Healthcare Media Pitching Tips From Managing Editor, detikHealth
When it comes to pitching COVID-19 related stories to healthcare media, keep it simple and practical. That’s the key tip from Uyung Pramudiarja, Managing Editor of detikhealth, an online healthcare news website in Indonesia. As the pandemic continues to evolve, Pramudiarja predicts that COVID-19-related stories will stay dominant in detikHealth’s coverage. What types of pitches would get his attention? Simple and practical 'what to do' and 'how to' tips that are relatable to everyday life. Pramudiarja is one of the 15 editors and journalists whom PR Newswire interviewed for its 2021 Healthcare Media Pitching Kit (APAC Edition). The media share best practices and tips on pitching to them, what they look out for in media pitches and industry trends and developments that they are looking to report on this year. What kind of content would entice you to follow up on a press release and do an interview or in-depth coverage on it? Anything new will always be interesting for me. I would also consider the impact of the news - especially those with a positive impact and has greater value for the audience. How has the shift in information consumption habits among your audiences change over the past year and how has this impacted the way you report the news? Pandemic fatigue is real. Basically, people need hope, so content that brings positive information usually gets more attention. Unfortunately, not all positive information is actually 'positive'. Some may contain bias, exaggeration, or worse, false information. Most of the time, journalists can't rely on one or two sources only. We need to do more research, observation, investigation, and whatever is needed to make things clear. READ MORE: 4 Healthcare Media Pitching Tips from Journalists What would you like to see less of and more of from healthcare companies in 2021? Hopefully, there will be more campaigns on a healthy lifestyle. Information on diseases and treatments is important, but preventive measures are also needed. With most people still working from home, educating people on how to stay active will be very useful. Stop over-hyping products as having high expectations can bring massive backlash from disappointed audiences. What are you anticipating most from the industry this year that you would be keen to cover? COVID-19 related stories will stay dominant in our coverage. Simple and practical 'what to do' and 'how to' tips that are relatable to everyday life will get my attention. Considering that the guidelines are constantly changing, we'll see many updates to our editorial line-up. Science stories are also interesting - updates on drugs and vaccine development, new findings and research. Readers are always curious about the statistical model that predicts how and when the pandemic will end. Download the 2021 Healthcare Media Pitching Kit (APAC Edition) to get up to speed with the evolving healthcare industry to craft solid pitches and connect with the media effectively in a COVID-19 world.
Clowns Outside Schools: Tracking a Not so Comedic Crisis in Real Time
They say there are two things to avoid in showbusiness: Children and Animals. Earlier this week, it seems the adage for PR pros and marketers is "never work with clowns". Don't Send in the Clowns [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="700"] Clowns loitered outside some schools in Singapore as part of a publicity stunt by an enrichment centre.[/caption] Earlier this week, disturbing images of clowns randomly appearing and loitering outside schools across the island of Singapore started to circulate online. Within hours, the images had been joined by a swathe of posts across social media from rightly worried parents, followed by a series of rumours of the motive behind these seemingly creepy comic entertainers. Several parents reported clowns asking their children to follow them; others claimed they offered sweets and even money up to S$1000, and one school principal called the police over the reported incident. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="455"] The topic of clowns outside schools peaked on the morning of 20 September. (Source: Cision Social Listening)[/caption] Within hours of the first sighting, the topic began to spike (13,330% higher than usual). The subject snowballed by the hour with over 500 mentions of "clowns" mixed with fear spreading across social media, as people rightly asked, "what is going on?" This is based on social mentions of "Speech Academy Asia" and "Singapore" on Cision Social Listening. In less than a day, the news was picked up by every mainstream media outlet in Singapore; and started to appear in Malaysia and Australia before being reported by SCMP in Hong Kong. By the end of the day, it had generated over 2.5 million impressions. The news was also reported in The Washington Post and Daily Mail. So, what was behind this plot? Had the Joker and his band of comic villains found refuge in the Lion City? Or, is there a new tropical sequel of IT in the works? From Fear to Failure [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="487"] Fear was the top emotion picked up across social posts on the topic of clowns outside schools. (Source: Cision Social Listening)[/caption] It turns out it was nothing so sinister or as exciting. Instead, it was a failed publicity stunt by a local enrichment centre acting on a bad idea from their marketing and PR team. By day two, the school realised more needed to be done and issued a statement, written apology and was forced to deny (multiple times) any wrongdoing. Acting swiftly and honestly has curbed the response and stopped the accusations and story from spreading further. However, the topic continues to attract attention on social media, forums, and message boards. Riding on the buzz, The Straits Times even managed to track down the promotor who dressed up as the clown in an interview on September 22. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375"] Top social platforms on the topic of clowns outside schools. (Photo: Cision Social Listening)[/caption] The apology may have slowed the tide, but the impact on their reputation may take a while to recover. Over 40% of all comments mention their brand name are negative in tone and associate the school with poor judgment and lack of awareness - things parents don't want their children to learn. The enrichment school was even included in Campaign Asia's Best and Worst Marketing Stunts in Asia by the end of day two. Undeterred by the backlash, some brands have even tried to "ride the wave" of publicity by using clowns in Instagram posts and online to promote their products and services - If they could see what I can see on our social listening tool. They wouldn't think twice about sending in the clowns. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="373"] Postings on Twitter and Hardwarezone, a Singapore-based forum[/caption] RELATED READ: The Benefits – and Avoidable Pitfalls – of Humor in Asia-Pacific Corporate Communications No Clowning Around When it Comes to PR So what's the moral of the story? If you are a marketing or PR pro looking to gain attention for your brand, maybe think twice before sending in those misunderstood clowns. But even more importantly, be prepared. Preparing for a crisis is essential for any business, big or small. I am sure no one at the centre could have predicted that their Singapore clown stunt would have been retweeted by people as far away as the UK and Australia, but it was. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="355"] Source: Cision Social Listening[/caption] Social listening can provide an early warning system to a developing crisis, help you determine the scale of the problem, and give you an idea of the most appropriate response. You can use social listening tools to create alerts based on activity spikes or specific keywords, enabling you to check for significant or sudden changes in conversation volume or sentiment around your brand - or your next marketing campaign. For brands thinking of jumping on the bandwagon, it can also show you how past clown campaigns were received and how your take on the news might be received too. It can also help you plan a response, create your messaging and discover the best delivery method. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1201"] Source: Cision Social Listening[/caption] Nonetheless, technology can only get you so far. The critical thing to remember in a crisis is to remain calm and try not to panic. Don’t react in anger or become defensive. Instead, ensure your chosen responses are consistent, authentic and, where needed, apologetic. All social listening data in this article was gathered using Cision Social Listening powered by Brandwatch This blog post is written by Thomas Skelton, Senior Manager, Communications Strategy at PR Newswire in APAC.
