The 5 Most Viewed Press Releases from July: Load Up on SEO Tactics for Higher Ranking and Readership
Lots of digital media experts will lure companies and content creators with the promise of increasing their SEO (search engine optimization). Better search engine results = more clicks = more people coming to your release = more people coming to your site = increased traffic = increased business. It makes sense why some press release writers will seek out this expertise. However, knowing some of the main components of SEO will help you craft better releases that will get more views. Important features to remember are: Structure the release with H1, H2 and H3 - Headers, Sub-headers, and highlights in bullets Keep the release concise Add relevant & optimized multimedia with alt-text and caption Write naturally with specific keywords, and avoid overusing jargons Link to relevant sites and further reading The top 5 releases of July represent writing that takes note of the above standards to push themselves to the top of search engines. 1. Toshiba takes on the world's smallest LiDAR - Improving the "Eyes" of Autonomous Driving Toshiba’s release is an optimized release due to the clear and concise paragraphing. Releases featuring digestible, shorter paragraphs receive ranking points over large, blocky releases. Likewise, the release’s multimedia feature suitable captions. Accessibility is a key component of search engines. 2. Coway's Award-Winning Airmega Air Purifiers Finally Come to Australia Coway’s release makes reading easy. Bulleted lists and sub-headers guide the eye. Search engines reward this type of organization. If your release is simple to read, it will be more likely to rank higher in searches. To help guide readers to your main points, add 1 or 2 sub-headers in the release body to outline the main points in the paragraphs that follow. Split up key information into easily digestible bullets or lists to assist readers in the key takeaways. 3. President Director Sunarso Named as The Best 'SME Banker of the Year' by The Asset Triple A Multimedia relevance is important to search engines. If your release doesn’t have a photo, find one. A self-created photo beats a stock photo every time. Be sure that your photo is clear but compressed. Photos of smaller file sizes allow for more speed, which search engines love. Including alt-text or captions with your multimedia will allow search engines to prioritize your release over those without them, so that everyone can interact with the page. 4. Thailand Uplifts Contemporary Cultural Crafts to the International Market with the Tribal Project No matter what you do to try to trick the search engines, if your release doesn’t contain quality content (aka a quality story or good information), the ranking will quickly drop. This release utilizes a good story with key information and keywords of that information to help search engines connect it to readers searching for specific keywords. Note the keyword strings in the first paragraph that an engine could easily catch for similar keyword searches: “entrepreneurs”, “create added value”, “contemporary products”, “support”, and “contemporary design”. 5. Trip.com Group and Singapore Tourism Board strengthen collaboration to promote Singapore as a destination of choice Like the Department of Cultural Promotion of Thailand, the Trip.com Group release focuses on common, natural language in their release that people using a search engine would naturally type into their computers. Along with this search engine optimizer, they have also included several links in the release, which will increase their relevance score. Search engines love a release with relevant links that help build the release’s authority.
The 5 Most Viewed Press Releases from June: Visual Engagement via Multimedia
Including multimedia in press releases increases potential engagement from journalists, which use the content to inform and extend their stories. Not only do photographs, videos, audio clips, infographics and illustrations help contextualize a story, they add a visual or aural dimension that also engages consumers. As outlined in Cision's 2022 Global State of the Media Report, more than four in five journalists (81%) have recently used photos to accompany content over the past six months. Video is also popular (47%), followed closely by infographics (41%) and social media posts (39%). The omission of multimedia content in a press release could be a missed opportunity. The following releases from June had higher than average page views. All the news releases come with at least one photo or video. 1. Jasmine Food emphasizes the importance of well-balanced meals during this Aidilfitri Jasmine Food’s Multimedia News Release (MNR) landing page includes a video and 4 photos that showcases the company’s product in the background for added visual interest. 2. Payboy Launches Paybeyond to Help Streamline International Businesses' Payroll and HR System Payboy System’s Multimedia News Release (MNR) gained over 16k views on PRNAsia.com, which is about its integrated payroll and remittance system that can pay out local and overseas-based employees. The earned media pickup from MARKETECH APAC condensed the text to an easier digestible format and utilized the MNR landing page video to create a GIF to embed into the middle of the article. 3. Supporting the Low-carbon Development of Automotive Industry, GWM Opens Over 1,000 New Energy Vehicle Patents In addition to announcing the number of patents opened last year, this carmaker uses this product shot to show a newly launched hybrid SUV in its lineup. 4. Next.e.GO Mobile brings its sports model to the Goodwood Festival of Speed Among all the perfectly edited product shots, a real-life picture with real customers showing interest in the product could be a way to standout. 5. TMYTEK Launches Antenna-in-Package Solutions for 5G Mobile and SATCOM This trade show photo packs a lot of information in one image. The company representatives present new products in front of a backdrop which clearly displays the company logo and product highlights. Content Spotlight: LILYSILK Honors World Environment Day with Sustainable Living Initiatives The company adds this image to express its support to World Environmental Day. The picture, which shows the harmony with nature, is well picked and being used by a few media like Newslanes, Yarns and Fibers, and Los Angeles Issue. The takeaways: Multimedia content will connect your brand with the target audience and help to add a visual aspect to your message. The Multimedia News Release (MNR) format, showcased above as #1 and #2 examples, is a fantastic way showcase your multimedia content on a dedicated branded landing page.
Behind The Byline Podcast: With Rachel Lee, Assistant Editor, TTGmice and TTGassociations
As more popular destinations reopen, Rachel Lee, Assistant Editor at TTGmice and TTGassociations, discusses what travel trends she expects to see. Having spent seven years with the Singaporean travel publications, Rachel witnessed the ups and downs of the tourism sector. But no circumstances before transformed the media landscape as dramatic as the Covid-19 pandemic. Only recently Rachel was invited to attend a media familiarization trip to Australia. During her visit to a trade show in Sydney, she picked up a story about how crucial working holiday makers were in addressing labor crunch there. “After two years of doom and gloom, being able to write such thing again and meet people in person is very different from writing on a computer,” said the assistant editor. However much we expect the return to ‘normal’, like it or not, hybrid arrangement is one of the key changes being integrated into our daily lives. With no exception of the MICE industry, Rachel said she would pay close attention to hybrid events, new digital gadgets that can contribute to travel experience, and Metaverse. Nevertheless, hotel openings, destination announcements, trending products, and hot deals remain evergreen topics for travel media. No matter what theme the pitch is centered around, Rachel advised PR professionals to learn more about her company, read some of her articles, and understand the audience (travel agents, corporate organizers, and event planners) before submitting a proposal. In the fourth episode of PR Newswire’s monthly podcast series, Behind The Byline, Rachel shares how media pitches can be improved. She also discusses the travel trends she is looking out for. What’s more, Rachel talks about her experiences on recent media familiarization trips and her most memorable assignment to date. The podcast is available on Spotify, Anchor, and YouTube. Listen to the podcast Here’re the highlights from the podcast: 1. How are things seem to be picking up with more countries lifting their restrictions? Recent (travel) news coverage has been through the roof. I have never been busier this time over the past few years. It’s been really refreshing to do travel news again. Everybody is excited, everybody is ready to go. After two years of doom and gloom, this is really great. I was given a chance to attend two media familiarization trips to Thailand and Australia. The feeling of flying off and taking off nearly brought me to tears. And the number of ideas, pictures and stories generated from these trips is what motivates me. 2. What type of news in the travel industry are you looking out for now as travel boundaries are reopening? We take any press release that comes from travel and hospitality. Sometimes it depends on whether they are angled towards our publications or not. We do hotel openings, we do destination announcements, we also run ‘What to Buy Now’, which is for travel agents to be kept updated of the freshest products that come out from different attractions or hotels. We also run ‘Hot Deals’. These are more consumer-facing packages. It is to let the travel agents know that these exist that they can sell to their customers. 3. What is the memorable assignment or interview that you have done in your career? It has to be my very first time I was sent alone to visit Japan. This is way back in 2017. It was my first solo travel trade show which I had the freedom to sniff around for stories, talk to people, and muster the courage to politely stop someone and speak to them. Most of the stories that come out from these trade shows are the most I am proudest of. 4. How do you think media pitches to you can be improved? Sometimes press releases are blindly sent to us, but again it may not be something under our control. It will help when PR professionals read up our company, look at some of our articles and think of our audience, which is travel agents, corporate organizers, and event planners before putting forth a pitch that could interest us. SOUNDBITES 1m01s: Rachel’s introduction 1m51s: More about TTG Asia 2m46s: Travel media gains momentum as more countries lift restrictions 4m09s: Travel news Rachel is looking out for now 5m15s: Rachel’s experiences on recent media familiarization trips 6m12s: A regular workday for Rachel 6m48s: Rachel’s most memorable assignment and interview 8m35s: Stories that Rachel looks for when attending B2B travel trade shows 9m35s: Media pitches that capture Rachel’s attention 11m30s: What Rachel does if she receives interesting yet insubstantial press releases 12m24s: Press release headlines that stand out 13m46s: Some other reporting by Rachel 14m27s: How media pitches can be improved 16m14s: Ways for PR pros to maintain a good relationship with media 16m54s: Upcoming travel trends and events NOW READ: Behind The Byline Podcast: With Vivian Liu, Technology Journalist, Commercial Times Look out for upcoming episodes of the Behind The Byline podcast on our Spotify, Anchor, and YouTube channels, so be sure to subscribe to them to receive the latest episodes! Stay tuned!
Behind The Byline Podcast: With Vivian Liu, Technology Journalist, Commercial Times
For Vivian Liu, Technology Journalist at Commercial Times, a major financial newspaper in Taiwan, she did not start out wanting to become a journalist. An avid learner of languages and cultures, she was a university exchange student in France, where she majored in French. After graduation, her first job was a sales specialist, who was responsible for channel development for consumer electronics products in French-speaking countries. However, it was at that job, where she discovered an interest in writing, which paved the way for her to become a journalist. And she hasn’t looked back since. Today, Vivian has been working in the media industry for 10 years – most of it was spent on reporting on finance and economics. Her work also includes translating foreign financial news, editing, and interviewing. She now focuses on interviews with C-suite executives and entrepreneurs. Vivian says: "The best thing about being a journalist is that I can meet people and gain experiences in different fields every day." Through interviews, she has also amassed contacts with C-level executives in the finance and technology sectors. In fact, she feels that, in addition to interviewing company executives, she also enjoys chatting with employees to get a more holistic view of businesses. She explains that many employees are the front-line personnel, who sometimes know more about the actual company situation and can get her closer to the truth. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="748"] PR Newswire’s Sharlene Chou (right) chats with Vivian Liu (left) Commercial Times Technology Journalist on the Behind The Byline Podcast.[/caption] As a reporter, she also thinks attitude is very important. One thing that she always reminds herself is that no one is irreplaceable. Journalists may wield a lot of influence through words, but once "the hype” is removed, she often reflects on what’s left. As such, she feels that it is very important to be humble and always keep the spirit of learning. In the third episode of PR Newswire’s monthly podcast series, Behind The Byline, Vivian shares about the news cycle of a financial newspaper, which revolves around the operations of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, and her most memorable interviews with the who's who of Taiwan's tech industry. She also shares how she prepares for her interviews with CEOs and entrepreneurs and what keeps her going in the fast-paced tech world. When it comes to press releases, Vivian shares what types of content get her attention when it comes to tech products and services, and the tech trends that are on her radar. The podcast is available on Spotify, Anchor, and YouTube. This podcast episode is conducted in Chinese. Listen to the podcast Here’re the highlights from the podcast: 1. Share with us what your day-to-day work schedule is like? In addition to publishing breaking news in the morning, I need to produce two more stories for the print version of the newspaper for the next day. This must be done before 2 pm on each day. As for my work schedule, I usually check to see if there are important press conferences. If not, I will make appointments for exclusive interviews or work on articles on special topics. Typically, journalists in a financial newspaper are quite busy in the afternoon. The Taiwan Stock Exchange trades from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm on weekdays. Even after the market closes, we will need to pay attention to important online company announcements on their business and revenue. As such, we are very busy from 1.30 pm till 5 or 6 pm. In addition, listed companies tend to release the monthly earnings report by the 10th of each month. So, we are also busier from the 1st to the 10th of every month. And, we will also look out for quarterly financial reports. 2. When you receive so many press releases in your mailbox, which ones grab your attention most? Journalists receive a lot of press releases daily so the email subject lines are very important. Usually, I ignore press releases with lengthy titles that are written in overtly ‘marketing’ language. If the headline seems like an ad, I will ignore the email. Take e-commerce for an example, I received a lot of press releases in the lead-up to Mother's Day and Singles’ Day. Many press releases that were sent by e-commerce companies focused too much on their products and promotions, so it is difficult to cover them. I would be more interested in the press releases that can offer different perspectives and trends by comparing relevant data from previous years. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="423"] Journalist Vivian Liu (right) interviewed Sean Lim CEO of Indonesian e-commerce start-up All Young in 2019. (Photo courtesy of Vivian Liu)[/caption] 3. You have interviewed numerous CEOs and entrepreneurs. How do you prepare for such interviews? Before the interview, I would familiarize myself with industry happenings by reading recent financial reports of the newsmakers’ companies. Sometimes, I can come up with interesting questions by looking at the figures in these reports. In addition, I would look up more information on the newsmaker online and his/her related news. As interview opportunities with C-suite execute do not come often, I would plan my questions ahead and group them into 3 categories: industry observations, company operations, and about the interviewee. I would ask these questions all at once so that I can also leave a little more content for future stories. 4. What are the upcoming trends in 2022 that you would be keen to cover? I prefer interviews with start-ups and venture capitals rather than listed companies, as I think that I can be exposed to new ideas, knowledge, and entrepreneurial concepts. Trend-wise, I think that Web 3.0 is the next wave of the Internet revolution, especially with DeFi, GameFi applications of blockchain, and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which is a hot topic. For more insights into the workings of a technology journalist and media pitching tips on pitching technology stories, listen to this podcast episode now! SOUNDBITES 1m35s: Vivian’s introduction 2m50s: What got Vivian started in journalism? 3m41s: Newspaper production process in Commercial Times 4m31s: Busiest working hours of a journalist 5m21s: Trading calendar plays a crucial role 5m54s: Tips on making PR articles stand out to the media 6m37s: Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected journalists? 7m01s: Differences between in-person interviews and online interviews 10m01s: Vivian’s most memorable interviews 11m25s: How does she prepare for interviews? 13m11s: The best part about being a journalist 15m37s: Biggest takeaways of being a journalist 21m09s: Importance of writing effective pitch headlines 22m11s: Tips on creating unique PR content 23m42s: How media pitches can be improved? 30m58s: Ways to maintain a good relationship with the media 32m50s: Upcoming tech trends NOW READ: Behind The Byline Podcast: With Luisa Tam, Senior Editor, South China Morning Post Look out for upcoming episodes of the Behind The Byline podcast on our Spotify, Anchor, and YouTube channels, so be sure to subscribe to them to receive the latest episodes! Up next in June, we will be chatting with Rachel AJ Lee, Assistant Editor of travel trade publications, TTGmice & TTGassociations. Stay tuned! This article is written by Sharlene Chou, Audience Development Specialist, Taiwan at PR Newswire.
