’t distributed content internationally before, you’ll want to start in the markets where you already operate or have customers. When communicating in your known markets, differentiated reporting – which breaks down your results in each geographic region – gives you the ability to compare how your content resonates with audiences in different countries. For example, did a press release you send to Indonesia and Singapore perform better in one country over the other? If you aren’t getting the level of engagement you want in a particular market, consider how to tweak your content. Are your website’s landing pages localized for different regions? Is your white paper available in different languages? The markets you’re targeting all have different needs. Looking at the reporting for each country will help you ensure your calls to action are clearly defined for them. 5. Don’t forget about identifying new target markets. Outside of your target markets, there’s a whole world of opportunity. Perhaps a press release you targeted to Western Europe also received a spike in views or clicks from India or Thailand. In our experience, we often have clients receiving unexpected coverage out of their target market when we distribute their news releases. For example, we may distribute a news release to the United States for a Chinese company and receive pickups from the media market in India. Here’s why: The news releases we distributed to the United States would usually get picked up by well-known financial websites or industry news sites, and they would also get republished by websites outside of America. Second, the audience in India could often locate our client’s content through organic search. Different markets develop at different speeds and with different capabilities. Just because you haven’t thought of targeting your message to people in the Philippines, doesn’t mean they aren’t searching for companies like yours. Reporting can help you identify these markets so that you can start to build a cadence of communication there, with their local media and in their language. Having comprehensive campaign metrics in hand will help you not just prove the value of your current PR efforts, but also inform your next steps. This post is adapted from an original article – “How to Use Reporting to Drive Your International PR Strategy” written byAlison Candelaria, director of international sales at PR Newswire. Please indicate the source and link for reproduction.
Content We Love: Learn how companies use microgiving to radiate positive energy in the CSR 3.0 era
[caption id="attachment_3105" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Image courtesy of winnond at FreeDigitalPhotos.net[/caption] Google has recently earned the top spot among the 2014 Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rankings. This is the fourth year in a row that the search engine giant has earned the best CSR reputation, on the heels of the firm adopting the famous “Don’t be evil” tagline for more than a decade. The ranking regularly measures public opinion about a company based on the public’s emotional and rational responses to the company’s messaging. The emotional measurement considered four indicators: good feeling, esteem, admiration and trust, then a separate measurement analyzed seven factors: leadership, financial performance, products and services, innovation citizenship, governance, and workplace environment. The term “corporate social responsibility” was initially described by Adam Smith, an 18th century economist and arguably the father of modern capitalism, as the “invisible hand” – individuals seem to promote societal interests more effectively when they only focus on pursuing their self-interest. Later on, the concept shifted to be used for maximizing profits, drawing attention to environmental concerns and social responsibility movements. Today, the corporate communications community has chosen to improve their corporate image and brand reputation through different microgiving projects, as the opportunities to engage public with their CSR activities seem to be boundless. According to statistics compiled by PR Newswire in 2015 (by June 1), the most common themes of CSR-related press releases and their percentage breakdown in terms of how often each theme is used are as follows: Although CSR projects mainly focus on issues related to women, children, health and the environment, food security, poverty and disasters, campaigns with the same CSR theme could result in different outcomes and reputation, based on how companies tell their stories. In this case, here is how two separate companies presented their CSR campaigns under the same theme (making donations to children in need): Scenario A: Company X expresses its heartfelt affection and concern for disadvantaged children through a clothing donation program On June 1, 2015, Children's Day, company X officially launched a public service campaign to donate clothing to the poor, expressing their sincere caring and heartfelt warmth for and offering companionship