4 Healthcare Media Pitching Tips from Journalists
The healthcare industry has been in the eye of the storm over the past year with the evolving COVID-19 situation. The industry has had to rapidly evolve in the outbreak – from scientists developing vaccines in record time to hospitals ramping up the use of technology. With an influx of developments, there are many opportunities for brands to collaborate with the media to share educational and informative content that addresses the concerns of readers and get them up to speed on the latest healthcare developments. In PR Newswire's 2021 Healthcare Media Pitching Kit (APAC Edition), we interviewed 15 editors and journalists in the healthcare, medical, pharmaceutical and lifestyle sectors across 8 markets in the Asia-Pacific region to get pitching tips and healthcare industry insights. Get the media pitching kit here or start with the main takeaways. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] (First row from left) Michelle Fay Cortez, Senior Medical Reporter/Editor at Bloomberg News, Uyung Pramudiarja, Managing Editor of detikHealth, Hithaishi C Bhaskar, Assistant Manager and APAC Coordinator (Content & Coordination) of BioSpectrum Asia. (Second row from left) Sean Pan, Senior Editor at The News Lens, Liu Zongyu, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Content Managing Partner of VC Beat, Sisy Lee, Editor-In-Chief at Evergreen.[/caption] 1. Spotlight on COVID-19 When it comes to pandemic-related coverage, journalists are most interested in reporting on the global vaccination drive and the potential side effects of various vaccines. "Right now, most of my coverage is related to COVID-19. Anything about the virus' trajectory or how people and companies are responding to it would get my attention," said Michelle Fay Cortez, Senior Medical Reporter/Editor at Bloomberg News. "Science stories are also interesting - updates on drugs and vaccine development, new findings and research. Readers are always curious about the statistical model that predicts how and when the pandemic will end," said Uyung Pramudiarja, Managing Editor of detikHealth. 2. Medical discoveries and breakthroughs backed by research are preferred 10 out of 15 journalists express their interest to follow up with more in-depth coverage on new developments in the healthcare field that are supported by credible data and sources. "I would also like to receive news of new products, investments, innovations, mergers and acquisitions and innovative technology in the healthcare sector in APAC. From AI applications to industrial tools, technology can solve challenges in the biopharma and healthcare services sector," said Hithaishi C Bhaskar, Assistant Manager and APAC Coordinator (Content & Coordination) of BioSpectrum Asia. "Besides COVID-19 news, breaking news in the health and science industries will entice me to do follow-ups. I am also keen on covering medical breakthroughs and developments from well-known scientists," said Sean Pan, Senior Editor at The News Lens. RELATED READ: COVID-19 Comms: How Brands are Helping Through Healthcare Initiatives? 3. Address healthcare issues beyond COVID-19 We are in the middle of a pandemic, but life goes on. Journalists seek to report on perennial healthcare issues such as the treatment of chronic diseases, drug developments, surgical techniques and how countries are grappling with their ageing populations. "I look forward to seeing additional medical start-ups focusing on technology development and innovation in the field of pharmacology, including coming up with innovative drugs and devices. These developments will enrich the local ecosystem while meeting existing needs," said Liu Zongyu, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Content Managing Partner of VC Beat. "I hope to report on health-related issues beyond COVID-19 such as chronic diseases, or the latest developments in heart surgery and dementia because our readers are relatively older, and Taiwan has a growing ageing population," explained Sisy Lee, Editor-In-Chief at Evergreen. 4. Skip the jargon It is best to explain any jargon in your pitch and provide examples and context to help journalists and their readers to understand your news angle and why it matters to them. "For healthcare-related press releases, avoid using jargon and make the information as clear as possible so reporters can identify the right angle themselves," said Ho Nhi, Journalist at Giao Duc. Download the 2021 Healthcare Media Pitching Kit (APAC Edition) to get up to speed with the evolving healthcare industry to craft solid pitches and connect with the media effectively in a COVID-19 world.
From The Editor’s Desk (August 2021): Showing a Company’s Value Through ESG Press Releases
In August, PR Newswire saw a huge increase in the volume of investment-related press releases - a 78% increase as compared to the previous peak in May. This spike in August is partially attributed to the rise in the number of earnings releases by companies in the Q3 earnings season. Rounding up the top 4 topics of press releases distributed (in terms of volume) in August are Carbon Neutrality & ESG, AI and Travel. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="631"] Source: PR Newswire[/caption] For this month's edition of From The Editor's Desk, we zero in on the topic of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), which has become a much-talked-about topic in the comms industry. A company’s impact on society is of more consequence than ever these days. It used to be companies could get away with highlighting their products, services, and personnel, but changing times bring about changing concerns. Consumers are now just as concerned with what a company does to make the world a better place as they are the company's products and services. As such, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG releases have become essential tools in a company’s PR kit. Demonstrating proficiency in these types of releases can build up your company’s profile as a game-changer in society. To write these releases, it’s important to take a few notes on how to do so effectively. PR Newswire’s Senior Editor Nathan Brown shares some tips on how brands can showcasing their value through ESG press releases. Tip 1: Don’t be Bombastic. Humble Brag The goal of PR is name recognition for the company. But CSR- and ESG-focused releases are meant to shed light on other causes: charities, environmental issues, or services outside of the company. Therefore, companies have to humble brag to keep the cause at the centre of the release while still connecting themselves to the news. Humble bragging is the subtle art of showing you’re good without stating it explicitly. You show how your institution can provide extra value in the world without overt focus on the greatness of the company or their services. ESG-focused releases by global biotech company I-MAB and alternative asset manager CPE’s demonstrate some of the keys to humble bragging. Keys to Humble Bragging in CSR/ESG Releases: Provide cause-focused data without being self-impressed at your work (e.g. This I-MAB release includes the percentage of women in the workplace and details about its Women's Leadership Council.) Link your company’s work to higher causes/institutions without taking on the lead role of the cause (e.g. CPE’s alignment with UN regulatory principles) Avoid going into too much detail about what your company does outside of the CSR/ESG – Readers will learn on their own if they’re impressed by your work. Avoid These Pitfalls When Attempting to Humble Brag: Include discussion of your company’s products/services onto the CSR/ESG content – It will be seen as a transparent attempt to sell your services instead of a cause-driven release Being overly enthusiastic with adjectives and adverbs – Like all press releases, CSR/ESG releases should be fact-driven. Over-use of adjectives and adverbs reads as insecure in your work for the cause at best and disingenuous at worst Compare your work to other companies – There is no need to put your company on a pedestal at the cost of another company. Only focus on what you do, not what others are or are not doing Tip 2: Contextualize the Cause Readers will be accessing your PR from around the world. They’ll be coming with different languages, backgrounds and ways of understanding the world. Thus, you have to approach your CSR/ESG press releases with this in mind. Craft your content knowing that you’ll have to provide your readers with a certain amount of context. Background information about the issues, details about a charitable organization or cause, or reasoning for your company’s tackling of the cause are all necessary elements of a successful CSR/ESG release. If the readers don’t know why they should care, they won’t care. And they won’t read on. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Thar Coal Block-1 Power Generation Company, a Pakistan-based subsidiary of Shanghai Electric that operates the power plant, held a toy and gift drive on July 19 for families celebrating Eid Al-Adha. (Photo: Shanghai Electric)[/caption] Shanghai Electric realized this when they put together their release detailing their charitable work in Pakistan. They provided details on the Eid holiday, the region, and the circumstances of the individuals involved, as well as data, so that readers outside of Pakistan would be able to empathize and understand the work better. READ MORE: Doing Good With Technology: A Q&A With Tencent Charity Foundation Tip 3: Put the Other Parties Front and Center When it comes to quotes and optics, it might be tempting to highlight the company. Images of company volunteers wearing vests with the company’s logo or quotes from the company’s CEO seem like a good idea, and they’re not bad at all, but it would behove writers to remember to focus on the purpose of the release. However, you want to highlight the cause - quotes should be provided from the beneficiaries as well as from the company. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Huawei supports Green School Bali through its donation of a solar energy inverter. (Photo: Huawei)[/caption] Huawei puts its CSR recipients at the centre of the story, highlighting the impact of Huawei’s work through the voices of those who have benefitted from it. A company can toot its own horn all day, but having someone else brag on them does so much more for the credibility of their work. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="518"] Cathay Bank highlights the recipients rather than themselves in their CSR release multimedia. (Photo: Cathay Bank)[/caption] Meanwhile, Cathay Bank Foundation made sure to not only include the recipients of their donations but also to list them out to keep the focus on their organizations rather than Cathay Bank. Reminder: If you’re going to focus on the recipients of your company’s charity, it is best not to patronize them or use infantile vocabulary to describe them. The quickest way to turn off readers is to sound like you know better than the people at the centre of the issue. Tip 4: Gear Readers up for Action When it comes to CSR/ESG, the end goal is betterment. But your company can’t act alone. Your company’s goal is to highlight the cause, what you’re doing about it, and to show what can still be done. Readers can get involved with CSR/ESG releases more than in any other types of press release. This will, in turn, connect them even more closely to your company as they begin seeing your work as their work, creating a relationship stronger than other types of news could. Get your readers involved through: Websites to the relevant charities Donation locations or links Future Charity events Future CSR/ESG events Government resources Further reading/knowledge points [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Traveloka did a survey on sentiments towards National Day in Singapore as part of its campaign to encourage Singaporeans to donate their SingapoRediscovers Vouchers. (Photo: Traveloka)[/caption] Jebsen Group and Traveloka both provide ample opportunities for readers to access the charities they’re promoting. Jebsen Group provides a long list of the charities they’re working with and each organization’s webpage so that readers can do their own research and see what they can do as well. Traveloka provides a step-by-step guide to encourage users in Singapore to donate their government-issued tourism vouchers to provide beneficiaries of charities with a fun day out at local attractions. At the end of the day, if your work for a cause outside of your company is genuine, it’s not going to matter if you’re distributing press releases or not. But if you are, keeping the above details in mind may help aid you in getting more readers interested in doing their part. Your company then becomes not just a service provider, but a thought and social leader. Your gains are not made in revenues but in the betterment of the world around you, and that’s what’s most important about an ESG release. - 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: July 2021 Press Release Highlights
In July 2021, PR Newswire’s overall press release volume showed a 27% year-on-year increase. Riding on the buzz over the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which was held from 23 July to 8 August, official partners of the games like Alibaba Group tapped on this opportunity to expand their global brand mileage by associating their products and services with the international sporting event. Besides the Olympics, other main press release topics are AI, Carbon Neutrality & ESG, Trade Show News and Travel. 1. Olympics: A couple of brands, which are official Olympic partners and sponsors, made announcements on brand marketing collaborations during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Examples include P&G, Official Worldwide Sponsor of Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Teams Up with Lazada for Regional Campaign #GoForGold. The online shopping campaign features a short film, "Your Goodness is Your Greatness", which celebrates athletes who show their dedication to sports and aims to encourage people to keep their spirits up, to go for gold and reach for their dreams, even when the going gets tough. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="559"] Alibaba Cloud Pin serves as a multifunction digital name tag for safe and fun social interaction during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. (Photo: Alibaba Group)[/caption] Alibaba Group, the Worldwide TOP Partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has unveiled the Alibaba Cloud Pin, a cloud-based digital pin, for the broadcasting and media professionals at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The pin enabled media professionals to engage with each other and exchange social media contact information in a safe and interactive manner during the games. Chinese Sportswear Brand Anta Released Olympic Award Uniform of China with High Sportswear Technology, from specially designed shoes to the unique waist support system of the weightlifting competition suit. 2. AI: July saw a minor increase of 3% in AI-related press releases volume, compared to June. (Examples: CICC Publishes Thematic Research on How AI Empowers Achievement of Carbon Neutrality; Infosys launched a series of solutions and suites to help companies build Live Enterprise, accelerate digital transformation). Nathan Brown, PR Newswire’s Senior Editor, shares three tips on how to write better tech releases. You don't need to put the background information of the industry up front. It defeats the purpose of the press release if readers who are probably already familiar with the industry have to filter through unnecessary information. Focus on your news, not the industry at large. If a backgrounder is needed, keep it short and towards the end of the release. Show how your news changes the industry. The tech industry is hyper-competitive. Showing how your company lead innovation in the industry gives it an edge and helps readers see you as a thought-leader, disruptor, or trend-setter. Multimedia is essential. Tech goes hand-in-hand with visuals, so having photos or videos is key to demonstrating how your news is relevant to an industry geared towards user-interaction. 3. Carbon Neutrality & ESG: This emerging topic also saw a slight month-on-month increase of 2%. (Examples: Johnson Controls Helps Customers in Asia Pacific Meet Decarbonization and Sustainability Goals; GWM Plans to Invest RMB 100 billion in R&D Targeting New Energy and Intelligent Fields in the Coming Five Years). 4. Trade Show News: Press release volume saw a 23% dip compared to June. Trending trade shows in the region included World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2021 in Shanghai and CommunicAsia 2021, an infocomm media and technology event in Singapore. (Example: Meituan Unveils Self-Developed Drone Model, Plans for Drone Logistics Network at 2021 World Artificial Intelligence Conference; Gitple will participate in the largest information and communication exhibition in Southeast Asia and introduce its chatbot and chat services which are gaining popularity in Korea). 5. Travel: July saw a big drop of 31% compared with June due to the evolving pandemic situation in APAC, with a resurgence of cases in countries like mainland China and Vietnam. (Examples: Fairfield by Marriott Celebrates its Brand Debut in Vietnam with the opening of Fairfield by Marriott South Binh Duong; Agoda backs Thai tourism 'Phuket Sandbox' campaign). READ MORE: From the Editor’s Desk: June 2021 Press Release Highlights Note-worthy Press Releases in July Casio’s release combined the excitement of launching a new product with the iconic PAC-MAN arcade game to generate interest through nostalgia. With ample details and multiple multimedia assets for journalists and bloggers to choose from, the release was picked up directly by 134 news sites, and the news was reported by tech media outlets such as HYPEBEAST, engadget, and TimeOut. High-tech yeast company Angel Yeast’s announcement of its new purpose-built yeast and biotechnology R&D centre in Hubei provided the main points of the news, including the facility’s key features and how they would help the company to drive innovation. The release was posted directly to 192 news sites. The quotes, details, and multimedia assets in the release also enabled journalists to report the news on Food Business News, FoodBev Media and Food & Drink International. The SenseTime release on the opening SenseTime International AI Innovation Hub in Singapore provided key content elements to help guide readers through this development. They include multimedia assets, quotes from relevant individuals that provide further insight into the news, and sub-headings to guide readers to the key information in this release. It was picked up by hundreds of sites throughout Southeast Asia. The quotes, details, and multimedia were featured in reports by FutureIoT, Business Times, and iTNews Asia. - 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,
Utilizing Multimedia for Storytelling in Press Releases