Behind The Byline Podcast: With Luisa Tam, Senior Editor, South China Morning Post
From receiving childbirth advice from former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten on an event stage to jetting to Sydney for an in-depth conversation with British pop singer Mick Hucknall (of Simply Red), Luisa Tam, Senior Editor of the South China Morning Post, has encountered a spectrum of colourful personalities during her journalism career that spans close to four decades. The veteran editor, who is based in Hong Kong, also recalls cancelling her evening plans to cover a fire in the Diamond Hill estate in a cocktail dress and high heels once. “As a journalist, you can’t really plan your evenings - it is not a good job to have when you are dating,” she quips. However, what keeps Luisa going in the fast-paced and unpredictable nature of the news industry is the ability to see the world through the perspectives of diverse newsmakers. She says: “Every day is a new day to me – you get to live a different life by experiencing and living their stories through writing about them.” These days, she manages the People & Culture section at SCMP, which covers human interest stories on and from China and supervises a team of reporters there. Besides helming two columns, My Hong Kong and The Naked Ground, Luisa is also well-known for hosting SCMP’s popular Learning Cantonese video tutorials on social media. In the second episode of PR Newswire’s monthly podcast series, Behind The Byline, Luisa shares with us highlights of her illustrious media career, the importance of soft news stories and how public relations professionals can better pitch their stories with sharper content. The podcast is available on Spotify, Anchor and YouTube. Listen to the podcast Here're the highlights from the podcast 1. What's a regular workday like for you? Besides writing my columns, I also manage the People & Culture section, which I took over and revamped in November 2020. I look after a team in China, which covers on-the-ground local human interest stories, and some have gone viral. Although there are many hard news stories in a newspaper, such as the current COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, but readers also want to relate to these stories and understand how people are surviving in the lockdown. So, we did a lot of fringe human interest stories that tell the behind-the-scenes story of the Shanghai lockdown. These stories do quite well and draw readers to our platform to read the other stories. 2. Looking back on your career, what’s one of your most memorable assignments? One of them was travelling to Sydney to interview English pop singer Mick Hucknall (of Simply Red) in the lead-up to his concert in Hong Kong. He was famous for being outspoken about politics, so I had to find out more about him before the interview. In those days, it wasn’t easy to do background research on a person without the Internet, but I manage to find some news clippings on him. In the end, we had a long two-hour chat. It was also the first time I also saw a bathtub in the middle of a hotel's living room as part of its design. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="703"] PR Newswire's Kate Wong (right) chats with Luisa Tam (left) South China Morning Post Senior Editor on the Behind The Byline Podcast.[/caption] 3. How can PR professionals catch the attention of journalists through their media pitches? You need to have words that draw the attention of journalists in the subject line of the pitch email. At the moment, people are tired of the word ‘COVID’, so they need to relate it with something that people would pay attention to. They can be related to living longer and healthier, and something that would give people a little bright spot in their lives. One way is to go to Google to find out the catchphrases that people are searching for. I believe some of the terms people are searching for include healthy life, happiness, anti-stress, etc and use these catchphrases in the subject lines of your email pitch to catch our attention. 4. What upcoming trends/topics/events in 2022 that you would be keen to report on? Everything that has to do with the reopening of the world. After 2.5 years of living under the influence of COVID-19, it is time to get back to the life that we used to know. For example, I would like to read up on rebuilding the confidence to go back to work, go out and mingle socially again after being in a ‘work from home’ bubble. Sustaining a healthy lifestyle is trending as people want to live 2022 in a way that they can remember the good years before COVID-19. People also want to be at more peace with the world, so I think anything related to the environment would be quite big as well. SOUNDBITES 1m10s: Luisa’s introduction 1m50s: What got Luisa started in journalism? 3m15s: The attraction of being a journalist 5m: Similarities between PR & Journalism 6m05s: The digital transformation of SCMP 10m50s: What does Luisa cover in SCMP? 11m10s: SCMP’s People & Culture section 15m: How has editorial coverage been adapted to the COVID-19 situation 16m15s: Recent editorial initiatives 18m38s: Most memorable news assignment 21m: Her memorable encounter with former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten 23m35s: Tips on improving PR pitches to media 24m40s: Sharper pitch subject lines 25m20s: Types of useful content from PR pros 26m50s: Upcoming news trends and topics NOW READ: Behind The Byline Podcast Episode One: Reta Lee, Editor-in-Chief, Yahoo! Life Southeast Asia on the role of e-commerce in a media company and trends in lifestyle news coverage Look out for upcoming episodes of the Behind The Byline podcast on our Spotify, Anchor and YouTube channels, so be sure to subscribe to them to receive the latest episodes! Up next in May, we will be chatting with Vivian Liu, Technology Journalist, Commercial Times in Taiwan. Stay tuned! This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Assistant Marketing Manager at PR Newswire.
Behind The Byline Podcast: With Reta Lee, Editor-in-Chief, Yahoo! Life Southeast Asia
Getting stung by clouds of tear gas that were fired by the police while reporting on the Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur might have happened more than 10 years ago, but lifestyle editor Reta Lee still remembers the chaotic scene vividly. Reta, who was working in Malaysia, was part of a small news team, which live-blogged the protest, and had no prior training in protecting herself from the tumultuous situation. Calling it one of her most memorable assignments, she recalls: "The memories are still etched – even the smell of tear gas. Seeing police brutality on the streets of Malaysia - as a journalist, yes, you report all of that. But as a citizen, you also take a little stand and you just want to write the wrong.” Reta relives this surreal memory in her new book, The Stories Women Journalist Tell, a compilation of essays by 22 women journalists across Southeast Asia on their experiences reporting in areas such as politics and lifestyle. She is also the Editor-in-chief of Yahoo! Life SEA, where she helms the lifestyle and entertainment sections of the portal. The veteran lifestyle editor, who is based in Singapore, kicks off PR Newswire’s new monthly podcast series, Behind The Byline. The podcast features interviews with high-profile editors and journalists from a variety of news beats in the APAC region. We get to know our media friends better, from career anecdotes, news trends and developments they are tracking and how PR professionals can work better with them. In the inaugural episode of Behind The Byline, Reta shares how Yahoo! Life SEA's editorial plans have evolved with the easing of pandemic restrictions in Singapore, the lifestyle events and trends that are on her radar and how PR professionals can help her team keep abreast of developments in the region’s vibrant lifestyle scene. The podcast is available on Spotify, Anchor and YouTube. Here’re the highlights from the podcast 1. Your book, The Stories Women Journalists Tell covers diverse experiences of women reporting on the ground, from politics, lifestyle to travel. Why is it important to put out these stories from the perspective of women journalists, and why now? I feel like it's such an important time to tell stories from Asia, as we're getting more diverse stories like the movie, Crazy Rich Asians. And, it's so important because I feel as a society itself, whether in Malaysia, the Philippines or Singapore, it's very much a patriarchal society. And, there is a lack of women representation in the newsroom. While there are more and more women in leadership roles, I feel that there is still not enough support for women journalists whether you are starting off as a rookie or progressing in your career. As I gathered discussions with my friends and fellow journalists, I realised there's a recurring theme - gender biases and underrepresentation. That’s the skeleton of the book that I've always wanted and I vision it to have pillars like news, politics, human interest, travel and lifestyle because there are just so many stories by journalists in different fields. So, I was very, very lucky to have a handful of women who believe in this project, [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="688"] Reta Lee, Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! Life SEA chats with PR Newswire's Kenneth Goh on Behind The Byline podcast.[/caption] 2. The pandemic has dominated the news cycle for the past two years, how has Yahoo!’s lifestyle coverage been adapting to the situation? When we entered the pandemic, I think most of us were forced to take refuge in our own homes and immediately we started creating this new channel called Good Vibes Only because we want people to eat well, exercise, etc, as we weren’t allowed to go out at that time. As a team, we tried different things – I tried different YouTube workouts, and rated them to give our readers a sense of which ones are easy to do. During the pandemic, I was entrusted with a new project on affiliate content or e-commerce. My team worked with some of our merchants through platforms like Amazon, or Skimlinks, where we curate some of the interesting or best products that our readers can find or benefit from. With fashion and beauty products, we forecasted trends like Spring or Summer 2022. And, we are closing the loop by encouraging our readers to shop the look. That's how we curate some of the looks or products that we can forecast from some of our partners. Shopping is actually a very, very big element of what Yahoo is bringing forth right now. In 2021, we made three times the revenue of 2020 [from the shopping pillar], which tells us a lot that readers love bargains and the promotions that we are able to wrangle from our merchants and appreciate what my shopping editors have curated. 3. What are some lifestyle trends or topics that you are on the lookout for your readers in 2022? Travel is something that my team has looking out for. We've been creating a lot of local articles highlighting staycations, activities that we can do, particularly since travel borders were shut, right. We notice that a lot of our readers are looking for unique experiences in Singapore, whether it's a candle making workshop or a good bargain staycation where we can get to celebrate a certain anniversary with loved ones. As travel borders are opening, we are starting to expand our horizon a little bit and create content around Southeast Asia first, and then to places such as Japan, Korea and France. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="765"] Reta Lee, Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! Life SEA interviews Style Theory founders Chris Halim and Raena Lim. (Photo: YouTube Screenshot)[/caption] 4. As a lifestyle editor, you’ve received many pitches to interview personalities. What do you look out for in such media pitches? At Yahoo!, we interview lots of entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs. What I'm looking for is that sense of grit, having gone through trials and tribulations and the challenges that they faced when building their brand. I think it's good to see a lot of their achievements, but I also want to bring forth their own challenges. For example, a single mom who is juggling with managing her business – there's the human-interest element. That's quite interesting to talk about. When it comes to pitchers, I would value it if PR personnel can come to us much earlier because we’ve set some of the story angles in place. It doesn't help us if they pitch an interview with a CEO one day before International Women's Day and I don't have any resources at that time to interview this person as I had already set my editorial calendar weeks before. This is because we knew such events will be pillars of our channel. How do you hope PR pros can work better with you and your team in helping your team to keep abreast of developments in the lifestyle scene? Understanding our editorial calendar, knowing in advance what are some of the events that we'll be concentrating on will be very helpful. Keeping us abreast with your client's information, knowledge and stories will be much appreciated. Having one-to-one meetings with the editors to find out about what they are preparing three or four months in advance will very much help the relationship between the PR person and the media. This will also help prepare the journalist in terms of knowing which client to use for a quote or story. It is about having a very close relationship and understanding of what each of the media titles is preparing for the calendar in advance. Sound Bites From The Podcast Introduction The spark behind Reta’s new book, The Stories Women Journalists Tell (1m 40s) Why it is important to share stories of women journalists now? (4m 03s) Surprises in book writing journey (7m 45s) Reta’s most memorable assignment (9m 45s) A day in the life of a lifestyle editor (13m 30s) How Yahoo! Life SEA’s adapted to the pandemic (15m 29s) Focus on the shopping vertical (16m 51s) Balance between shopping and editorial content (18m 52s) Readers’ response to shopping content (20m 06s) Lifestyle trends and topics for 2022 (21m 54s) Types of travel content (23m 40) Most memorable interview (24m 51s) What she looks out for in media pitches (26m 37s) How PR pros can work better with media (29m 18s) PR pitching tips (31m 10s) Lifestyle events in 2022 (33m 29s) Future editorial plans (34m 50s) Listen to the podcast to find out more about the lifestyle events and trends that Reta is looking out for in 2022 and more about the creative process behind her book, The Stories Women Journalists Tell. Look out for upcoming episodes of the Behind The Byline podcast on our Spotify, Anchor and YouTube channels, so be sure to subscribe to them to receive the latest episodes! Up next in April, we will be chatting with Lusia Tam, Senior Editor of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Stay tuned! This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire.