to the "left-behind" children across China. Scenario B: Panasonic brought “lantern zoo” to an Indonesian village in collaboration with NGO Kopernik. At the end of February 2015, Panasonic made a lantern donation and hosted a lighting ceremony in the village of Sone, a village in Indonesia's West Timor that has no access to electricity. The “Cut Out the Darkness” project, as part of Panasonic Corporation's “100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project”, delivers solar lanterns with lantern shades designed by individuals from around the world, in the hope of making people aware of the challenges of living in places that have no electricity. Highlights: The later example, unlike the typical PR story that focuses on the company’s products and services, tells the story objectively. It instantly inspires the reader’s imagination with just a few sentences about the launch ceremony of the “Zoo of Light”, bringing to mind the Loy Krathong Festival in Chiangmai meant to evoke a romantic tone. “At the lantern-lighting ceremony, all kinds of animal designs on the shades appeared suddenly, as if floating in the air, when the solar lanterns were turned on.” The background of the village is revealed through great storytelling, which does not sound canned or made up in any way, and it does a wonderful job at touching people’s heart. “In the past, weaving by hand under the light of a kerosene lamp at night was inefficient, strained the eyes, and exposed households to health risks from the kerosene smoke. The newly-donated solar lanterns can be recharged by sunlight during the day and then used at night.” Leaders’ speeches were not delivered in the usual official rhetoric, and, as a result, did not degrade the significance of the event and the benefits to the local people. Local government officials expressed their sincere appreciation on behalf of the villagers, while the project leader emphasized the sense of unity he felt when engaging in the lighting ceremony together with the local villagers. Multimedia elements including photos and video also make the story more vivid, compelling and original: it’s not just a photo of leaders cutting the ribbons, but of the local children smiling under the light of the new lamps. So here’s the question: how could you make a press release stand out from the crowd? Is it by being a self-absorbed writer who screams, “look at all the goods I have done?” or is it by telling a genuine, original and effective story that your readers can relate to and be able to connect that positive emotional feeling with your company’s image? The secret is to highlight what makes your story and your brand different - don't be boring, don't try to be someone else, be authentic and own it. The form of an event must be novel and unique, and the event must be tactfully relevant to your company. Find a great story to tell and find the right channel to communicate it. Here’s a classic case: Coca Cola vending machine dispenses cola and smiley faces With its theme “A Happy Opening”, passers-by just couldn’t resist hugging the Coca Cola vending machine adorned with the “Hug Me” logo. The Coca Cola creative campaign, distributed worldwide, appealed to people around the world to take on a positive, optimistic and fun-filled attitude towards life, aptly conveying the literal meaning of Coca Cola’s Chinese name. The news release, with its unique and creative design, was selected as one of PR Newswire’s Top 10 Chinese-language Corporate News Releases in 2012. The designation was based on a set of criteria that took into account the news release’s newsworthiness, effectiveness as a communications vehicle, online awareness and the amount of pick up on microblogs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: PR Newswire By Cathy Zhao, Senior Editor, PR Newswire This is an original article written by PR Newswire. Please indicate the source and link back to the original when reprinting.
MEDIA NEWS: Media Moves at Metro Daily Hong Kong, Bisnis.com, AlCircle, Taiwan Architecture and More.....
PR Newswire’s Media Research Department makes thousands of updates to the database of journalists and bloggers that underpins our Agility media targeting and distribution platform. Below is a sampling of recent media moves and news across Asia-Pacific from the research team. Hong Kong Metro Daily (Hong Kong) Mr. Alan Ng left as Assistant Chief Editor - Supplement Lifestyle Mr. Jeff Lee left as Chief Editor Ms. Cherlie Chan replaced Ms. Jessie Tam as Editor (Supplement) Indonesia Bisnis.com @Bisniscom Mr. Bayu Widagdo joined as Online Editor Singapore AlCircle @Alcircle Ms. Beethika Biswas joined as content Head Taiwan Taiwan Architecture Ms. Hsu Jing Yu joined as Editor To see the rest of the recent media moves and news across Asia-Pacific click here Charmaine Chow is the Media Research Manager for PR Newswire. For more media related news, follow us at @PRNA4media.
MEDIA NEWS: Media Moves at Berita Minggu, Prestige Singapore, ET News Internet , Maeil Business Newspaper and More......