Including multimedia elements in press releases can leave a more memorable mark on readers. From photos, videos to infographics, multimedia elements help to paint a more visually impactful picture of stories and drive key messages home more robustly. Through the use of multimedia, readers can remember key statistics better, grasp complicated concepts more clearly and forge a stronger emotional connection with your brand. According to a 2020 PR Newswire study of press releases distributed globally, including an image in a press release increases the engagement rate by 2 times than a text-based press release. This rate increases three-fold when multiple images are included in a release. Source: PR Newswire Naturally, most journalists use multimedia assets in articles over the past year – according to Cision’s 2021 State of the Media Report (APAC Edition). 8 out of 10 journalists included images in their articles last year, while close to 45% of those surveyed included videos in their articles. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Source: Cision's 2021 State of the Media Report (APAC Edition)[/caption] The report also revealed that more than 1 in 5 journalists (or 23%) stated that PR professionals can make their jobs easier by including multimedia assets in their pitches and press releases. Besides press releases, PR Newswire also distributes Multimedia News Releases, which are customized branded landing pages that are optimized with multimedia, such as videos, photos, infographics, live social media feeds, social sharing and call to action buttons. To showcase the impact of multimedia storytelling, we show how images and videos can convey clear and impactful messages through Multimedia News Releases and press releases. 1. Give viewers an immersive visual experience As part of the launch of the video-on-demand streaming service Disney+ in Singapore, Mandopop star JJ Lin gave a dazzling performance on the rooftop of the ArtScience Museum, which is part of the iconic Marina Bay Sands. How best to capture the panoramic views of this unprecedented performance in a press release? Marina Bay Sands issued a Multimedia News Release, which features an awe-inspiring video of the performance that was shot both from the rooftop and the sky, as well as behind-the-scenes footage on key moments behind the ground-breaking extravaganza. The video includes background music that gives readers a sense of being part of a magical experience. Immersing viewers in the rich tradition of the annual pilgrimage to Mazu is Taiwanese film company Netizen Productions, which issued a Multimedia News Release on its project that showcases the culturally rich pilgrimage parade in Taiwan. The release opens with a visually arresting video that transports readers to the parade grounds and captures the vibrant sights and sounds, from the dramatic religious processions to the colourful vehicular installation art. 2. Tell an emotive story through a short film As a focal part of its campaign on critical illness insurance, Manulife Singapore featured a short film, The Unbroken that tugs the heartstrings of viewers. The emotional-charged film centres on a family facing the uncertainties of critical illnesses and how they showed strength in face of adversity. The short film also features a poignant Hokkien ballad that adds impact to the story. Besides the short film, the Multimedia News Release featured a Manulife survey on how 1 out of 3 critically ill patients has used up most or all of their savings. The film has since garnered more than 1.3 million views on YouTube. The MNR also included an infographic of the key survey findings, photos and a link to download the survey report. READ MORE: How to Create Compelling Videos to Enhance Business Growth 3. Sharing key figures in infographics To showcase how PR Newswire has been expanding its media network across APAC in 2020, we issued a press release, which includes an infographic that gives readers a quick snapshot of our news distribution network in APAC and how each market has grown in terms of the number of content partnerships. At one glance, readers can find out that the top-performing markets, in terms of the number of content partnerships and the number of content partners in each market. Whether you are looking to make your brand's news more digestible or spark an emotional connection with your audience, adding multimedia to press releases is a surefire way of increasing the likelihood of engagement from both readers and journalists. - 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 Multimedia News Release,
20 Most Overused Press Release Words in 2021: A PR Perspective
What are some words that make journalists roll their eyes when they read press releases? According to Cision’s 2021 State of the Media report, words such as ‘best of breed’, ‘world-class’ and ‘unprecedented’ are among the most cringe-inducing ones for journalists to read in a press release. Journalists are turned off by these fanciful and vague words, which tend to gloss over information. To help PR professionals better understand which words to avoid overusing in press releases and how they can better connect with journalists, we speak to Thomas Skelton, PR Newswire’s Senior Communications Strategy Manager. 1. How does this list of overused press release words resonates with you? I agree that the words on the list shouldn’t be overused in press releases. I’ve got a couple of other words and phrases to add to this list. Eagerly anticipated/Won the praise of customers: PR professionals should evaluate if such statements are from the brand’s or customer’s perspective? Never try to second guess what your customers are thinking and put these thoughts in an official release. End-user: Avoid using internal language for external communication. It sounds extremely impersonal. Words like ‘client’ or ‘customer’ are perfectly fine. Introduces: A very mediocre way to introduce a concept or product in a press release. Other alternatives include ‘presents’, ‘launches’ and ‘unveils’. High-Tech/Machine Learning/AI: Be specific and explain how the technology works. Otherwise, your release will be buried by more detailed releases from other technology companies. Leader/Leading: Unless your brand is an industry leader, don't use this. Even if it is a leader, I would recommend to not mention this. It is much better to play it cool and be understated. Most readers will look at this claim cynically and will doubt if your brand truly is a leader. Taking over/Dominating: Avoid using war analogies in a press release. Also, some products/companies may disappear after a few years, so it is best to avoid tempting fate and reduce the hyperbole. 2. How press releases can attract readers' attention despite having these overused words? Including these overused words can be acceptable if it is backed up. If your brand’s news has created an impact, you must demonstrate it. (For instance, one million people have pre-registered for the product or how your brand managed to raise funding in a short amount of time.) The two most important things we ask clients to consider when analyzing a news angle are thinking about the audience and their perspective. 1) Audience: Think about your audience and put yourself in their shoes. How does your news announcement make someone who might not be familiar with your brand think or feel? 2) Perspective: Think of people you interact with in life. Do you like hanging out with people who talk about themselves all the time? The likelihood is you don't. And neither will your audience. Avoid releases that take a constant first person, "I" perspective. (For example, Company X achieves X. Company X wins X, Company X is pleased to announce X.) Instead, consider what the announcement means to the audience? Of course, a first-person perspective is unavoidable and necessary at times, but consider how your audience can benefit or be impacted by the news and use more inclusive language. A good example that illustrates the above point is DAZN And YouTube Enter Groundbreaking Partnership To Bring UEFA Women's Champions League To Fans Around The World, Live And For Free, as readers can get a sense of "you" from this partnership and why it is significant to them. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Sophie’s Bionutrients Unveils The World’s First Plant-Based Burger Patty Made From Microalgae. (Photo: Sophie's Bionutrients)[/caption] 3. Share recent examples of good press release headlines that instantly attracted your attention? An example of a good press release headline is Ucommune's Shenyang Project Achieves 98.22% Occupancy Rate in Less Than 9 Months via Asset-Light Model. The headline incorporates figures that show why the news is significant and demonstrates why the brand is a leading name in the office space industry. Another example is Sophie's Bionutrients Unveils The World's First Plant-Based Burger Patty Made From Microalgae. The headline shows a clear news value - the use of “world’s first” helps to capture the attention of the audience and so does the novel concept of developing burger patties from microalgae. This press release, which was written by our Communications Strategy Team, garnered more than 65,000 views and was reported by media outlets such as Green Queen and The Spoon. Besides knowing which words to avoid overusing in press releases, PR professionals can get more insights into today’s media landscape in Cision’s 2021 State of the Media Report (APAC Edition). The report also dives into some of the key challenges that journalists and editors around the world have been facing: 38% of journalists have fatigue over covering the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 1 in 4 journalists receive more than 100 pitches per week. Up to 25% of media pitches that journalists receive are relevant to them. Journalists do not want irrelevant pitches, repeated follow-ups, inaccurate information, and pitches that sound like marketing brochures, among other pet peeves, from PR reps. Want to get inside the minds of journalists? We spoke with editors and journalists from top media outlets across APAC at the PR Newswire 2021 Global State of the Media (APAC Edition) webinar on what PR professionals can do to turn these challenges into opportunities for media coverage. Watch the webinar now! - 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. A former journalist, he relishes keeping track of breaking news as much as telling stories with trends and data. Connect with him via Linkedin.