International Women’s Day 2022: #BreakTheBias Through Communications
Imagine a gender-equal world that is free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. This is what International Women’s Day (IWD) hopes to achieve. IWD, which falls on March 8, is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and it also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. To celebrate this year’s theme #BreakTheBias, PR Newswire interviewed Chelsea Perino, Managing Director, Global Marketing & Communications, The Executive Centre and Paula Slater, Global Diversity & Inclusion (DEI&B) Lead, ZF Group on how companies can share meaningful stories on fostering a more inclusive and fairer workplace and communicating gender equality in their investor relations initiatives. The theme for this year’s International Women's Day is #BreakTheBias. How do you think companies can explore authentic and meaningful #BreakTheBias stories? Chelsea Perino: It all starts with asking the question and creating a platform for those questions to be answered in a safe and open environment. Senior management needs to empower their female workforce to take leadership roles and allow them to share their stories and advice about how they overcame gender adversity so that the younger generation can be confident to demand equal opportunities. Paula Slater: By having events that promote two-way communication – allowing the audience to fully interact with speakers. Also, by having speakers in these events that are bold and direct, they will be able to share real insight without the fear to have consequences for it. In the end, you do need a culture that fosters psychological safety – this is, where it is okay to express different or new points of view without having consequences. The most relevant factor is to really be able to listen to those stories in an unfiltered way. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Artwork Credit: Alba Garcia-Castrillo, via the International Women's Day Facebook Page[/caption] Besides female executives, what other stakeholders do you think companies can tap into to tell empathetic stories? Chelsea Perino: Everyone, but especially those in leadership positions, should take an active role in promoting and encouraging quality and diversity in the workplace. An environment that provides empowers its teammates to have meaningful conversations about gender equality needs to start at the top. Paula Slater: It needs to be any leader that truly believes that change in the field of diversity is necessary – not only gender but in other areas such as age, sexual preference, physical abilities, etc. We need both men and women advocating for minorities. It needs to be based on data. You cannot say you don’t have a problem in terms of any diversity dimension unless you have the data to prove it. These stories are often centred around female stakeholders. What are some ways that companies can make their male stakeholders better understand the meanings behind the stories? Chelsea Perino: We need to help our male counterparts understand what they can do to help solve these issues. So often gender bias is positioned as a “He versus She” issue, but that is much too simplified. Inaction is equally as damaging as active bias, but often men are not aware of the challenges that we as females face, especially in more male-dominated industries. This is why sharing positive experiences, where our male counterparts helped us push through glass ceilings, sends a much more positive message and shows the difference that comradery can make in fixing this issue. Paula Slater: It lies in the concept of allyship - stepping outside your privilege to reach out and go beyond your comfort zone to make sure others are in the same situation. We must understand that privilege is not a negative assumption, but it is something that’s there when there’s a majority and when you are a part of this majority. So, people in the majority should take action to ensure that people in the minority stop being a minority as such and that if they are, they have access to equitable opportunities. I suggest companies should tap into those stories of leaders (male or female) that are going out of their way to make significant action for minorities to advance. Stories on allyship should be highlighted to inspire others to take that step out of their comfort zone. RELATED READ: Is ESG Part of Your Corporate Strategy or Just “Homework”? – An Interview with Dr Eva Chan, the Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association “Walking the talk” is more likely to make audiences perceive the values that the company is promoting. How do you think organizations should evaluate which women's organizations to donate to? Chelsea Perino: There are so many amazing causes in the world right now that support equal opportunities and workplace diversity. I always think finding an organization that shares the same fundamental values as your organization makes support and involvement more valuable and meaningful. "Gender equality" is listed as one of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, what information or data do you think investors expect listed companies to disclose? Chelsea Perino: I think several metrics would be expected - some are quantitative and some are more qualitative. The first is the number of females in the company overall, those in senior management roles, and the percentage of those that were promoted or grew within the company in comparison to their male counterparts, and lastly, the change over time. Organizations should have growth goals and investors should hold them to those numbers. The second, which is harder to track, is how female employees feel in the company – do they feel supported, that they have equal opportunities and that their concerns are listened to and acted on? Lastly, organizations should develop programmes that build awareness about the importance of diversity and equality. Paula Slater: Overall workforce analysis (men vs women) and then narrow it down by how that distribution looks like in management or leadership roles. The same should be done in fields where the bias towards women is more challenging – like manufacturing and R&D. Once the data analysis is done, getting to the root cause of that – is it the policies or the expectations companies have on their leaders, is it the way talent is selected, is it the talent pools where you are searching, is it the way hiring managers are making decisions, etc. Then the company should have initiatives that target those root causes to ensure equality. But it all starts with the data. For more trends and best practices on developing an effective ESG communications strategy, download PR Newswire's ESG Communications Handbook here. The interview was conducted by Junxun Tan, Head of Content, APAC at PR Newswire.
From The Editor’s Desk (Feb 2022): 6 Tips for Better Media Pick-up of Trade Show Releases
Now that restrictions are starting to lessen a bit, in-person trade shows and expos are taking place once more. CES 2022 recently wrapped up in Las Vegas, and with it came a plethora of press releases devoted to the latest technologies, including health tech, auto tech, Edu tech, computer software, computer hardware, IT, AI, blockchain, and any other type of cutting-edge technology out there. As such, PR Newswire saw a surge in CES-related releases in January, which made us consider what makes a good trade show-related release. To help prepare you for any future trade shows you and your company might visit or exhibit at in the future, we’ve put together some pointers to help you gear up for the writing process of your next press release. 1. Plan for Success As simple as this may sound, some writers forget the basics of dates and locations when it comes to their trade show press releases. The rules of good PR abound, no matter what type of release you’re writing. Rule #1: Answer the 5 W questions (Who, What, Where, When, Why) in the first paragraph. If you don’t know when the trade show happened or where it happened (thus, not explaining these details to your readers), it shows a lack of preparation for the release at best and how the release plays an unimportant role in the trade show at worst. With trade shows, it’s not just about dates and cities, either. It’s about specific times in the day when you’re presenting when your booth is open when you’re available for discussions with potential partners, where your booth is located, what stage you’ll be speaking on, or what room you’ll be signing agreements in. Always provide these particulars in the release to further enlighten your readers. Hyundai Motor Company gets it right when they give their readers the city of the trade show, the building name, the hall, the booth number, and the dates of their availability at CES 2022. 2. Remember What Your Grammar Teachers Told You About Verb Tense A lot of writers want to prepare their press releases before an event. They’ll write it and ready it for distribution in the middle of the event, when they’re at the trade show, for example. Sometimes, novice writers don’t remember the key detail of their verb tenses when writing ahead. They’ll write in future tense (because at the time of the writing, the event is in the future), such as they will be attending an exhibition to launch its latest AI products. However, they should be writing in the present tense (because the release is being distributed at the time of the event). Make sure the verb tenses are logical for the distribution time of your press release, so it doesn’t come off as strange or mistimed. Hisense hits all the tenses logically in their opening paragraph, wherein they discuss how they attended CES and how they will introduce more products to African markets in the future. 3. Ask for Permission Along with knowing the ‘when’ and ‘where’, it’s important that you’ve prepared yourself with all the necessary permissions and authorizations. If you signed an agreement with another company, be sure to run your press release by them. Are they okay with the content? Do they agree with all the statements in the release? Is the way they’re presented positive? For multimedia, do you have permission to use the image? Did you take it yourself or borrow it? Are there individuals in the image that need to sign off on its use before the photo is distributed with the release? Always make sure you have permission or authorization to distribute trade show news from the trade show individuals mentioned in the release companies mentioned in the release individuals in multimedia other companies if their logos or personnel appear in the multimedia Pro Reminder: It bears repeating no matter how professional you are: make sure you’ve spelled everyone’s names correctly and you have their job titles rendered correctly. Nothing looks worse than you bragging about an agreement with another company and you’ve misspelled their name or misrepresented their position in the company. 4. Make sure that the release addresses the ‘Why’ We’ve mentioned this in previous blog posts, but a trade show release must address the “Why” component. Why did your company attend the trade show? Did you have a booth? Was your CEO presenting at a sub-conference? Did you receive an award? Whatever the reason, be sure it’s mentioned not only in the release but in the headline. Likewise, you need to organize your release so that the main reason is the top news aspect. Funnel down from the main reason for your attendance to other (though not necessarily less important) events that might have taken place during your time at the trade show. For example, let’s say you will be attending a trade show next month because you’ll be introducing a new product. At the same time, you’ll be meeting with key distribution partners, possibly signing some contracts, and picking up a few awards as well. Your release should look something like this: TCL Electronics begins its release by highlighting its award win at CES. They then pivot to discuss new products they had on display at the show, to explain why they won their award as well as introduce the products to readers. 5. Tell Readers What to Expect Next Similar to Award-Win Releases, trade show releases need to provide readers with a glimpse of the future. This show is done. What’s coming up next? Will you be attending another show in the future? Will you expand into a new market thanks to this trade show? Whatever the case, be sure that you keep your readers engaged by offering them something to look forward to. The end of your release is where you can pique the interest of your readers, as both Coway Co., Ltd. and GOVEE MOMENTS LIMITED do in their releases. A press release by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute includes a link for interested partners to book a meeting session online and a link to its Virtual Press Office, which contains press materials. 6. Multimedia Must-haves Don’t use photos or videos taken on a phone. The quality is low. Everyone will realize it was taken with a phone, and your release will lose a bit of oomph. Trade shows are all about showing. Use high-quality, meaningful multimedia that shows the unique characteristics of your products, services, or company. Focus on clarity, brightness, and content. Don’t have a picture of a jumbled bunch of individuals or products stacked all around one another. Some ideas for trade show multimedia: Photos of products being exhibited Photos of company individuals interacting with visitors Photos of visitors testing out products Videos of trade show highlights with visitor interviews Videos of presentations made by company personnel at the trade show Videos demonstrating how the products on display work Again, be sure you have the relevant permissions and copyrights for any multimedia you might distribute with your release. Pudu Robotics and PlayNitride Display Co., Ltd demonstrate high-quality multimedia assets that boost their releases’ pick-up possibilities without adding too much clutter to the release. 7. Trade Shows to Watch Out For in 2022 Now, put these ideas into action as you look forward to future trade shows and expos. Be on the lookout for some of the following events. * Event dates are accurate at the time of publishing. READ MORE: Like the press release tips from our Senior Editor Nathan Brown? Read more of his tips and advice here. - More from PR Newswire - PR Newswire’s global news distribution network reaches media and online sites in 170 countries and over 40 languages, including 300K+ media outlets and 1.7M+ journalists and influencers. To find out how you can amplify your news or get started on crafting your press release.