PR Newswire’s Media Research Department makes thousands of updates to the database of journalists and bloggers that underpins our Agility media targeting and distribution platform. Below is a sampling of recent media moves and news across Asia-Pacific from the research team. Malaysia Berita Minggu @bharianmy Ms. Norhayati Said left as Executive Editor Singapore Prestige Singapore @Prestige_SG Ms. Genevieve Jiang replace Mr. Dylan Boey as Managing Editor South Korea ET News Internet Ms. Hye-Young Song replaced Ms. Se-Hee Hahn as Reporter Ms. Seon-Ki Lee replaced Mr. Won-Mo Koo as President Mr. Jae-Young Kim left as Web Content Editor Ms. Eung-Kyung Lee joined as Editor Maeil Business Newspaper Mr. Yong-Seong Jang left as Publisher Mr. Ku-Hyun Yoon left as Chief of Distribution Economic News Division To see the rest of the recent media moves and news across Asia-Pacific click here Charmaine Chow is the Media Research Manager for PR Newswire. For more media related news, follow us at @PRNA4media.
MEDIA NEWS: Media Moves at Economic Digest, Media Indonesia ,Dong A Ilbo and More.....
PR Newswire’s Media Research Department makes thousands of updates to the database of journalists and bloggers that underpins our Agility media targeting and distribution platform. Below is a sampling of recent media moves and news across Asia-Pacific. Hong Kong Economic Digest@edigesthk Mr. Lui Shu Fat left as Chief Editor Ms. Karen Yu left as Editor Indonesia Media Indonesia @MIdotcom Ms. Wendy Mehari replaced Ms. Heni Rahayu as news reporter Ms. Windy Dyah joined as Economics writer Mr. Toeti Adhitama left as Head of Group Editorial Board Mr. Usman Kanstng joined as Editor-in-Chief Mr. Brama Setyadi left as Editor South Korea Dong-A Ilbo @dongamedia Mr. Soon-Taek Kwon left as Director of Publication Station & Editor Mr. Hyung-Kwon Boo replaced Mr. Hyeon-Jin Park as Correspondent – New York To see the rest of the recent media moves and news across Asia-Pacific click here Charmaine Chow is the Media Research Manager for PR Newswire. For more media related news, follow us at @PRNA4media.
Content We Love: A “Dino-mite” Release
It’s not every day that a release about a dinosaur skull lands in your inbox, and it made me sit up (and make bad dinosaur puns, apologies for the title). The release is about the auction of a 65-million-year-old fossilized Triceratops skull named Lung Wong (or “The Dragon King”), the first of its kind to be sold in Asia. Granted, not every release can feature the magnificence of The Dragon King, but there are successful elements within the release that are applicable to any piece of content: 1. Hook them in with the right headline Your headline is the first impression your release makes so make it short and sweet. Oftentimes, journalists only see the headline as the subject in their inbox, and they have a split second to decide whether or not they want to click – don’t let them skim past yours! There are a few things that the headline, “World’s Largest Most Complete Dinosaur Skull for Sale In Hong Kong, Valued at USD1.8m”, does right. Length: The ideal range for headlines is from 80 to 120 characters. This title has 85 characters, which also means it’s easily shared on social media with additional space for hashtags and pictures. Another tip to improve your SEO is that the most important keywords are within the first 65 characters, in this case “world’s largest” and “dinosaur skull”. This is due to search engines only displaying the first 65-70 characters of your headline so stick them in the front. Numbers: Research shows that headlines with numbers outperform those without. Knowing that the dinosaur skull is worth USD1.8m adds value and facts to the story, cementing another reason why we should care about the article. 2. Have arresting multimedia We’ve said it multiple times before, but let us hammer it home: images and multimedia are crucial for media pick up for a variety of reasons. In this digital age, audiences are more likely to click on articles with images and it keeps them there for longer, thus journalists are required to produce more content with multimedia. Lastly if you save reporters the time providing great multimedia ready to use, then they are more likely to use your release. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] A dramatic photograph of Lung Wong, a Triceratops skull[/caption] Needless to say, this release has really outdone itself in how they have photographed and arranged the dinosaur skull, aptly named The Dragon King, as the focal star of the image. These dramatic images win eyeballs. The only way this could get better is with a video. 3. Local content is king Localize your press release so it’s relevant for your target market and don’t spray and pray. Understand the cultural norms and journalistic practices. Lastly, make your release available in local languages. For example, our case study makes their release not only relevant for Asia, but to Hong Kong and China through the symbolism in the name of the fossil as well as knowledge of traditional practices such as feng shui. This opens new avenues and ideas for journalists to pursue for story ideas, for example the wider context of fossil collecting in the Greater China region. The more relevant your press release is to local journalists, the more traction it will gain. Celine Wu is the Audience Development Executive for PR Newswire.