From the Editor’s Desk: June 2021 Press Release Highlights
In June 2021, PR Newswire saw a surge in press release distribution volume in APAC. There was a 33% year-on-year increase in the volume of press releases distributed in the region. Trending press release topics in June include Artificial Intelligence, which was an increase of 10% compared to last month, while areas like Carbon Neutrality & ESG remain popular. Traditionally, June has been a popular period for travel during the summer holidays. Despite the travel restrictions across APAC, travel and tourism-related brands continue to share news such as hotel openings, and products and services in anticipation of traveling resuming in other parts of the world such as Europe at press time. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1231"] Source: PR Newswire[/caption] The main content topics in June 2021 were “AI,” “Carbon Neutrality & ESG,” and “Trade Show News” and “Travel”. 1. AI & New Gadgets/Apps: This burgeoning topic saw an increase of 10% in press release volume, compared to May. (Examples: Ping AnChairman Marks 33rd Anniversary of Group with Message: My Thoughts on the New Digitalization; Tuya Smart Showcases New IoT Device Connectivity Capabilities at 2021 Mobile World Congress). 2. Carbon Neutrality & ESG: The volume of releases on this emerging topic increased by 7% compared to May. (Examples: NetEase Publishes 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report; LG Energy Solution Presents Innovative Battery Technology and ESG Initiatives at InterBattery 2021). 3. Trade Show News: Major trade shows such as Mobile World Congress and SNEC International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition were held in June. (Examples: TCL commercially announces NXTWEAR G smart glasses, multi-screen support for smartphones, new Family Watch and 5G CPE at MWC 2021; Shanghai Electric Presents at SNEC 2021 with Its New Battery Management System Taking Center Stage). 4. Travel: June saw an increase of 34% on release distribution volume during the peak travel season in mainland China, while travel and hospitality brands in some APAC markets announced their news and developments in anticipation of the opening of travel borders at press time. (Examples: Marriott International today celebrates another milestone in Japan with the opening of the company's 70th property in the country, Aloft Osaka Dojima; uCloudlink Teams up with London-based Business Partner, Preparing for Europe Summer Travel Re-opening). RELATED READ: From The Editor’s Desk: May 2021 Press Release Highlights Note-worthy press releases in June 2021 1. More people are looking forward to travel, with restrictions are gradually lifted around the world. The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy announced plans to re-open the country partially to tourists through a Multimedia News Release that also focused on their Arabian Travel Market Dubai 2021 visit. The release had 21,637 views on the PR Newswire site and 578 exact pick-ups globally. The release’s photo and quotes gave writers at TTN World, a Middle Eastern trade publication, and Trade Arabia, a Middle Eastern business news distributor, the details needed for their articles on the same topic. 2. Hyundai Motor Group’s release about its partnership with ANRA Technologies focused on what technology readers are looking for. Environmental issues, new transportation needs, and futuristic possibilities all draw quick attention. The interesting multimedia assets help materialize the details of the release and the quotes from high-level personnel at both companies, giving bloggers and online media plenty to write about. The posting on PR Newswire was viewed 23,894 times and the release received 186 direct pick-ups. Green Car Congress, a sustainable mobility blog, used the quotes and main details from the original release. DRONELIFE, an online distributor focused on the latest drone news, likewise took advantage of the release-provided multimedia and main details. RELATED: Case Study: Hyundai Motor Company Enhances Global Presence with PR Newswire’s Communications Solutions 3. Fosun Fashion Group’s release contained lots of specific details and useful quotes that make it easy for the media to incorporate in their articles. The release earned coverage from Fashion Group and Fashion United and garnered 17,736 views on PR Newswire and 181 media pick-ups. Fashion Group’s 850,000 subscribers read about the news, which included quotes from the original release. Fashion United also used the main details from the story as well as the quotes to provide the details for their own write-up. - 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,
Mobile World Congress 2021: What’s Buzzing from Brands?
Mobile World Congress (MWC), one of the world’s largest mobile technology conferences, returns this year with a hybrid format - a mix of virtual and in-person events. More than 100,000 attendees from over 200 countries are expected to attend conferences and seminars by industry trailblazers and companies, which have put out news on product launches and the latest technology innovations. Capturing the latest MWC news is PR Newswire, which is the official media and communications partner for MWC Barcelona 2021. PR Newswire is hosting the official MWC21 Online Press Room, which houses MWC-related press releases, multimedia assets, and other content. We highlight how some brands are utilizing MWC 2021 to showcase their technology and expertise on the world stage. 1. TCL NXTWEAR G Smart Glasses and Multi-Screen Collaboration Feature Announced at MWC 2021 [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] The NXTWEAR G Wearable Display Glasses can be a portable cinema for movie lovers or an immersive world for gamers. (Source: TCL)[/caption] Introducing novelty technology is one way of grabbing media attention. Consumer electronics company TCL will launch its NXTWEAR G Wearable Display Glasses at this year’s MWC. The glasses can transport consumers to private viewing parties while they are on the go. The glasses, which are fitted with dual Sony FHD micro-OLED screens, can become a portable cinema for movie lovers, an immersive world for gamers, or a private space at home, work, or during one’s commute. 2. Telco Sector Can Be Game-Changer on Sustainability, Shrinking Its Own, Other Industries' Carbon Footprints Ahead of Mobile World Congress 2021, Boston Consulting Group reveals a newsworthy finding - carbon dioxide emissions from the information and communication technology industry are currently twice those of the aviation industry. This finding is featured in a new research report that predicts that the telco sector will face increased scrutiny for its environmental impact. The report also details how the unprecedented global demand for digital communications has been accelerated by remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. RELATED READ: 3 Ways to Increase Your Visibility at MWC Barcelona 3. D-Link Reveals Latest Connectivity Innovations at Mobile World Congress 2021 Riding on the global trend of remote working, network equipment giant D-Link showcases how its technology can provide solutions to support business connectivity requirements during a pandemic. The release from D-Link shows how its technology is relevant in today’s working world as its products are engineered for enterprise 5G private networks, cloud-managed campus networks, on-premise SMB networks, and smart home networks. D-Link also created an MWC event microsite for audiences, who are unable to travel to the event in Barcelona. 4. Secure data exchange for the home office - Infotecs presents security encryption solutions and new software, LR100 Gen, for mobile networks at MWC21 Cybersecurity and threat intelligence specialist Infotecs is presenting its ViPNet security solutions at this year’s MWC. The release makes a timely reference to the increasing dependence on VPN technology among companies that have employees working from home. Infotecs is debuting its load generator LR100Gen for mobile 4G/5G networks, which can detect vulnerabilities in networks quickly – an important requirement to ensure seamless work operations. RELATED READ: CES 2021: 5 Tips on Getting Media Coverage at Virtual Tech Events Click here to visit the official Mobile World Congress 2021 Online Press Room, powered by 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. This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire. A former journalist, he relishes keeping track of breaking news as much as telling stories with trends and data. Connect with him via Linkedin.
How PR Pros can Evolve with Journalists in a Digital World?