What to Look Out for in the APAC Media Industry in 2022? (Part 2)
In the second part of our APAC Media Outlook series, PR Newswire’s Audience Development Team charts out what lies ahead for the media industry and spotlights upcoming trends and much-talked-about topics in 2022. We cover 5 markets: Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan & Thailand. The first part of the series covered other markets: Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Malaysia 1. More choices in the Media & Entertainment Industry As most Malaysians stayed home during the lockdown imposed by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19, individuals spent most of their time on their gadgets consuming entertainment and news content from streaming platforms such as Netflix, Tonton, Viu, and more. Consumers these days also prefer to sign up for premium subscriptions as they are keen on selecting what shows or movies they want to watch. According to data from PWC, the Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry in Malaysia is expected to experience exponential growth in the next five years. Findings estimate approximately a 6.7% growth in the industry in 2022. The M&E industry has been steadfast and headstrong in battling the challenges brought about by the pandemic. Industry players are advised to be forward-thinking, innovative, and bold in approaching the potential growth that is set to be achieved by the industry this year. 2. More women in prominent media positions In May 2021, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), together with The National Union of Journalists Peninsular Malaysia (NUJM), with the support of the European Union, jointly launched research findings on their “Strengthening Malaysia’s Media for Change” project. The study found that female media workers were given more opportunities than before in executive and management roles. This change was especially evident in Chinese print media, where the number of women news editors was significantly increasing. With this positive change towards gender equality in the media industry, the country can expect to see more unbiased coverage on pressing issues surrounding matters related to domestic violence, sexual harassment, prostitution, and child sexual assault. Furthermore, this evolvement will also bring about more mentors in newsrooms for future female leaders in the media industry. Singapore 1. More physical MICE events are set to return Organizing physical events in 2021 hasn’t been quite as straightforward as before - with the many additional logistics and planning to adhere to the Safe Management Measures (SMM) in Singapore. As travel restrictions ease and more Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) routes rolled out, there will be growing media interest in how MICE events will resume in a physical or hybrid manner. Upcoming events to look out for this year include the World Cities Summit (July) and Duty-Free & Travel Retail Asia Pacific Summit (May), 2. The development of Metaverse – greater opportunities for the media The metaverse has been touted to be the “next evolution of the Internet” - a digital experience that blends augmented, virtual and mixed reality. This could change the way audiences consume information and potentially provide greater opportunities for the media to experiment with different ways to tell their stories and interact with their audiences. It’s something that media companies should keep an eye on to be the first to provide a fresh experience for their readers once the metaverse is actualized. 3. Continued interest in ESG – related articles in the media Throughout the year 2021, companies have been placing more emphasis on ESG and making pledges to climate protection, diversity, sustainability. A lot of tech companies like Amazon, Dell, and Salesforce have made pledges to improve their sustainability efforts. This trend is likely to continue in the coming years and it will most probably make it to the news headlines from time to time. RELATED READ: What to Look Out for in the APAC Media Industry in 2022? (Part 1) South Korea 1. “Fake News” bill While the controversial bill has been temporarily postponed for further discussions, it will continue to be a hotly debated topic this year. The bill, which includes a proposed revision to the country’s Press Arbitration Act, would make it legal for victims of false claims made in the press to seek compensation from news organizations. The proposed changes to be bill is expected to be closely watched as it will hold its presidential election in March. 2. Increased Investment from Global OTT Platforms Spurred on by the phenomenal success of the hit Netflix series Squid Game last year, another OTT market leader Disney+ is ramping up its investments in South Korea. Disney+ is expanding its partnership with Korean content creators this year. Its new projects include King of Savvy which will see the return of well-known actor Choi Min-Sik to television screens. Moreover, according to the report by Korea Press Foundation, the number of OTT viewers has been on the rise. 3. Digital trends will reshape the news industry Digital innovation has already transformed the media industry. Global news outlets such as Bloomberg are incorporating AI into their newsroom operations to help improve efficiency. It is likewise for the Korean news industry, which is trying to adopt new technology. Korea Press Foundation announced that they are expanding efforts to digitalize the media industry in 2022. Taiwan 1. Print media will be fully digitized In 2021, Taiwan's two major newspapers ended their print editions and focused on digitization. For example, Apple Daily stopped publishing newspapers, mainly because of continuous operating losses, and it will concentrate resources on the development of its website and app. This trend will only become more pronounced in 2022 as the pandemic has forced the media industry to accelerate the pace of digital transformation. Journalists must cultivate more digital skills and adopt new technology to keep up with the 24-hour news cycle. In terms of human resource allocation, the workload of reporters has also been adjusted to include more digital and social media content. Public relations professionals need to pay close attention to industry trends to avoid stepping on landmines when pitching the media. 2. Providing a good reader experience is as important as producing quality content In the era of information bombardment, media outlets are not only competing to break the news first, but also on finding creative ways to present the news such as podcasts, YouTube, and apps. Simply put, the competition is on catching the audience's eyeballs. In the age of citizen journalism and breaking the news cycle, everyone can become a disseminator of information. The news media should think about: Where is my edge? How to make boring but important topics and news interesting and compelling to watch? Many online media believe that producing high-quality content and in-depth reports can attract viewers' attention. But instead of emphasizing content, more attention should be on creating an optimum reader experience, such as incorporating UX (User Experience) features into online editorial news packages. Thailand (Provided by InfoQuest) 1. The trend of integration 2022 should be the year that Thailand truly enters “the next normal” after the COVID-19 outbreak situation improves, with more people vaccinated and the number of daily infection cases declining steadily in late 2021 (before the spread of Omicron in January 2022). The role of the Internet or online media in Thailand’s media landscape will become more important after the COVID-19 outbreak as most Thais now spend more than 10 hours online each day. Marketers and advertisers believe that no single type of mass media will be able to reach people in every segment and every age group anymore because the media-consumption habits of Thais have become more diverse. Some people rely on Facebook for news and information, while others rely on YouTube or Twitter, and each person may use different platforms for different purposes. Therefore, multiple communication formats and methods must be used in order to reach a target group efficiently. Media companies need to use multiple distribution channels to reach their target audiences which are spread across various social platforms. This is not an easy task for media professionals and content creators. Before producing a piece of work, they have to identify the target audience that they want to communicate with and the platforms they are on so that they can choose an outreach method that works best. 2. Hybrid work approach to continue As the COVID-19 situation evolves, Thais need to maintain social distancing as a precaution. Media professionals or content creators will likely continue a hybrid work approach as it provides flexibility in an uncertain situation. Many journalists continue to work from home and online events such as press conferences, seminars and media interviews will be common in 2022. 3. More advanced use of technology Other trends include technology being used to increase efficiency and the growing popularity of online ticketed events. In general, many events at the beginning of 2022 will centre on topics such as trends in the areas of business and technology. Virtual reality technology is also likely to play a greater role in 2022. Computer-generated virtual influencers who do not really exist are an example of this technology. This further shines the light on the metaverse trend, one of the megatrends of the future that stem from the 5G era, which blends reality with virtual reality. For more insights and trends, read InfoQuest’s 2021-2022 Thailand Media Landscape interviews Look out for our APAC Media Landscape whitepaper that gives an overview of the media industry in 9 markets in Q1 2022. For more information on receiving media insights, get in touch with us here.
From The Editor’s Desk (Jan 2022): Prep Your 2022 PR Plan with These 4 Topics
PR content creators are faced with a common question at the beginning of the year: What am I going to write about now? You are not sure where things will fall or how you’ll make news out of them. Not to worry, as you open up your PR calendar and begin pencilling in topics and dates, we’re here to help. Looking ahead, we’ve found a few key topics and big events that could help you organize your writing and plan your PR to maximize readership around these topics and dates. Whether it’s a new holiday that spurs your writing on or highlighting gender equity in your workplace, we’ve got some pointers for you on what you can focus your attention on in 2022. Public Holidays Public holidays always provide a time for companies to promote their products and services through new launches or demonstrate their values through CSR initiatives, and 2022 is not going to be any different. With a few newly added holidays and some with a more timely focus, 2022 offers unique PR content opportunities, particularly in June. Matariki (New Zealand) – Matariki is the celebration of the new year in the Maori calendar. June 24, 2022, will be the first time it’s celebrated as a public holiday in New Zealand after Jacinda Ardern announced its establishment in the government calendar. Juneteenth (US) – Juneteenth has traditionally been observed as the official date of the end of slavery in the United States for over a century. In 2022, it will be celebrated as a national holiday for the first time. This makes it the only national holiday in June in the United States, after many years of African Americans and other interest groups lobbying the government for this observation. It will be a day to commemorate those who suffered during this painful time in history, reflect on what still needs to be done to improve racial disparity and celebrate the Black community. The holiday falls on June 19 (a Sunday) but will be observed either the Friday before (June 17) or the Monday after (June 20) depending on local decisions. World Environment Day (Global) – 2021 saw a rise in ESG-related content, and 2022 promises to continue the trend. World Environment Day puts the spotlight on environmental issues. With “Only One Earth” as this year’s theme, the tone is set for individuals, countries, and organizations to measure their impact on the environment and assess what they can do to help out. June 5 enables PR content creators to hone in on environmentally-related writing. Sporting Events Feats of strength and athletic prowess always draw attention, and 2022 offers multiple global events that will tie in easily with press releases. The Winter Olympics (Feb. 4-20) – 8 months after the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, the 2022 Winter Olympics, hosted in Beijing, provide ample opportunity for sport-themed tie-ins or national-pride value demonstrations. The Winter Paralympics (March 4-13) – A month after the Winter Olympics, the Paralympics will also be held in Beijing. FIFA World Cup (Nov. 21-Dec. 18) – Football (soccer) fans around the world will be glued to their television sets toward the end of 2022, as Qatar hosts the world’s premier football event takes place. Pro Tip: Be aware of copyright infringement. The Olympics, World Cup, and other large sporting events are highly protected IP. In the past, PR Newswire's Editorial Department has been forced to reject hundreds of press releases related to the Olympics and Paralympics. Why is this? Their writers have neglected to read International Olympic Committee (IOC) Rule 40: Brands who are not official or personal sponsors can't post, write about or mention 'Olympics' and 'Paralympics' or even use terms such as 'Go for gold', 'Countdown to 2022', words that end with '-lympics' or even "winter/summer" during the blackout period (a few days before and after the Games, and during the Games) and yes, that includes hashtags and retweets! Gender Equality News As more companies and organizations lean toward inclusivity and equality in the workplace, women- and gender-inclusive events have become more prominent and important to media partners. Attaching your company’s name to an event, be it through participation or celebrating similar values at the time of the event, is a good way to reach a wider audience. International Women’s Day – On March 8, #BreakTheBias will be the theme of the day, as women around the world are celebrated for their countless contributions. Use this opportunity to highlight your company’s support of women in the workplace and in other aspects of society. Women’s Euro Cup 2022 / Tour De France Femmes – These events could be placed under the topic of the sporting event as well, but their unique focus on women in sports makes them appropriate here as well. Held in England (July 6-31) and France (July 24- 31) respectively, both competitions allow you a tie-in for sports, women-centered news, and international sisterhood. Women’s Leadership and Empowerment Conference – Women’s History Month opens with this conference on March 1-3. If you’re participating, visiting, or tuning in, it’s a great opportunity to highlight your company’s thought leadership on women’s active roles in the workplace. The Metaverse, Tech, and Other Conferences and Expos 2021 saw the birth of metaverse-related content, and 2022 is sure to see an even larger output of content. Almost every business is getting into the metaverse or plans to do so. Press releases are a great opportunity to make announcements of such plans, introduce new/ related services or products, or simply highlight participation in the global project. Events such as Metaverse Global Conference, Web Summit, and Web 3.0 Conference all offer learning, participation, and PR opportunities that cut across industries. Likewise, some of the biggest names in conferences and trade shows are still going strong, despite the lingering effects of COVID-19. MWC Barcelona / MWC Shanghai – From Feb. 28-March 3, connectivity trailblazers, gurus, practitioners, and writers will convene in Barcelona, and they’ll meet up again June 29-July 1 in Shanghai. If you’re involved in the industry, want to learn more, or are planning on contributing to either event, use this opportunity to plan your PR. RELATED: Mobile World Congress 2021: What’s Buzzing from Brands? SXSW Conference and Festivals – Austin, Texas will host the annual cultural bellwether event on March 11-20. From entrepreneurship to entertainment, SXSW runs the gamut of topics for industry participation. If you’re attending or presenting, write about it! If there’s something under discussion related to your field of expertise, consider how you can formulate a release around the topic. CIIE – With China’s influence on the international market apparent, this annual conference on imports and exports is definitely important to any company doing business in the country. Attendance, booth participation, or deals signed at the expo are a great way to create a story for your PR come Nov. 5-10. Every year is unique, and while these are a few ways you can focus your PR efforts in 2022, it’s important to maintain flexibility. Jot down a few of them in your calendar, but be sure you also stay flexible. A good PR writer knows there’s always bound to be something new and important that nobody was expecting. With these events already plotted and ready, you’ll be better able to handle any of the curveballs (hopefully positive!) 2022 may throw at you. Want more comms ideas? To kickstart the new year, we've put together an APAC Comms Calendar filled with event dates and ideas for each month to spark some inspiration for your campaigns.