Content We Love: SFCE Announces Strategic Co-operation Agreement with AVIC
Release link: http://en.prnasia.com/story/119060-0.shtml Press releases that are chosen for the Content We Love blog are chosen from a number of quality candidates because they shine brighter than their counterparts. In a way, the ideas behind each press release is like “star matter” floating in a nebula somewhere in outer space. [caption id="attachment_2989" align="aligncenter" width="179"] Two Objects Dominating the Night Sky[/caption] Writing a press release is similar to how a star forms When the press release writing process begins, the writer’s thoughts become the building blocks and focus creates the “gravity” that begins to pack the star matter closely together. Soon the atoms of the material are compressed to the point that a fusion reaction begins. When there isn’t enough star matter to sustain the reaction, brown dwarfs (褐矮星) (poorly written press releases) are formed. Yes, they exist but they do not radiate any visible light. Looking up at the night sky you see nothing. Reading a release that is low on star matter (ideas, details, etc), you’ll take in nothing. People only remember good press releases and looking up at the night sky you only remember the stars that shine the brightest. That star that seems so bright when you look up at the night sky is not always the closest star but rather the star with the lowest magnitude (the press release that is written in the most effective manner). For people standing on Earth, the brightest star is Sirius (天狼星), today Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited’s release is the Sirius of the press release universe. 5 Things that set this release apart from others Headline: Good content starts with a strong headline. This press release starts with a concise, headline that gets people interested. Exciting and to the point, it written in an active voice and includes keywords. Connects with Readers: Readers in general will be looking for a connection between what is written about in a release and their own lives which makes it imperative to write the release in a way that will let readers understand just how exactly it benefits them. As mentioned in the release the contract signed was for forming a joint venture aimed at promoting Energy Management Contracting (EMC) projects. Who feels the “connect”? Not me, but wait there is another sentence that appears in the CEO’s quote: “..The EMC model will bring about an overall energy-savings up to 50% to 70% of costs from our green solutions.” Connection established. This agreement means COST SAVINGS for those interested in SFCE’s green solutions! Inclusion of a Photo: Photos expand audiences by up to 180 percent and videos can expand audiences by up to a whopping 1000 percent. Engagement sharing and visibility for this release were further bolstered by the photo which provides a visual glimpse into the signing ceremony. USEFUL quotes: Quotes should include senior management and appear in the body of the release as opposed to making their entrance at the bottom. They should also be thought of as a way to communicate how your company feels about the news being presented and possibly include other pertinent information In this case, the CEO’s quote, which appears in the second paragraph, explains the significance of the contract signing while providing a glimpse into the future. The addition of a quote from the General Manager of the AVIC Trust helps to further augment the release. Boilerplates: Boilerplates should also be included in releases as they are an ‘About Us” paragraph that should contain facts about the source. These facts should include such compelling information such as the company’s mission, pertinent product information and other hard facts that will allow journalists and bloggers to quickly learn about your company which in turn increases the odds that they will find the release interesting enough to share. Some people might not be familiar with one or both of the companies in this release. That’s why every release should include a boilerplate.