Digital innovation has reshaped the media and public relations industry in APAC – and the COVID-19 has only accelerated the pace of transformation. Many news and media companies are strengthening their digital presence - with more live streams, push notifications and live blogging. This has sparked the need for journalists and editors to equip themselves with new skills and work performance metrics. Creating compelling content on digital platforms, leveraging audience data to better engage readers and maintaining an active social media presence are prerequisites for media professionals these days. Naturally, PR practitioners also need to evolve and adapt their outreach and pitching efforts to better serve the needs of their media counterparts. We invited 2 Hong Kong-based editors: Sally Tse, Chief Editor of Cosmopolitan Hong Kong and Natalie Koh, News Editor of AsianInvestor to share their insights on how they have adapted their reporting practices in the digital age of journalism. Sally and Natalie spoke at a recent PR Newswire webinar on Digitalization: How PR Pros Can Evolve With The Media on a Digital Wave that you can watch on-demand here. Here're the key takeaways on how PR pros can work effectively with journalists in today's digital age. Sally Tse, Chief Editor, Cosmopolitan Hong Kong Understand the audience metrics that editors use to evaluate stories Sally oversaw the transition of Cosmopolitan Hong Kong from a print magazine to a fully digital platform last year. Besides its website, the magazine also has a thriving social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and MeWe. Producing content on new platforms means her editorial team has to work with a whole new set of KPIs. Keeping a close eye on the audience metrics has enabled her to better plan and evaluate which content can connect with audiences efficiently and better retain viewers on the website. These audience metrics include: a. Monthly active users and page views As of March 2021, the Cosmopolitan Hong Kong website received 1.6 million monthly active users and amassed an average of 40 million page views per month. Sally shares that a key part of Cosmopolitan's content strategy is to maximize website traffic by putting out on-brand and valuable content through its content pillars: fashion, beauty and lifestyle. Organic search is a vital source of traffic to Cosmopolitan Hong Kong’s website. Sally shared that her team takes 2 months to plan articles that require SEO inputs - this involves researching for keywords with high search volume and how they can be incorporated into the content. The aim? To have their articles included in the first page of Google search engine results. b. Social media engagement To create viral social media content, the team keeps track of timely news, trends and what's on the radar of celebrities that would appeal to their target audience. Her team also produces videos or live-streamed ones regularly, as they are known to boost reach and engagement rates on social media. Sally uses social media as a testbed to monitor how audiences would react to various article angles and formats. c. User Loyalty In order to retain viewers on their website, Cosmopolitan Hong Kong incorporates interactive tools in online articles: polls, quizzes and “shop” buttons that enable readers to purchase products mentions in articles. Articles are also filled with many inbound links to other relevant articles. RELATED READ: 4 Ways to Up Your Media Pitching Game in 2021 Natalie Koh, News Editor, AsianInvestor 1. Be agile and anticipate the types of media coverage in a 24-hour news cycle Keep a close eye on what's stories have been put out by the media and anticipate what journalists are likely to report next. Some possibilities include Follow-ups on news stories that have gone viral or from a competing media Announcements from major newsmakers Follow-ups on news that have another angle that is relevant to the media title Hot topics and trends of the moment How news is reported in a 24-hour news cycle? Gone are the days when journalists have the luxury of having a few hours to work on a news story. For breaking news, journalists need to Break the news within the first 15 minutes by putting out 2 to 4 paragraphs on the crux of the news. Add background information and context to the story in the next 30 minutes. Within the next few hours, they have to scramble to add analyst comments to complement their reporting. 2. Journalists need comments from analysts – get your clients ready Natalie says: "This is where we can use all the help we can get from our sources or from PR practitioners, who have analysts or consultants as clients who can provide quotes and comments on the impact and implications of the news." She adds that journalists tend to send out these requests for comments from mid/late morning onwards after the editorial line-up for the day has been firmed up. Another way for brands to contribute inputs to editorial articles is through long-form features like trend and in-depth analysis stories. Journalists have a longer lead time - a week or more to complete such stories. For such stories, journalists need to seek comments from multiple parties to provide readers with a well-rounded view of the issue. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="297"] The 'Most Read' articles section on the AsianInvestor website[/caption] 3. Trendspotting: Using social media and data analytics to come up with story ideas The digital wave has provided editors and journalists with new ways of coming up with story ideas. Instead of making assumptions on what is newsworthy, they are tapping on website data and social media analytics to help them make editorial decisions. She adds: “Knowing that editors are looking at data and social media trends, you can also look at them as well to figure out stories that we want to do next.” Look out for the ‘Most Read Articles/Top Stories’ box on the home page of news websites. Natalie shares that editors keep track of best-performing stories on their and their competitors’ websites and would try to emulate them for future stories. She says: “Usually if a story has performed well, there would be a follow-up and that's your cue to pitch relevant clients to us.” On social media, editors are looking out for trending topics on Twitter and buzz-worthy phrases on Google Trends. “We are looking at how we can connect with our audiences, and social media has helped us a sense of public sentiment on the news,” she adds. 3. Tap on social media to build relationships with journalists Social media has become an important tool for reporting as it provides journalists with direct access to their sources and commentators for their articles. They can get quotes directly from industry experts and conduct online polls on how the public feels about certain issues. She says: “LinkedIn is great for relationship building - It's more professional because people’s job titles are verified and I have used InMail to reach out for comments and quotes.” In addition, journalists also use social media to distribute their stories and engage with users who leave comments there and even use comments for their stories. Looking for more insights? Check out PR Newswire webinar’s on Digitalization: How PR Pros Can Evolve With The Media on a Digital Wave on demand. This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire. A former journalist, he relishes keeping track of breaking news as much as telling stories with trends and data. Connect with him via Linkedin.
From The Editor’s Desk: May 2021 Press Release Highlights