5 Things We Learned from Journalists on Behind The Byline Podcast
Interviewing people is what a journalist does every day, but we seldom hear what a journalist wants to say. This year, we launched Behind The Byline Podcast and spoke to 9 journalists from 8 markets in the APAC region. They shared their day-to-day challenges, memorable assignments, and insights on industry trends. Given their job nature, it is no surprise they share a lot in common. Here are the 5 things we learned from journalists and editors on Behind The Byline Podcast. 1. Tips to make press releases stand out Journalists express they usually skip press releases with long headlines. Indeed, shorter headline is more effective as explained in a recent blog by our editor, which analyzes how the right mix of actions words and information can bring the most out of a headline. Besides, journalists emphasize that they expect to receive high resolution images. It is alright to embed images in the word document but remember to attach them in their original size. To go the extra mile, PR pros can write an abstract for their press release. Although that means an additional workload, journalists appreciate the effort being made in facilitating their work. 2. Tips for PR pros to work with journalists Some PR pros send press releases to ALL their media contacts in the hope that the story will reach as many recipients as possible and thus score a higher . On the contrary, this will not be the case and will leave a bad impression on journalists whose beats are irrelevant to the news. Communication is important in building trust and relationships. PR pros can take the initiative to contact journalists and understand what they are keen to cover. When pitching media, ensure there is sufficient lead time for journalists to follow up on the stories or interviews because they have their own editorial calendar set well in advance. All in all, journalists advise PR pros to learn more about their media organizations and target audience before approaching them. 3. Covid has altered the media landscape In the first two years of Covid, the main mode of interview was virtual and there were no physical events to attend. After getting used to these abrupt changes, journalists have explored new types of content such as podcasts and short videos to enhance their audiences’ experience. A prolonged suspension of travel activities has made things especially unkind for travel media platforms - to cope with the circumstances, they have shifted to cover culture, lifestyle, and hospitality in their local cities. 4. Upcoming trends journalists are interested to report Covid has hugely reshaped our way of living and paved the way for a new normal. Upcoming trends journalists are interested in reporting are noticeably swayed by the pandemic. Business news: Use of technology in businesses and stories of start-ups General news: Post-Covid era, reopening, and cultural exchange Lifestyle sector: Wellness and health Technology sector: Web 3.0 and Metaverse Travel sector: Destination announcements, hotel openings, and sustainable travel 5. All the journalists we speak to are so passionate about their job We all know the downsides of being a journalist – long and odd hours, unpredictable incidents, and high levels of stress to name a few. Eiko Endo of The Oriental Times and Amanda Valani, former head of original content with Narasi TV, both shared that they found it hard to balance work and private life. What keeps journalists committed and motivated amid these difficulties? First and foremost, all the journalists we speak to enjoy what they are doing. Also, they reflected that they feel privileged to get first-hand information and talk to people from all walks of life. Journalists find that the rewarding parts of preparing and writing news stories outweigh the compromises they need to make. Listen to the podcast series on Spotify, or pick an episode from the list below: Ep 1: With Reta Lee, Editor-in-Chief, Yahoo! Life Southeast Asia (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube) Ep 2: With Luisa Tam, Senior Editor, South China Morning Post (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube) Ep 3: With Vivian Liu, Technology Journalist, Commercial Times (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube) Ep 4: With Rachel Lee, Assistant Editor, TTGmice and TTGassociations (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube) Ep 5: With Jeff Liebsch, CEO, Haps Magazine Korea (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube) Ep 6: With Eiko Endo, Reporter, The Oriental Times (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube) Ep 7: With Matt Cowan, Chief Editor, The Bureau Asia (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube) Ep 8: With Amanda Valani, Former Head of Original Content, Narasi TV (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube) Ep 9: With Poovenraj Kanagaraj, Founder & Editor, Disruptr (Blog, Spotify, Anchor, YouTube)
What to Look Out for in the APAC Media Industry in 2022? (Part 1)
The media industry saw a challenging 2021, from journalists grappling with virtual reporting to declining print revenue. Alongside these challenges are opportunities such as the shift in digital media consumption and the rise of new technology and platforms. 2022 looks set to be an exciting year for the industry with buzz centered around concepts such as the metaverse, Artificial Intelligence, and paid content subscription for quality content. In a two-part special, PR Newswire’s Audience Development Team, which operates from 9 markets across APAC, charts out what lies ahead for the media industry and spotlights upcoming trends and much-talked-about topics in 2022. We start the series by zeroing in on 4 markets: Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia. Australia 1. Anticipating the impact of Facebook’s Metaverse The introduction of Facebook’s metaverse will give way to a new social platform whose immersive nature will redefine how people consume information, share ideas and experience virtual interactions. What some have referred to as the ‘successor to today’s internet’, will force brands to iterate new strategies to compete in the virtual universe. With the limitations of physical space now a thing of the past, the content will soon be delivered in new and creative ways. As a result, brands that find innovative ways to share information will quickly excel above those who maintain traditional means. Like anything new, this will also pose some interesting questions of regulation. Having just established a new relationship with Facebook and other tech giants, the Australian government will likely go back to the drawing board to reconsider how the content regulations might need to be amended. 2. Travel in 2022 In the wake of 2021’s extended lockdown, interest in both domestic and international travel is expected to skyrocket. That said, the pandemic has left would-be-travelers with worries surrounding the complexity of COVID rules and restrictions. In 2022, travel expertise is a currency to be traded on, with over 30% of travel intenders seeking expert advice, information surrounding the industry is in high demand. Travel motivators have also been impacted by the pandemic as Australian’s opt for safe and stress-free options over the lowest price. New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom are among the top destinations for 2022 among Australians, ‘Experience stacking’ is proving quite common in travel planners, as Australians are trying to make up for the lost time by booking as much as they can into one holiday. RELATED: Get media pitching tips from journalists in PR Newswire's Travel Media Pitching Kit 3. Rise of Subscription Revenue Yet another impact of the pandemic is the rise of subscription revenue over ad revenue in the news media industry. With many brands holding back their ad spend over the last two years, ad revenue for major publications reached an all-time low while the public’s interest in the status of the pandemic grew. With a hunger for information, many Australians looked to major publications for news of COVID-19 updates and were happy to subscribe to trusted names to get it. News Corp, one of Australia’s largest names in the industry, reported a total loss of over AUD$60M in the last financial year but still showed a 17% increase in circulation and subscription revenue. However, the key to maintaining this revenue and ensuring subscribers remain loyal is to keep the bar high for the quality of content. One such example is The Australian, News Corp’s broadsheet national paper, which was among the first to establish digital subscriptions and has since shown exponential growth in revenue at the hardest of times. Mainland China 1. Technology will continue to drive content production Media organizations will continue to apply innovative solutions to produce content, including data and information charts produced by AI and machine learning. Other uses of technology in content production include media monitoring, real-time alerts, and incorporating user feedback into online content editorial decisions As audiences have higher expectations of content, Chinese media platforms, especially traditional media outlets, must meet readers’ higher standards of original content. New technology will also speed up the production of quality content, especially in terms of incorporating multimedia and improving readability. 2. Media platforms will pay more attention to content metrics According to a media survey report by PR Newswire APAC last year, content metrics are an important KPI for journalists. These metrics include a number of users' views, comments, and reposts. With big data technology, metrics that measure content performance can be quickly obtained. Media companies will use such data to make decisions on the types of content to produce, and this would, in turn, impact the overall editorial direction in the future. Content monetization will also be a hot topic. All media platforms are focused on how to generate commercial value from their content efficiently. As a result, more media platforms will invest in boosting traffic through quality content, while engaging in product placement in media-produced content. This is on top of the current trend of marketing products via e-commerce. 3. Video content is the way to go Media platforms will produce and distribute more video content as they can attract the attention of target audiences and convey information effectively. Due to the surge of video content online, video production is now a core focus of many media organizations. Almost all of them have their in-house video teams who will engage in live-streaming, filming, and editing, as well as e-commerce activities. Douyin owns a large database of video resources as well as access to a vast network of users. These videos will gradually be shared on various social media, mobile, and other video-streaming platforms. Video content will become even more popular with the ongoing integration of media formats. Hong Kong 1. Journalists become “Key Opinion Leaders” These days journalists do more than just to write their articles. They have evolved to "key opinion leaders” in their respective beats, conducting product tests and feature interviews on online platforms. For example, journalists are expected to provide their feedback when testing products and appear in videos that accompany online news articles to share their first-hand perspectives. This format is especially popular when reviewing newly launched technology products. Even print journalists have to be prepared to present in front of the cameras, on top of writing their articles. 2. Getting real-time audience insights with AI The media is becoming more innovative when it comes to website design, collecting data and insights from its readers to attract clients, and placing advertisements that target audiences more accurately. In order to get more insights on the website traffic and time spent on the webpage, some media companies have added tracking codes to various sections of their websites or apps Some have also added specific keywords and thumbnail images to track traffic via specific news banners. These data would then be pitched to brands who are looking to advertise during the high-traffic period. 3. Focus on click rate of articles Instead of chasing news, some editors are putting in more effort into following up on news that has generated buzz and is trending among social conversations. Such follow-up stories tend to attract more click rates from readers than a typical news article. These days, a news article may not necessarily have a "newsworthy" angle. In free newspapers that are heavily dependent on advertising, the "news" might be influenced by the types of advertisements that appear in the newspaper. For instance, if more healthcare advertisements are placed in the newspaper, the editors would tend to write more healthcare "news articles" to complement these advertisements. Indonesia 1. More paid subscriptions for digital news Paid subscriptions to digital news sources in Indonesia may hold promise. Consumers have already shown the willingness to embrace online media subscriptions. The number of paid television subscribers is increasing. As of January 2021, the video streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar has amassed 2.5 million subscribers after its launch last September. Some media experts have cautioned that with an estimated 45,000 media outlets in Indonesia, there will likely be some consolidation among regional news outlets to have meaningful success in attracting subscribers. Media outlets must evaluate their offerings and consider strategies to target and serve a specific niche audience. 2. More consumption of media through mobile devices In Indonesia, smartphones are now ubiquitous - their mobile data rates are among the lowest in the world and the mobile network can reach the country's rural areas. Research suggests an average Indonesian spends over five hours per day online on mobile devices. While online, Indonesians spend the most time with social media, followed by streaming music, gaming, and watching online videos. Media companies will produce more visual content that is accessible on smartphones. RELATED: Read the entire 2020 APAC Media Landscape series here. Look out for the second part of this series will cover the 2022 media industry outlook for Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan & Thailand For more information on receiving media insights, get in touch with us here.
2021 Year in Review: Highlights from the Beyond PR Blog
2021 presented many opportunities for brands to embark on digital transformation and pivot to new growth areas as industries reeled from the impact of COVID-19. New opportunities include prioritizing Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) initiatives and the continual popularity of virtual events. PR Newswire APAC covered some of these emerging trends in the resource hub this year. Read on for a recap of some of the key highlights. 1. APAC Media Landscape 2020 Series The media industry in APAC underwent significant headwinds in 2020, facing a relentless COVID-19 news cycle, declining print revenue, and a shift in media consumption habits. Our Audience Development Team, which operates from 9 markets across APAC, highlighted the trends and developments that dominated headlines in each of their markets in the APAC Media Landscape 2020 series. They range from the push towards push notification news in Hong Kong, rise of podcasts in Singapore to more paid content subscriptions in Indonesia. Our team also gazed into the crystal ball to chart out what lies ahead for the media industry in 2021. Find out if they came true here. Read the entire series here, and look out for the 2022 APAC Media Outlook blog articles in January! 2. From The Editor's Desk Series In this new monthly series, our Editorial team tracked and shared trends on press releases distributed across APAC. Every month, they monitored the top press release topics based on the volume of releases distributed. Hot topics in 2021 included Carbon Neutrality, Artificial Intelligence, and Trade Show News. Our editors also gave tips and advice on writing different types of newsworthy press releases each month. We also tapped on the extensive experience of our Senior Editor, Nathan Brown, who provided timely tips on showing a company’s value through ESG press releases, writing corporate award-related releases, and crafting education-related releases. Read the entire series here. 3. Social Listening-related Articles We launched Cision Social Listening in APAC in September, with technical and data support from Brandwatch, a global leader in deep social media listening and digital consumer insights. Brandwatch was acquired by PR Newswire's parent company Cision in mid-2021. Tapping on the world's largest database of online conversation, we tracked and analyzed social conversations surrounding trending topics, from the mentioned volume to sentiment, and what lessons PR professionals can glean from these episodes. These topics include Clowns Outside Schools: Tracking a Not so Comedic Crisis in Singapore in Real-Time. Not surprisingly, our best-performing blog article in 2021 was Brands Ride on the Squid Game Hype: The Rise of the Hit Show on Social Media, in which we tracked the online buzz surrounding one of the most talked-about shows in 2021. 4. Spotlight on ESG With Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) emerging as a crucial part of corporate strategy, we covered ESG communications practices in our blog this year. We compiled an ESG communications checklist on the best practices and pitfalls of ESG communications efforts and how to avoid greenwashing and got insights from Tencent Charity Foundation on how such a technology company is approaching ESG. We also interviewed Dr Eva Chan, the Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association, who gave an insightful discussion on whether ESG should be part of a brand’s corporate strategy or just “homework”. She also shared tips for companies to design a customized net-zero carbon roadmap. To cement our focus on ESG, we also launched our very first ESG Communications Handbook. The handbook covers the importance of ESG and information disclosure by listed companies, shares how companies can develop effective strategies, and offers best practices on communicating ESG activities to the media. Other Content Highlights 1. Communications Calendar Series We launched our nifty monthly calendar series to provide inspiration for PR professionals to help plan their upcoming PR campaigns. Each month, our communications strategy team crafted comms on the line-up of major events and festivals across APAC. From Lunar New Year to Christmas, we've got you covered with ideas to plan your comms campaigns for the year. View the entire series here. February 2021 Comms Calendar March 2021 Comms Calendar April 2021 Comms Calendar May 2021 Comms Calendar June 2021 Comms Calendar July 2021 Comms Calendar August 2021 Comms Calendar September 2021 Comms Calendar October 2021 Comms Calendar November 2021 Comms Calendar December 2021 Comms Calendar 2. APAC Media Pitching Kits Our popular media pitching kits have been a popular resource for PR professionals to get insights and tips on how best to pitch stories and collaborate more closely with the media. This year, we zeroed in on two industries: healthcare and business and finance. 3. Webinars This year, we organized six webinars across APAC, touching on key topics such as How PR Pros can Evolve with Journalists in a Digital World? and discussing the key findings from Cision's 2021 Global State of the Media Report (APAC Edition), in which journalists share their biggest challenges, pet peeves, and how PR professionals can help make their jobs easier. Watch some of our past webinars on our YouTube channel. 4. More Case Studies We covered clients from a broader range of industries, which have used our press release distribution and communications strategy services. These industries include Automobile (Hyundai Motor Company), Finance (Bank Rakyat Indonesia), Food & Beverage (Vinamilk) and Biotechnology (Brain Navi). Read our case studies here. We hope you’ve found our blog articles, whitepapers, case studies and webinars useful and informative! Look out for more content from us in 2022! Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for the latest updates. - More from PR Newswire - PR Newswire’s global news distribution network reaches media and online sites in 170 countries and over 40 languages, including 300K+ media outlets and 1.7M+ journalists and influencers. To find out how you can amplify your news or get started on crafting your press release, This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire APAC.