“Help Me, Help You”: 3 Tips to Pitch Media Successfully
Remember that scene in Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise utters one of his famous lines, “help me, help you”? Well, to successfully pitch to the media, you need to essentially channel Jerry Maguire. Help them first: be the solution to the obstacles they’re facing, and they’ll help you. Firstly, what are the issues that are plaguing reporters? Recent surveys have shown that despite the technological advances and fancy workflow programs, 68% of reporters are more unhappy and overworked now than five years ago. Why is this? Workplace satisfaction is dropping, newsrooms and resources are shrinking, yet journalists and media professionals are required to produce even more content than before in this multichannel age. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Infographic from Isebox's study on journalists[/caption] Behind the rise of native advertising and advertorial is the fact that the tides are turning, branded content is welcomed and a great resource as 77% of journalists surveyed in the APAC region say that their news organizations publish branded content. Thus, here is how PR and marketing professionals can help alleviate the mounting pressures: 1. Press releases save time – but here’s how: Even as social media is slowly becoming a hotbed of breaking news and story ideas, the issue remains that tweets or Facebook posts are often not an official source, lacking a certain amount of verification that is essential in reporting standards. Press releases, on the other hand, are an official and verified source, as shown in a joint survey by Cision and George Washinton University. Journalists depend on press releases and PR professionals for their primary research, either for more information or interviews and access to sources and experts. Here’s the key though: write releases that saves journalists time. How? Use accessible language they don’t need a large amount of time to edit Get to the point quickly and ensure your takeaways are obvious Write releases with the media’s audiences in mind – have a story, a context, and an understanding of the readers Have the media contact information within the release More importantly, ensure the veracity of your release and be a dependable source 2. Let them receive your pitch on their time via email: Journalists still like it old-school: 90.7% of reporters prefer email as the channel for pitching. So don’t try to pitch to “journos” via Facebook or Twitter, email is your best bet and ensure your headline is relevant, catchy, and to the point. 3. Provide multimedia to save them time: Each week, 75% of articles published contain multimedia content, yet most pitches journalists receive only contains text. This results in reporters putting in extra time and effort to source their own images, which is sometimes not possible due to deadlines despite great written copy. There is a reason why the importance of multimedia has been repeated again and again, and why extremely popular websites such as Buzzfeed include so many pictures and videos. Multimedia is desirable with 86% of audiences wanting more visual and interactive content. As savvy PR professionals and marketers, we should be providing these for editors. Save them more than an hour by including a high resolution logo and photos within the release, and ensure the file isn't too large for their mailboxes. Guess whose pitch is more likely to be picked up? In short, package your press release so it’s easily digestible and ready for journalists. Think of it like this, if someone wanted to wear a dress, the probability of them buying a readymade one off the rack is much higher than someone buying a piece of fabric and a sewing machine. Jerry Maguire was really onto something with “help me, help you”: help the reporters out by saving them time, and they’ll be much more willing to help you out as well. Celine Wu is the Audience Development Executive for PR Newswire.
Brands cannot just do English-Storytelling in Asia
The 2015 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), with the theme “Asia’s New Future: Towards a Community of Common Destiny”, was held in Boao, Hainan province on March 26-29. Finance.huanqiu.com and the People’s Daily joined hands in launching a Chinese column entitled “Boao in the eyes of enterprise leaders” (企业领袖看博鳌), authored by Chinese firms that are leading in overseas expansion and their comments after attending Boao Forum. This article translated from “在亚洲，企业不能只用英语讲” is authored by Chen Yujie, PR Newswire’s senior vice president of the Asia-Pacific Region. A giant dragon made up of chips and electronic products appeared on a recent cover of The Economist, with the tagline “Made in China - New, improved and stronger than ever”. The quality of China-made products has been vilified by US and European media for decades. This recent cover of The Economist is a turning point in the attitude of Western media toward “Made in China”. This achievement can first be credited to the constant efforts in product innovation and in the substantial improvement in quality on the part of Chinese manufacturers. Yet, the positive effects of marketing and communications activities can’t be overlooked. After struggling for years, many Chinese firms have established different professional communication channels and relationships built on trust with media outlets across the US and Europe. Frequent exchanges of information and communications between companies and markets are essential skill that needs to master by