With a huge five-fold increase in press release volume compared to the same period in 2020, tourism made almost a full recovery last month in Mainland China. However, domestic tourism activities in some countries in APAC were relatively muted due to fresh waves of infections. Last month also saw a 45% increase in trade show-related releases, while those on high tech remain popular. Trending topics of the month include “Travel”, “Trade Show News”, “AI” and “Carbon Neutrality & ESG”. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1231"] Source: PR Newswire[/caption] Top Press Release Topics [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] Westin Hotels & Resorts unveiled its wellness-centric campaign, Let's Rise.[/caption] 1. Travel: Key topics from the travel industry include new hotel launches, campaigns and surveys on the state of the tourism industry. Westin Hotels & Resorts launched a “Let’s Rise” campaign to motivate locals and travelers alike to enhance their well-being through a series of wellness programmes at the hotels. Marriott International’s The Luxury Collection launched a new luxury hotel, Josun Palace in the upmarket district of Gangnam in South Korea. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jaemyung at the opening ceremony of the 2021 Korea Basic Income Fair. (Credit: Gyeonggi Provincial Government)[/caption] 2. Trade Show News: May saw a big increase of 45% on this topic, compared with the volume in April. China International Consumer Products Expo was the highest trending trade show in May, with 22 releases distributed. Example include Secoo Group unveiled its Hainan International Business Strategy for the first time at the China International Consumer Products Expo. In South Korea, the 2021 Korea Basic Income Fair was held successfully, attracting 600,000 visitors to its online and offline events. The Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition in Australia also saw brands like AlphaESS launched its latest residential and commercial energy storage solutions. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] AIZEN's mobile banking services (Credit: AIZEN)[/caption] 3. AI & New Gadgets/Apps: Topics related to new technology remain popular, with a 35% spike in press release volume as compared to April. Examples include digital payments giant Visa setting its focus on payment security as digital commerce resets in Asia-Pacific. AIZEN, a South Korean artificial intelligence finance company is expanding its footprint in Vietnam, with many local companies using its platform for lending services. 4. Carbon Neutrality & ESG: This emerging topic remains popular. Examples include DBS, SGX, Standard Chartered and Temasek joining forces to take climate action through global carbon exchange and marketplace for high-quality carbon credits; Tech company The Acer Group pledges to achieve 100% renewable energy use by 2035 and launched an "Earthion" platform for its employees and supply chain partners to help tackle environmental challenges. USI strives to make ‘a Green Earth’ by enhancing its performance of ESG. RELATED READ: From The Editor’s Desk: April 2021 Press Release Highlights Note-worthy Press Releases of the Month [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (middle) launching P&G’s iLab 2021. (Credit: P&G)[/caption] 1. P&G launched its virtual innovation festival, iLab 2021, which saw start-ups collaborate with the consumer goods giant to overcome real-world challenges faced in the areas of advertising, retail, and supply chain. Through this press release, P&G was able to promote the event with quick, bite-sized details and quotes that can be easily picked up for reporting. Both The Straits Times and The Business Times crafted stories with direct quotes and details from the release. Along with earned media coverage, the release received 218 direct link syndicated pick-ups. 2. Smartphone brand TECNO recently tapped on American actor Chris Evans, who is best known for his role as Captain America, to be its brand ambassador. Besides featuring a high-profile personality, the release also has prominent multimedia assets and strong talking points that are embedded with TECNO’s brand values that enable the media to generate their stories. The news received 150 syndicated pick-ups and earned media coverage. Media outlets such as Exchange4Media and TechObserver reported on the news, and included quotes and details from the release in their articles. 3. DIZO’s launch was announced in late May and several Asian tech media including Analytics India Mag, an India-based AI/data science-focused news distributor, and independent news site The Spuzz, incorporated details from the release into their own articles. Both media used the direct quote from the Vice President of realme, while The Spuzz included the multimedia assets to make their piece more engaging. The release gained 60 syndicated re-posts just in Pakistan alone. - 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,
4 Ways to Up Your Media Pitching Game in 2021
The events of 2020 have hit newsrooms hard – journalists are grappling with a turbulent news cycle, from relentless pandemic developments to reporting political unrest in APAC. On top of these, they are required to generate stories with leaner resources such as downsized staff and declining revenue – and deal with digital disruption. Cision, PR Newswire's parent company, recently released its State of the Media Report (APAC Edition) that examines today's media landscape – from the lens of journalists. It surveyed more than 2,800 journalists from 19 markets around the world to uncover the shifts in the inner workings of journalists, from their editorial strategy, pitching their preferences to challenges faced. The report's APAC edition offers deeper insights into how journalists work in APAC, which spans Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Here are the key takeaways from the full 2021 State of the Media Report (APAC Edition) that you can apply when you are planning your next pitch. 1. Understand the struggles that journalists face [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="506"] A quote from a journalist in Cision's 2021 State of the Media Report (APAC Edition)[/caption] 38% of journalists expressed fatigue over covering COVID-19 related news. From new virus strains, cancellation of travel bubbles to vaccination woes, COVID-19 news is showing no signs of slowing down – more than one year after the outbreak. 3 out of every 10 journalists find it more challenging to get in touch with their sources for stories, given that many are working remotely. What PR pros can do is to ensure that they or their clients can be readily contacted by phone or video calls (especially when a client has been pitched for interviews). Also, ensure that your clients are comfortable doing interviews via video calls. Given that arranging face-to-face interviews these days is challenging, the next best alternative is video or phone interviews – instead of settling for email interviews. It is much easier for journalists to ask follow-up questions or seek clarifications over a phone or video call. 2. Anticipate the types of stories that journalists are looking for After a year of disruption and division, the public and journalists are hungry for positive news. Close to half of the respondents are looking for "new angles" in their COVID-19 coverage. As the pandemic is far from over, there are still many topics to expand upon – from feel-good stories on how companies and communities are helping others to how new technologies are impacting businesses and consumers in the new normal. Know the types of stories that journalists are prioritising and how they fit into the media outlet's relevant columns and sections. Thereafter, you can start preparing a list of relevant story ideas or trends that are aligned to the media's editorial strategy or put forward clients who are subject-matter experts and available for interviews. 3. Time press releases right – fridays and weekends are fine too [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="433"] Source: Cision's 2021 State of the Media Report (APAC Edition)[/caption] Pitching on Mondays and Tuesdays offers a higher pick-up rate among journalists, especially when most media outlets have editorial meetings in the earlier part of the week. Journalists get busier as the week goes by. However, do not neglect Fridays and the weekends too. A significant number of journalists prefer pitches on Fridays (28%) or the weekend (14.3%). This is because some may use the weekend as a breather to catch up on their emails or scour for story ideas for that dreadful editorial meeting next week. Or these emails may land on top of their inboxes on Monday morning. 4. Provide content that journalists can incorporate in their stories Forget email interview responses filled with marketing spiel or long lists of company achievements. Time-pressed journalists are looking for content that can be used in their articles at short notice. 78% of journalists want to receive press releases, which is a source of official and verifiable information. Original research reports (67%) are also very much welcomed as trends and market analysis and industry data can add weight and justify points made in their articles. Other in-demand content includes invitations to virtual events (especially when newsmakers can offer comments) or initial ideas for story development that can kickstart their brainstorming process for upcoming articles. Get Cision’s 2021 State of the Media Report (APAC Edition) for more journalist insights on pitching preferences, and trends and challenges in today’s complex media landscape. This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire. A former journalist, he relishes keeping track of breaking news as much as telling stories with trends and data. Connect with him via Linkedin.