Which Verbs in Press Release Headlines Attract the Most Views? A Journalist and PR Perspective
The headline is an important gateway to press releases. Most readers decide if they want to continue reading a press release based on how attention-grabbing the headline is. Journalists also gauge the potential newsworthiness of a press release from its headline within a few seconds of glancing at it. PR Newswire’s parent company Cision recently launched the 2021 State of the Press Release Report, which reveals press release trends from examining more than 100,000 releases and speaking to industry pros in the United States to understand how press releases fit into their PR strategy. One key area that this report covers is strategies for crafting engaging press releases. We chat with Li Wei, a reporter with Semiconductor Voice, a leading Chinese semiconductor news platform, and Nathan Brown, PR Newswire’s Senior Editor, to get their views on writing attention-grabbing press release headlines. 1. The words ‘Allow’, ‘Reveal’ and ‘Show’ are verbs in press release headlines that drew the most views. Does this list resonate with you? Which verbs would you avoid using in press release headlines? [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="583"] Source: Cision's 2021 State of the Media Report[/caption] Li Wei: I agree that ‘Allow’, ‘Reveal’ and ‘Show’ are more attractive verbs in press release headlines. Avoid verbs that are too general, such as “announce“. A press release is meant to announce something, so using “announce” conveys an unintended message that there is no fresh angle or information in this press release. Nathan Brown: The words on the list are fairly accurate. Over the last year, I’ve seen tons of releases with words like “announce” and “launch” or one of their synonyms. Because of this, I think it’s important to try to push yourself as a content writer to avoid cliché. Sure, there are times when one word can do the job more accurately than others, but it never hurts to consider other options. When writing, try to write your headline a few different ways before committing to a final headline. Focus on word variety in your attempts to allow yourself room to be creative and see if anything other than the tried-and-tested “announce” works. Play around with common words: “Introduce” can also be explained with words like “Debut” and “Develop”. Replace “Announce” with “Reveal” or “Divulge” — if the news is extra interesting. 2. What’s your take on the list of most used words used in press release headlines and highlight a few other headline words that tend to grab your attention? [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="433"] Source: Cision's 2021 State of the Media Report[/caption] Li Wei: “First”, “million”, “billion” - these words make me think of market share, shipments, and other figures that people will truly value. “Global” and “Market” are words often used for market positioning purposes. I will accept these words as long as they describe the facts succinctly and accurately. Personally, I would avoid empty, slogan-like words such as “pioneering” and “empowering”, and don't recommend the use of emotive adjectives like “exciting” in press releases. Nathan Brown: Using the same words as other releases can be good practice, but it shouldn’t become cemented in your habits. When people see the same word over and over again, they’ll begin to just keep scrolling without clicking. Provide readers subtle hints that your news is different, unique, or important by using a variety of verbs. Readers will pause and think “Their word choice is different. Maybe their news is different as well.” RELATED READ: 20 Most Overused Press Release Words in 2021: A PR Perspective 3. Share some examples of press release headlines that instantly attracted your attention and why they caught your eye? Li Wei: One of them is Infineon opens a high-tech chip factory for power electronics on 300-millimeter thin wafers. When I read “300mm”, this signals to me that this technology company is adding one of the few twelve-inch advanced processing plants in Europe. The official opening of this high-tech chip factory can be interpreted as a response to the chip shortage, with both technology and capacity expansions that are worthy of the industry's attention at the moment. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="556"] Source: Infineon[/caption] Nathan Brown: Reading is a visual exercise, so when I’m on a news website’s preview page, I’m drawn more to the shorter headlines with quick, fast facts. It’s not that I don’t or can’t read longer releases. It’s just that when I’m searching for something to read, I need to get the most basic understanding of a release or news piece before I can commit to it. If the headline is a long sentence that takes up more than two lines on a preview page, I’m going to skim over it without stopping. Some headlines that stopped me simply because of their short structure and focus on facts were those for the China International Import Expo and Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd.’s. They also do a good job of playing around with traditional headline structure and word choice. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="566"] Source: CIIE[/caption] 4. Share with us any tips on crafting short and interesting headlines? What kind of information and news hook are you looking for in press release headlines? Li Wei: To me, headlines are always more interesting when it involves a large company and their actions or plans. There is no particular formula for crafting a good headline, and it is often possible to come up with a better headline based on an in-depth understanding of the product, technology, or event. For example, a good headline often includes words that relate to the motivation and strategy of a company's initiative, such as which market segments are being targeted. Words such as “focus”, “support”, “allow” and “reduce” make the messaging more precise in such headlines. These words tend to be related to the niche area that the company is focusing on or represent the specific impact of a product or technology. Nathan Brown: Going back to the question about the headline keywords, I always believe in cutting out the unnecessary initial verb. For example, Company X Announces that They Won the ___ Award. Remove “Announces That” and re-organize the sentence so that it’s more dynamic: Company X Wins ___ Award. It’s now short and to the point. 5. What’s your favorite tactic to write an engaging opening paragraph to showcase a news angle? Li Wei: Summarizing the most important aspects of a news event and indicating how is this relevant to a reader are my favorite ways to start an article. A summary may involve linking events and to the relevant cause and effect, often involving industry or macro context. To communicate relevance to a reader, I often begin by explaining why an event is important and worthy of attention, and how it will affect the reader, helping them to quickly understand and continue reading. RELATED READ: 4 Ways to Improve the Pick-Up Rate of Press Releases About the Interviewees Li Wei is a reporter at Semiconductor Voice, one of DeepTech’s news platforms specializing in technology, with a mission to help readers understand this dynamic industry through the voices of its practitioners. DeepTech is the exclusive partner of the MIT Technology Review in mainland China. Nathan Brown is a Senior Editor at PR Newswire, who is based in Shanghai. For more insights into press release writing and distribution trends, download the 2021 State of the Press Release Report.
Is ESG Part of Your Corporate Strategy or Just "Homework"? - An Interview with Dr Eva Chan, the Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association
If a listed company solely focuses on meeting the ESG requirements of the stock exchange and does the bare minimum to meet these standards, how will investor relations professionals view such practices? Dr Eva Chan, Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association thinks that such companies are merely "handing in their homework" because they are only meeting the superficial aspects of ESG. Dr Chan believes that listed companies should incorporate ESG into their corporate strategy and operations. She also shares how Hong Kong-listed companies are communicating their ESG achievements and tips for companies to design a customized net-zero carbon roadmap. 1. Many listed companies engage in CSR and are looking to launch ESG communications campaigns. What advice could you offer to these companies? ESG is the corporate extension of the concept of sustainable development, based on three dimensions of environment (E), social responsibility (S), and corporate governance (G). CSR focuses on social responsibility, so if companies are already engaged in CSR communications, they may wish to focus more on the environmental and governance aspects of ESG. Every company's ESG focus varies. For example, a manufacturing company may be more concerned about being environmentally friendly and plans to build factories that will reduce pollution. But a bank may wish to focus on corporate governance, such as funding more green projects as part of its strategy to actively promote sustainable development. 2. Share with us some examples of companies that have successfully improved their ESG communications. The Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) organizes an IR Awards ceremony annually, which includes ESG awards. We believe that ESG performance should not only be looked at on an industry level but should be based on a company’s actions and transparency as all companies can strive to become more sustainable. The 2020 Sustainability Report of the CLP Group (stock ticker: 00002.HK), a provider of power generation, transmission and distribution services, announced that the Group's carbon intensity has been reduced to 0.57 kg CO2/kWh, hitting its 2020 target of 0.6 kg CO2/kWh set out in CLP's Climate Vision 2050. CLP's carbon intensity has been reduced by the commissioning of a new combined-cycle gas turbine unit (CCGT) at Hong Kong's Lung Kwu Tan Power Station. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1048"] Source: CLP Group's 2020 Sustainability Report[/caption] United Company RUSAL (stock ticker: 0486.HK) is a mining company with a consistent ESG performance. This company has initiated the move towards greener low-carbon aluminium and carbon neutrality by 2050. In addition, the company is actively fighting COVID-19 by building medical centers in Russia and elsewhere at a cost of approximately four billion rubles or US$56.1 million. It has also earned an A- rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) recognizing the company's efforts in climate change response and environmental management. 3. The companies you mentioned in these examples may have invested heavily in terms of their ESG activities. So, how do companies balance ESG transition and the associated costs? For companies, their ESG transition usually involves investment and operational alignment. I believe the core challenge for companies is how to integrate ESG into their corporate strategy and operations. This requires management to prioritize achieving long-term growth by operating in a sustainable manner that will attract like-minded investors. For investors who do not focus on ESG investment, they may consider investing in non-ESG companies which do not incur ESG investment and may have a better short-term return. READ MORE: ESG Communications Checklist: How Brands Can Avoid Greenwashing in Press Releases 4. Do ESG standards and indicators vary across different stock exchanges? What is your advice to these companies in terms of ESG communications? I do not think the ESG standards vary much from exchange to exchange. If a company is listed on various stock exchanges that have different ESG standards, it may choose to follow a higher standard in terms of disclosure and communications. ESG has two different requirements for listed companies: firstly, to incorporate ESG into their operations; and secondly, to comply with ESG requirements of a stock exchange. If a company seeks to excel in ESG, you need to meet both requirements simultaneously and take concrete steps towards building a sustainable operations model. But if you are just seeking to meet compliance rules, you are just "handing in your homework" - something that I strongly advise against. 5. Carbon neutrality is a trending topic that listed companies and investors are paying more attention to. What's your advice for companies that aim to achieve carbon neutrality goals? As I've described earlier, every company's ESG focus is different, with an option to focus across three dimensions: environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance. Companies that generate environmental impact with their operations are more likely to focus on carbon neutrality. As carbon neutrality gains attention worldwide, I advise companies to develop a comprehensive 2050 climate vision that outlines specific plans in different phases to achieve carbon neutrality. When planning their roadmap, companies can analyze the carbon reduction targets and plans proposed by the top performers in their industry and evaluate how to narrow the distance between themselves and these top performers. Rating agencies, investment management companies, and companies all have their own perspectives and focus areas regarding carbon neutrality and ESG practices. To help IR professionals better understand the perspectives of different stakeholders, HKIRA will host our annual symposium on December 14, in which rating agencies such as MSCI, investment management companies such as Fidelity, and a few listed companies will share ESG case studies and their views. About the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is a professional association comprising investor relations practitioners and corporate officers responsible for communications between management and the investment community. HKIRA advocates the setting of international standards in IR education and promotes the best IR practices. As of 30 June 2021, HKIRA has over 1,000 members. About 68% of the Hang Seng Index Constituent Stock companies are currently members of HKIRA. For more trends and best practices on developing an effective ESG communications strategy, download PR Newswire's ESG Communications Handbook here. This interview is conducted by Jun Xun Tan, Head of Content at PR Newswire.