firms that want to stand out from their competitors in the global business environment. However, when thinking about how to promote the two strategic initiatives, “Asia’s Community of Common Destiny” and “One Belt, One Road”, being rolled out by Chinese leaders, we have to admit that in the aspect of communications, there are challenges in Asia when compared to US and European markets. Asian firms have been engaging in a growing number of collaborative efforts over the past several years. At the beginning of this year, Japanese ITOCHU Corporation partnered with Thailand Chia Tai Group to inject 1.2 trillion yen (approx. RMB64.4 billion) in CITIC Limited, a sum that is nearly the equivalent of the annual GNP of Mongolia. An increasing number of Chinese companies are choosing Asia as their key overseas expansion market. A prime example is Xiaomi which selected Singapore as its first foray outside China. Some of these manufacturers are already adept in communicating with US and European media; however they seem rather inexperienced within the Asian media environment. Contrary to US and European markets, languages and cultures vary greatly among Asian countries. Taking media as an example, the most influential media in each Asian country is usually in local language which US and European media finding themselves having limited influence. Even in countries such as Singapore, where the official language is English, the most influential media groups have limited influence across Asia. Japan and South Korea are excellent examples of countries where the penetration of English is so low that the presence of influential English-language media is scarce. Chinese businesses going abroad are used to using English as the medium for communication. Language barrier is a key challenge for effective corporate communication. Yet, we have no shortcuts at least in the near term. In addition to the differences in languages and cultures, each Asian country is at a different stage of development in terms of the media mix. According to the second series of PR Newswire’s Asian Media Landscape White Paper, traditional media outlets such as newspapers remain highly popular in Thailand. New media is gaining popularity and most internet users in Thailand are within the 12-35 age range. Google boasts a market share of nearly 100% and popular social media channels in the country include Facebook, LINE, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. South Korea is a media-friendly, tech-savvy country with an internet penetration that is the highest in the world. Naver is the country’s most popular search portal. Kakao, equivalent to WeChat in China, is the dominant mobile messaging app. As Southeast Asia's largest economy, Indonesia has one of the best media environments among the ASEAN members. It is one of the largest mobile ad markets by volume in the world. Newspapers are the third most popular medium in Indonesia and influential English media outlets are scarce. Given the series of challenges brought about by these language and cultural differences as well as the varied stages of media development in these countries, Chinese companies are in urgent need of gaining deeper understanding of the characteristics of the target markets, so that they can comfortably and skillfully communicate with both local media and local audiences. In the economic arena, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a development bank strongly supported by China, is undoubtedly set to play an important and profound role in the development of the entire Asian economy. Likewise, when it comes to communications, it has become increasingly necessary for China to create a cross-region media communications platform, so that it can help governments and companies across the region reduce communication costs and build relationships based on mutual trust. The role of Chinese media and communications firms is to become a major driver of this effort by establishing more communication channels with local audiences, leverage on the enormous opportunities in the increasingly integrated Asian market, by learning from the experience of their European and American counterparts and committed by investing necessary resources. They can and should seek out appropriate partners to establish a media communication alliance, in part of the effort to facilitate communications between companies and audiences across the region. PR Newswire is ready and willing to play an active role in the overseas communication programs of Chinese companies by capitalizing on the advantages of its global media network. About the Author: Yujie Chen is the Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific of PR Newswire since June 2013. He oversees all of PR Newswire Asia Pacific category groups. Yujie joined PR Newswire in 2003 and has served in a number of senior leadership positions during his time with the company. Most recently he was Managing Director of PR Newswire China, responsible for PR Newswire’s China operations and corporate strategy. Prior to joining PR Newswire, he worked as a consultant with CNBC in Shanghai, and before that as project manager for DeLuxe Global Media Services in Los Angeles. Yujie has an M.B.A. from UCLA and a B.A. degree from the Beijing Foreign Studies University. He also summer interned at Dow Jones & Co., in New York. Source: Translation is based on the Chinese article - “在亚洲，企业不能只用英语讲” which first appeared in Huanqiu.com. This article is translated & edited by PR Newswire. Please indicate the source and link for reproduction.