From The Editor’s Desk (November 2021): 4 Tips on Writing Holiday-related Press Releases
The holidays are at hand in many parts of the world. Whether or not you celebrate them, the ubiquity of consumer-focused marketing and PR will no doubt at least remind you that they’re happening or coming up. If you’re a PR professional, you’re probably grappling with the age-old problem of the industry: how to balance PR with marketing in a holiday-related release. For many, it’s easy. For some, it’s a bit more of a struggle. In the month of November (and a little bit of October), we began seeing the uptick in holiday marketing, thanks to 11.11 in China, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States, Diwali in India, and Hanukah throughout the world. With other holidays around the corner in December and January, PR Newswire’s Senior Editor Nathan shares tips on developing PR content out of marketing campaigns with these simple reminders. 1. Keep Your Headlines Subtle Crafting a headline that grabs the attention of the audience is 90% of the PR game. In the midst of a marketing campaign, it’s tempting to drop the guard on industry standards and go for the consumer’s money, pointing out price slashes and discounts to get them to spend. But it’s important to remember that no matter what time of year it is, the press is always part of a press release’s audience. Remember these key tips to writing headlines about marketing campaigns, holiday deals, or sales, so that they don’t read as overt advertising: No, or very few, pricing/discount details in the headline – Furthermore, pricing should be buried at the end of the release rather than the opening for a good press release. No “We”, “You”, or any other first or second-person pronouns – You don’t want to talk directly to the reader in a press release. That’s what commercials do. No exclamation marks! Exclamation marks denote excitement. If the news is exciting, people will be excited. They don’t need you to tell them to be excited. Some of this year’s better headlines for holiday product promotion come from Yadea and Dreame Technology. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Source: Yadea[/caption] 2. Choose Unique Topics Holidays are a fun, unique time of year. Your marketing PR should reflect this. Choose topics that you wouldn’t normally write about. Did your company recently update its social media accounts? Did you sign an endorsement agreement with a big-time celebrity? Maintain focus on these fun topics as the mode of grabbing the readers’ attention. Then, when you have it, you can use this news to guide them toward the details of your marketing campaign. Hisense used the announcement of their new social media campaign to draw attention to some of their recent products, for example. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="599"] Source: Lazada Group[/caption] Ahead of 11.11, Lazada announced their new brand ambassadors, K-pop superstars SEVENTEEN early enough before November 11 to build up interest for potential consumers throughout Southeast Asia, not only generating reader knowledge of their brand but also for the sales event, which some countries might not celebrate. JOOX’s announcement of a virtual hangout with celebrity DJ Alan Walker, strategically scheduled for November 25, allows them to showcase new features and subtly market their key products. Other unique topics you can aim to write about: A. Special holiday events (in-store or online) B. Anniversary celebrations C. Customer appreciation events or competitions D. Owned media updates Changes to social media accounts, new social media accounts, updates to websites F. Seasonal branding changes Think of Starbucks’ yearly change to their cups during the holiday season for inspiration. The change generates tons of conversation on and offline. G. Seasonal greetings It’s never a bad idea just to say happy holidays and thank readers and consumers for their continued support. Just be sure to include links to relevant websites and social media outlets to ensure traffic drives back to your products. 3. Target Audiences Where the Event Happens More than once, our editorial team have had to explain to clients that Black Friday is not that big of a deal in Europe. While 11.11 is huge in China, not a lot of people in the United States know, or care, about it. Press release writers need to be aware of this when developing their content. News doesn’t carry the same weight around the world. While someone in Europe might benefit from Black Friday deals, the focus should be on the market where the event happens. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Source: Amazfit[/caption] Amazfit made the focus of Black Friday clear in their release, knowing that the United States is the largest market for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Moviebook’s release, more of a B2B marketing release, highlighted the Chinese connection to 11.11 as a part of its promotion of recent changes to the shopping event. READ MORE: 6 Tips on Writing Award-related Press Releases 4. Draw Focus to Benefits Too often, a marketing release can die fast for the general audience when it gets heavy with the figures and specifications of certain products. The general readership doesn’t understand what these things are. They understand, instead, how these specs benefit them. Rather than point out the specific details of a product, the press release needs to point out how the end-user will do well to utilize the product. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="599"] Source: Yealink[/caption] Yealink points out the benefits of their product to end-users in an easy-to-read bullet point list that doesn’t require Google searches to figure out the meaning. Likewise, Cardo Systems highlights the safety benefits of their products over the technical details that make those benefits possible. So, still planning your PR campaigns for Christmas or the New Year celebrations? Think of the above pointers as you begin outlining and organizing. Remember that the press is still your audience, and you don’t want to dishearten or alienate them by pushing pricing and discounts. Instead, give them something to excite their readers with, and balance it out with direct-to-market details that consumers will appreciate as well. READ MORE: Like the press release tips from our Senior Editor Nathan Brown? Read more of his tips and advice here. - More from PR Newswire - PR Newswire’s global news distribution network reaches media and online sites in 170 countries and over 40 languages, including 300K+ media outlets and 1.7M+ journalists and influencers. To find out how you can amplify your news or get started on crafting your press release,
ESG Communications Checklist: How Brands Can Avoid Greenwashing in Press Releases
With ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds capturing a record US$51.1 billion in net new money from global investors last year, consumers, investors, regulators and journalists have become more vigilant about greenwashing. Greenwashing conveys a false impression to consumers and other stakeholders on a company's willingness, ability or contribution towards environmental protection. To avoid the suspicion of greenwashing, we have compiled a checklist on the best practices and pitfalls of ESG communications efforts. In addition, we interviewed Key Gu, Director, Marketing and Platform Management, Greater China at BSI Group, a global business improvement and standards company, and Jun Xun Tan, Head of Content at PR Newswire, to discuss how brands can better coordinate their ESG programs and communications. ESG Communications Checklist Pitfalls 1. Make unsubstantiated claims Crafting unsubstantiated claims such as going ‘green’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ looks hollow and lacks persuasiveness. 2. Write in technical jargon Using technical jargon that is only understood by science experts is likely to put journalists and audiences off. 3. Make misleading statements In 2020, UK’s Advertising Standards Authority pointed out that a food company made misleading claims that its packaging “reduces consumers’ carbon footprint” without any supporting information. 4. Avoid specific commitments when setting climate goals If companies want to be aligned to targets such as the United Nations’ carbon neutrality by 2050 goals, it needs to set clear and long-term plans. Tips 1. Link your goals to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals These goals, which were set up in 2015, aim to eradicate poverty and protect the planet. 2. Set specific, measurable and time-bound ESG goals Let journalists and audiences see that your company is closing the gap between long-term climate goals and short-term action plans. 3. Quantify the impact of your ESG targets Quantify the impact of targets that are related to your product and industry. This will help journalists and other audiences understand the environmental significance of these targets. 4. Provide third-party verification Are your commitments supported by third-party verification or reported by trusted media? 1. What do you think of this checklist? Can you share some headlines of recent ESG press releases that should be avoided? Key Gu: Given the growing awareness of sustainable development, I think this list is timely. Be it deliberately or unintentionally exaggerating one's own achievements, greenwashing can bring about serious consequences for brands as it destroys the trust between the brand and its customers. Once that trust is broken, it is difficult to regain it. I would like to add another pitfall - looking too eager to label themselves as being ESG-friendly. I think press release headlines that lack details like "Brand Y introduces eco-friendly appliances for a healthy planet" are quite common. This headline does not draw any association with any aspects of environmental protection, and the second part of the sentence reads like an “ESG for the sake of ESG” label. Jun Xun Tan: As PR professionals read the pitfalls listed in the checklist, they can evaluate whether any alarm bells are going off internally, so that they can avoid writing press release headlines such as "Company Z Sets Goal to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050." Such a title might be factual, but if we were to read this from a reader's perspective, the outcomes might be unsatisfactory. Firstly, the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is set by the United Nations. A declaration that a company will meet this goal is not a strong news hook as more companies are committing to achieve carbon neutrality earlier. Secondly, the audience might not understand that this goal is set by the United Nations. They may question the sincerity of a company committing to a goal that might only be met 29 years later. To educate audiences on the context of a company’s “race to zero” journey, relevant information on the United Nations’ 2050 goal has to be woven into the press release. 2. Share two examples of ESG news headlines that have caught your attention, and why? Key Gu: Show, don’t tell: Focus on details and actions instead of unsubstantiated claims. Instead of ‘Brand Y introduces eco-friendly appliances’, why not write ‘Brand Y introduces appliances made of 100% recycled materials’. For example, Novartis announced ambitious ESG targets to increase access to medicine and achieve complete carbon neutrality - this headline indicates that Novartis attaches great importance to ESG and shows a strong association to its business. Another example is BSI Group: Join hands with partners to overcome the difficulties and welcome the fifth anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals. In conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the setting of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), this headline mentions that the BSI Group and its partners are working together to implement projects in this area. Jun Xun Tan: In March this year, China declared that its carbon dioxide emissions will peak by 2030, and it strives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. In the first half of 2021, the number of press releases on carbon neutrality and ESG distributed by PR Newswire in the Asia-Pacific region grew from 23 in January to 401 in September. Journalists can choose from a wider range of ESG-related information. Therefore, if PR professionals want to stand out in this field, they have to work harder. As mentioned in the checklist, press release headlines should include specific, measurable and time-bound ESG goals or highlight advanced technological solutions that will help readers better understand how the company is working towards achieving carbon neutrality. Examples of such press release headlines include Apple commits to be 100 percent carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by 2030, and Hong Leong Bank Seeks Digital Disruptors Across Southeast Asia to Find ESG-Focused Innovative Solutions for Banking and Financial Services. Hong Leong Bank’s headline pairs bold language (‘seek digital disruptors’) with an innovative initiative (launching an ESG hackathon in ASEAN). By adopting a co-creation approach to ESG, the bank is signalling its openness to new ideas as it seeks to enhance digital banking products and experiences while improving its “green quotient”. READ MORE: From The Editor’s Desk (August 2021): Showing a Company’s Value Through ESG Press Releases 3. How can companies adjust their communication strategies to be aligned with its carbon neutrality initiatives? Key Gu: When it comes to communicating initiatives related to carbon neutrality, it is necessary to do the right things first so that this forms the basis to communicate confidently and withstand the scrutiny of stakeholders. This includes 1. Checking the current status of a company’s current carbon emission levels; 2. planning a carbon-neutral roadmap that is in accordance with science-backed targets and industry standards; 3. Obtaining a third-party audit report and certification. Although there are various standards and certifications for carbon neutrality, I will focus on how a company can use PAS 2060, an internationally recognised specification for carbon neutrality to align ESG initiatives and communications more effectively. This year, Castrol announced a comprehensive sustainable development strategy, PATH360, which includes initiatives on reducing waste and carbon emissions, and improving the lives of people around the world. PATH360 has laid out its goals and framework clearly. Among them, PATH360 mentioned that the company plans to produce more carbon-neutral products in key areas such as automotive, industrial manufacturing. The standard for carbon neutrality will be verified by an independent third-party and certified in accordance with BSI's PAS 2060 carbon neutrality standard. This news has been reported in trade publications such as Fuels & Lubes Asia and Polymer Update. About the interviewee Key Gu is the Director, Marketing and Platform Management, Greater China at BSI Group. Gu holds an MBA in Business Administration jointly offered by the University of Hong Kong and Fudan University. He has more than 10 years of marketing experience, spanning B2B and B2C industries, and is passionate about digital marketing. In 2019, he joined the BSI Group and is responsible for the company’s marketing. BSI enables people and organizations to perform better, sharing knowledge, innovation and best practice to make excellence a habit. Since its establishment in 1901, as the world's first national standards organization and a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), BSI is committed to pursuing excellence and promoting the adoption of best practices by global organizations. The BSI Group works with over 86,000 customers across multiple industries in 195 countries and regions around the world. For more trends and best practices on developing an effective ESG communications strategy, download PR Newswire's ESG Communications Handbook here.
From The Editor’s Desk (October 2021): 6 Tips on Writing Award-related Press Releases
As we entered the fourth quarter of the year, press releases on brands winning accolades began pouring in. While awards can be handed out throughout the year, a majority of them are doled out in the later months. Nominations are usually required a few months in advance to give the judges enough time to weigh in on the qualities of the nominees. Therefore, the months of September, October, November, and December typically see a larger wave of industry awards. In October, some of the major accolades handed out in the APAC region included the Business Traveller Asia Pacific Awards, the Mob-Ex Awards, and the World Travel Awards Oceania. With these wins come opportunities for press releases. Awards allow you to set yourself apart from other companies and demonstrate your value and leadership to readers. It allows you to boast without saying “We’re the best!” because someone else did it for you. As there’s still a couple of months left in the year for more awards to come in, PR Newswire’s Senior Editor Nathan Brown shares key points to help craft your ultimate “We’re number 1!” release. 1. Name the Award [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="599"] Sheraton Grand Macao was recognized with Condé Nast Traveler's 2021 Readers' Choice Award "#15 in The World's Best Hotels, Asia - China". (Source: Sheraton Grand Macao)[/caption] It may seem obvious, but there are times when the PR Newswire team has received a release about a company that had won an award without naming the award. There are a few problems with this. First, if it was a big award, people won’t know the news matters without the award name. Second, if you don’t name the award, there’s no way for readers to verify the fact of your win. Give your readers the ability to understand the award’s weight and actuality by naming the award. DocPro Limited and Sheraton Grand Macao emphasize the award name by including it in their headlines, drawing readers in with the weight of the award name. 2. Present the Prestige Naming the award, as mentioned above, allows readers to understand the strength and significance of the award. But in some industries, awards might not be as well known to a wider readership. Therefore, it’s important to provide context for the award. Saying something like, “This is the most prestigious award in the industry” or naming other previous winners will help give readers a clue to how big of a deal it is that you won. Pro Tip: Don’t call the award the ‘Oscars of the _____ industry’. Likewise, don’t compare it to a Nobel Prize. As important as your news is, if it’s not an Oscar or a Nobel Prize, don’t mention either of them, as doing so has become a bit of a cliché. Coway did an excellent job of concisely explaining the significance of their win of the Good Design Award in their October release. RELATED READ: From The Editor’s Desk (September 2021): Back to School with Education Press Releases 3. Draw Attention to the Judges’ Reasoning [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Indonesia-based paint manufacturer Mowilex Wins Gold Medal for Global CSR Best Environmental Excellence Award. resident Director PT Mowilex, Its Niko Safavi is pictured planting trees at Purwakarta, West Java, Indonesia. (Source: PT Mowilex Indonesia)[/caption] You’ve won an award. Great! But why? Your readers need to know the reasoning behind your award. What were the judges thinking? What caused your product, service, or company to stand out against others? A few sentences dedicated to the judging process provide your award win and press release with validation. It lets readers know that this wasn’t a flippant win. There was a process, and you came out on top. PT Mowilex Indonesia not only explained the standards required for their award, but they also quoted one of the competition judges to further provide reasoning for their win. 4. Don’t Punch Down There’s a rule in comedy that says, “Don’t punch down.” This means it’s okay to make fun of something or someone on an equal or higher level, but you never make fun of someone who’s lower than you. The same can be applied to awards releases. Don’t bad mouth those who didn’t win. It’s enough to let your readers know you won. You don’t have to drag down your competitors further by pointing out that they lost. Fortunately, there aren’t any examples of this. But always remember not to lift yourself up by putting others down, especially in a press release. 5. Express Gratitude [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Tricor HK CEO Joe Wan and more than 20 senior executives heading various service teams and divisions, has enabled Tricor to be the top provider of corporate secretarial, IPO and share registry services in Hong Kong. (Source: Tricor Hong Kong)[/caption] Say thank you - to those who bestowed the award on you and to the team and employees in your company that made the award possible. Showing gratitude lets the readers know that your company practices humility and works as a group. If the CEO or a top-level manager is accepting the award, they need to make it clear that they alone did not win the award, but the entire company won the award. Tricor Services Limited demonstrated in their release how their success is the team’s success, as well as taking the time to thank the award presenters and organizers. RELATED READ: From The Editor’s Desk (August 2021): Showing a Company’s Value Through ESG Press Releases 6. Use the Award to Pique Readers’ Interest about your Future Projects Wrap up your release by demonstrating how this award win will motivate your company to do more. What new projects are in the works? How will the prestige of this award allow you to create more? You’re only as good as your last win, and if your last win doesn’t generate more winning, you might as well close shop. Use your last few sentences to let your readers know this award isn’t the end of things, but the beginning. Jianpu Technology Inc.’s final paragraph is dedicated to a quote from their CEO, where it’s clear this award is not a chance to rest but to keep pushing themselves to better innovate in their industry. So, if you’ve got more awards in the pipeline, or if you want to prepare yourself for next year, be sure to keep the above in mind. Awards allow you bragging rights as a company, but you don’t want to overdo it. Explaining what the award is, why you won, and how grateful you are (among a few other smaller details) will be enough to give readers an idea that you deserved this win, and they should watch out for you to do even better things in the future. For further reading on the list of business awards and deadlines in the APAC region, read here. - More from PR Newswire - PR Newswire’s global news distribution network reaches media and online sites in 170 countries and over 40 languages, including 300K+ media outlets and 1.7M+ journalists and influencers. To find out how you can amplify your news or get started on crafting your press release,
From The Editor’s Desk (September 2021): Back to School with Education Press Releases
September was back-to-school season, and it brought a slew of press releases with an educational bent. But education has changed drastically these last few years. This wouldn’t be a blog about education press releases in the 2020s without mentioning COVID-19. Despite the uncertainties, educational software producers and institutions have found growth opportunities in their field> despite this annoying reality. Education technology (edtech) is an industry that was steadily growing before the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, it’s set to explode, in a good way. According to a report from Government Technology, the ed-tech market is looking to hit a value of US 285.2 billion dollar mark by 2027, increasing the need for PR professionals in the education services field to get their news through to readers. PR Newswire’s Senior Editor Nathan Brown shares press release writing tips on 2 hot education topics – ed-tech products and services, and university rankings. 1. Ed-tech Releases: Show the ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of Tech Benefits to Users If you’re going to get buy-in from your press release, you’re going to need to ensure readers can see how the product or service has helped others. This means demonstrating the trust in your product or service from end users. We often tell our press release writers to answer the 5 W and 1 H questions in the first paragraph of their releases: What is the news? Who is involved? Where does it happen? When does it happen? Why does it happen? How does it affect the readers/how can the readers use this information? "How" your tech benefits and "Why" it's important are two key questions you need to answer in your release In ed-tech, the last two questions are the most important to answer in your release. You need to demonstrate how users can utilize the software at home or how it will affect their learning experience and why they should utilize it. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Wondershare PDFelement Increases Students' Productivity and Engagement on Distance Learning. (Source: WonderShare)[/caption] In announcing their new distance learning offerings, Wondershare lists out the means with which their software will alleviate various pain points involved in the learn-from-home process. In-class scenarios such as organization, presentation, and collaboration are shown to be made simpler for the teachers and the students, and access is gained through clear, highlighted URLs. As a result, learning from home is made easier for the teacher and the student. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="626"] GoodNotes Community Interface (Source: GoodNotes)[/caption] Other questions to ask yourself before writing your ed-tech release: Why is it good for a student? Why is it good for a teacher? Why is it good for an institution? Is it accessible? Is the end user tech-savvy? (Grade your language based on this answer) Good Notes takes their announcements, and the premise of a social online classroom, and incorporates the “why” in a way that demonstrates the value of their product. One of the biggest complaints over the past year about work and learn from home has been the breakdown of the social atmosphere. Good Notes’ release shows why their product is good: it helps provide a social outlet for the online community. Sharing notes becomes a collaborative, fun, and engaging process that would normally take place in a classroom. Even though we’re still reeling from the last year’s pandemic, it doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our norms of socializing in the classroom. Related Read: From The Editor’s Desk (August 2021): Showing a Company’s Value Through ESG Press Releases 2. University ranking Releases: Write with Young-Adult Readers in Mind Individuals aren’t the only beneficiaries of making education online. Institutions are also in a renaissance of learning thanks to technology that makes learning more accessible. Besides accessibility, students and parents factor in prestige when it comes to selecting which universities to attend. Rankings, more than ever, are pertinent to universities. With the world at the learners’ fingertips, universities, colleges, and other higher learning institutions have to set themselves apart. September marks the beginning of the school year, but for seniors in high school and college, it’s also the beginning of the undergraduate or graduate school search. They’re looking for universities that stand out and they need clear differentiators to understand how one university ranks against another. In order to make this easier for them, it’s important to focus on a few key factors in your rankings press release. Explain who ranked your institution: Be sure it’s either a well-known ranking organization or provide the context for readers to understand why their ranking your institution matters Provide accessible data points: Give your readers numbers (“We ranked #1 in medical and healthcare professional studies”), percentages (“67% of our graduates went onto post-graduate degree programs”), and comparisons (“Our ranking rose 7 spots in the last two years, from number 10 to number 3”) Focus on what comes next: One of the most important reasons for going to an institution of higher learning is to get a job. Readers need to see how your university or college will help them do that. Did you rank higher than another university that’s more prestigious than yours? Don’t say it, show it. List the rankings of your institution against other institutions. Readers are smart. They won’t need you to point it out. They’ll see you’re doing better with the data. Hong Kong Baptist University makes sure the readers of its release understand how the Financial Times’ Masters in Management ranking worked. Most press release readers will know who the Financial Times , so they don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining that. They, instead, dive into the details of the data from the ranking, so that readers, especially students, can have a better idea of how Hong Kong Baptist University compares to other universities, thus seeing the value of the University.< [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="774"] Taylor’s University retains its position as Malaysia’s leading private university in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022, ranking 16th in the world for the Graduate Employment Rate indicator. (Source: Taylor's University)[/caption] Likewise, Taylor’s University in Malaysia goes straight to the heart of the purpose of higher education - employability. The release shows how an education with them can lead to jobs, and how they rose in the rankings from previous years, and demonstrates how employability rankings, more than ever, are important to education seekers. Bonus Tip: Taylor's University shows how they fit in with other famous universities without boasting. Cardiff University, Lancaster University, the University of Notre Dame, and Universite de Montreal are all world-renowned institutions. Showing how Taylor’s University ranks right beside these universities without going on and on about it gives the university more prestige. So, whether your company is developing software for individual users can use to level up their learning or your university has ranked amongst the top in fields such as management, medical/healthcare, or employability, it’s necessary to show how and why readers will benefit from your services. It establishes buy-in that will, hopefully, establish stronger relationships with the media and end-users. Related Read: Education press releases on PR Newswire Asia Other Top Press Release Topics in September 2021 [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="554"] (Source: PR Newswire)[/caption] In September, PR Newswire saw a 71% increase in the volume of ESG-related press releases, as compared to August. With travel gradually easing in the APAC region, the volume of Travel-related press releases increased by 54% compared to August. Other hot topics include AI and Tradeshow News. - More from PR Newswire - PR Newswire’s global news distribution network reaches media and online sites in 170 countries and over 40 languages, including 300K+ media outlets and 1.7M+ journalists and influencers. To find out how you can amplify your news or get started on crafting your press release,
Brands Ride on the Squid Game Hype: The Rise of the Hit Show on Social Media
South Korean thriller Squid Game has become one of the most talked-about shows in 2021. Since its launch on Netflix three weeks ago, Squid Game has been watched by millions around the world and is on its way to becoming the streaming platform’s most popular original series of all time. Be it the dystopian show’s violent take on childhood games, striking visuals or a disturbing study of human nature, Squid Game has gathered much buzz on social media. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="531"] Volume of social media mentions of "Squid Game" from 15 Sep to 5 Oct (Source: Cision Social Listening)[/caption] Since Squid Game was released worldwide on 17 September, the number of social mentions has steadily increased from 30,000 social mentions on launch day to close to peaking at close to 1 million mentions on 29 September. There were over 230,000 mentions using the hashtag #squidgame just on that day. As of 5 October, more than 9 million social mentions by over 8 million people have posted something related to “Squid Game” or “SquidGame” on social. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="272"] Social mentions of Squid Game peaked on Sep 29 with over 1.4 million mentions using the hashtag #squidgame. (Source: Cision Social Listening)[/caption] Within the first 2 weeks of Squid Game’s launch, the series had already garnered 1.5 million social mentions and the volume of social mentions increased by 331% in the second week of its launch. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="472"] Over the past 3 weeks, the social mention volume peaked on Sundays – when viewers were likely to binge-watch the series over the weekend, and (surprisingly) on Mondays. (Source: Cision Social Listening)[/caption] Mixed emotions over Squid Game [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="365"] (Source: Cision Social Listening)[/caption] While Squid Game is immensely popular around the world, it also has a share fair of detractors. Sadness and joy are the top 2 emotions among audiences, followed closely by anger. Netizens expressed sadness over the outcomes of the plot in their social posts (given the violent nature of the show, deaths are inevitable). Some were saddened by how the show shed light on the harsh realities of living in a competitive society, touching on the themes of injustice and humanity. Many expressed disappointment if there would be a Western remake of the series. Examples of social mentions with positive sentiment of Squid Game on Twitter. Joyfulness was the second most emotion conveyed – many fans expressed satisfaction and delight from sharing their favourite moments and characters from the show. For some, this show brought back memories of watching other K-dramas that have similar deadly twists, while others could relate to the dilemmas and predicaments that the characters faced. Special attention was also lavished on the show’s breakout star - Jung Ho Yeon, an actress-model, whose Instagram following has since ballooned to more than 15 million followers at the time of writing. Fans also had fun posting photos of their everyday life that were reminiscent of key scenes in the show. Coming in a close third is anger – most of them were directed at Squid Game’s closed-caption subtitles in English, which didn’t capture the meaning of the Korean dialogue accurately and the plot twists. RELATED READ: Clowns Outside Schools: Tracking a Not so Comedic Crisis in Real Time How brands in APAC are responding to Squid Game’s massive fame? Brands were quick to create trendjacking content opportunities with the show’s growing popularity over the past few weeks. Timeliness is vital when it comes to trendjacking and brands can monitor trending topics in real-time with social listening. Besides keeping abreast of the latest developments, brands can also track the sentiments and emotions from the social conversations to see how best to join and add value to conversations in relevant and purposeful ways. A couple of brands in APAC quickly jumped on the bandwagon – riding on the exciting buzz that Squid Game has created. Here’re some examples: Malaysian rail operator RapidKL posted a video clip on Facebook showing two men playing ddakji in a train station to promote its transportation card. 2. A Squid Game-themed promotional banner by Marigold HL Milk in Singapore on Facebook 3. Hong Kong Airlines' take on dalgona, a toffee-like sugar candy that appeared on Squid Game. It was not all fun and games, some brands took the opportunity to address uncertainties over securing a brighter future – a theme discussed in the show. Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) released a Facebook post, saying “why bother to play #Squidgame”, addressing worries over funding one’s higher education. All social listening data in this article was gathered using Cision Social Listening powered by Brandwatch This blog article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire.