South Korea Media: Communicating in a High-Context Culture in 2021
*This article is an updated version of High context culture: What PR Pros need to know about South Korea, with figures and information from 2020. South Korea is set to receive global attention in June 2021 as it is one of the four countries that has been invited to participate in this year’s G7 summit in the United Kingdom. The annual summit, which is organized by G7 (Group of 7), where government leaders from the world’s most affluent nations discuss pressing global issues. Key issues on the agenda are likely to be the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its global vaccination drive, and climate change. While the COVID-19 situation is still developing in South Korea, the country was hailed for its success in containing the spread of the virus in the early stages last year through the use of technology for contact tracing and surveillance. It comes as little surprise, as the country is known for its advanced technological infrastructure and network connectivity. The nation of 51.3 million has an Internet penetration rate of 97% and has 60.7 million mobile connections*. Hwajin Choi, Senior Audience Development Executive at PR Newswire Asia, shares the current challenges of the media and what PR professionals need to know about the high-context culture of South Korea. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="221"] Hwajin Choi, Audience Development Executive at PR Newswire Asia.[/caption] 1. Share with us an overview of the media landscape in South Korea? South Korea is a world leader in Internet connectivity - it boasts one of the fastest average connection speeds. To put this into perspective, digital media and mobile devices are major factors in the media environment in Korea. The influence of web-portal news is growing tremendously and social media is becoming a critical pathway for finding, sharing and reading news. In South Korea, web-portal sites such as Naver and Daum are the most popular digital news platforms. 74.9% of Koreans accessed news from news portals via smartphone applications and mobile web in 2020, according to the Korea Press Foundation. It also states that the most popular news destination in Korea is Naver - most Koreans access news through its home page rather than its stand-alone webpages. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="544"] Naver is one of the most popular news portals in South Korea.[/caption] As Naver’s news service has become the most influential, a new ecosystem has been created for news companies in Korea. The alliance between major portals Naver and Daum is considered the most practical and effective way to increase traffic and generate revenue for media companies. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="657"] Media usage in South Korea (2000 to 2020). Source: Korea Press Foundation[/caption] 2. What are the challenges and opportunities for the Korean media industry over the past year? The decline of the traditional news industry has been widely debated in Korea with the slowdown in the print business, slumping advertisement sales and upheaval from mobile apps and social media. According to Korea Press Foundation, revenue from newspaper sales in 2020 increased by 4.1% compared to last year. However, if the increase in costs of living and the number of media outlets are factored in, there isn’t an actual increase in revenue. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="581"] Source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020[/caption] Another challenge for the Korean news industry is trust. The level of trust that Koreans have in news is rather dismal. Based on the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020, South Korea is consistently rank amongst the lowest when it comes to the public’s trust in the news media among the 40 countries surveyed. This also can be seen by South Korea’s poor attitude ranking towards the media coverage of the pandemic. Nonetheless, there are still some opportunities in the Korean news industry. While the growth rate of traditional media such as newspapers and broadcasts has fallen sharply, the number of visitors to Internet portals and social network services is rising. While the overall public trust in news in Korea is low but its frequency of access remains high. In general, Korean digital news consumption is significantly higher than in other countries: 36% of Koreans said they access news via the Internet. Due to the COVID-19 movement restrictions, television news consumption saw an uptake in 2020 compared to the last year. The Korean media is working hard to restore trust in the media industry, for instance, some major media outlets have fact-checking teams which review news articles for misleading or false information. Naver and Daum jointly formed a Committee for the Evaluation of News Partnership to manage the quality of news on their websites. The Committee determines the eligibility of news providers who want to provide content, and penalises those that violate ethical standards. 3. Are there any cross-cultural differences that need to be recognised? South Korea is a high-context culture. Koreans do not speak as much as lower-context cultures such as the US, UK or Germany and rely more on context when communicating. This cultural attitude is also reflected through digital communications. Koreans are more likely to have fewer, but more intimate relationships on SNS (Social Network Services) that are built upon trust and adopt a more indirect communication style. Koreans tend to post content that is in line with their interests on social media, making it a vital channel for businesses to reach their audiences - especially when the public trust in news in Korea is low. READ MORE: 2020 South Korea Media Landscape Highlights 4. How about mobile communication, what are the main differences in comparison to western countries? South Korea still outperforms many OECD countries in terms of fixed and mobile broadband network connectivity. According to OECD, there were about 22.15 million fixed broadband subscriptions registered in South Korea in 2020. This figure is a slight increase from the previous year. South Korea is also a long-time broadband leader, with an over 80% share of fibre network coverage in 2019. South Korea’s 3 telco operators (SK Telecom, LG Uplus and KT Corp) launched 5G technology in April 2019 and 5G networks are available mostly in large cities. The number of 5G subscribers in South Korea hit nearly 12 million last year. Not surprisingly, Korea has the highest daily share of mobile (non-voice) usage in the world. This is reflected through Korean’s news consumption attitude as well. Mobile devices are the primary method to access news in Korea, most Koreans use mobile phones more than PCs. Whereas, most western countries like the US and other countries in Europe still use PCs more than mobile phones to access news. Other than that, mobile devices have become a large part of Korean daily life, and I think the importance and influence are bigger than in other western countries. Read More: For more communications resources tailored for the South Korean market, visit the newly-revamped PR Newswire's Korean website 4. In terms of social media: Which channels or apps are primarily used in South Korea? According to Wiseapp, the most commonly used social media in Korea is Instagram, followed by Facebook. Instagram is popular especially among those under 30 years old. In terms of their influence as a news platform, Facebook is the still most used social media for finding, reading, watching and sharing news. The second most commonly used is Instagram. 5. How do companies and PR Agencies use the mentioned tools for their communications? Social Network Service and mobile marketing remain the most important marketing and PR platforms in Korea. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the importance of digital marketing. Many offline events are cancelled so they can become more crucial for businesses to use digital marketing to engage with their clients and audiences. More companies are doing more social media campaigns, and business-related live streams conducted through Instagram. As mobile connectivity has become an important platform in South Korea for marketing and PR, new content formats have been adopted by some traditional Korean media. For instance, some Korean news outlets have started to publish 'card news', a banner style article that contains images and text together and is convenient for reading on mobile devices. Looking to grow your communications efforts in South Korea? PR Newswire provides end-to-end comms solutions, from press release distribution, media monitoring to comms strategy. Contact us here. Hwajin Choi is the Senior Audience Development Executive focusing on the South Korea market at PR Newswire. If you would like to be featured, please get in touch with her at hwajin.choi@prnasia.com. * We Are Social 2021 Report
Thailand Media Landscape Highlights
Overview In 2020, the media in Thailand had to endure hardships brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic had a far-reaching effect on the economy, affecting media revenues and ad spending, which is an important source of income. Data from the Media Agency Association of Thailand (MAAT) showed that ad spending in 2020 fell 14% to 104.509 billion baht compared to 122.18 billion baht in 2019. The situation prompted media agencies to adjust their business operations and content formats to survive and attract readers. Publications such as magazines and newspapers, which have been dealing with drastic changes in how audiences consume media, are shifting their focus to online content and social media. While the popularity of magazines and newspapers has declined, digital TV and over-the-top TV (OTT TV) services, or video streaming services, enjoyed increased popularity and advertising spending. The growth in these media outlets can also be attributed to people spending more time at home, due to social distancing and work-from-home measures. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1091"] Over-the-top TV (OTT TV) services, or video streaming services, has seen a rise in popularity over the past year. Source: InfoQuest[/caption] Likewise, social media took up as much of people’s time and attention. In Thailand, Instagram gained more prominence as more celebrities and influencers uploaded photos and videos of themselves doing interesting things at home. TikTok was another entertainment platform for users who like short-form videos. LINE also garnered a lot of popularity. During the COVID-19 outbreak, LINE Call saw a spike in voice and video call usage via personal computers because many Thais used the service when working from home or to stay connected with their groups of friends. For more in-depth analysis of developments of the Thai media industry, download the Thailand Media Landscape 2021 Report by InfoQuest. Key Developments Twitter's Role in Politics: Thailand’s political climate became heated in 2020 with many political protests and movements. Twitter became the key social platform for expressing political opinions and had gained a significant amount of political-minded users. This marks a shift in the Twitter user demographics in Thailand, which was previously dominated by teenagers, who used the platform for sharing news and stories about their favourite celebrities. As most of the political activists who took part in protests were students, Twitter became the main platform for expressing political opinions and discussions and sharing news on the protests. Twitter activity became especially intense following protests calling for democratic reforms. In addition, protest organizers used Twitter as their main tool to announce the locations of flash mobs. Those who wanted to take part in the flash mobs had to follow news and updates on the protest leaders’ Twitter accounts. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="737"] The popular Drama-addict Facebook page by Dr. Wittawat Siriprachai also provided public service announcements on COVID-19-related news. (Source: InfoQuest)[/caption] New Role of Influencers: Influencers in Thailand played a significant role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of them are prominent figures in their respective sectors and have lots of followers. Some have used their platforms to raise public awareness about COVID-19 and improve people’s understanding of the outbreak Government agencies have also tapped on influencers on communicating public information in order to quash fake news and raise public awareness of important issues. For example, the Drama-addict Facebook page by Dr. Wittawat Siriprachai, or popularly known as “Sergeant Pichit Kajatpanchon”, was one of the influencers who helped disseminate news and information on the COVID-19 situation. The page, which has more than 2.6 million followers, also provided clarifications on health and social issues that were sources of “drama”. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="489"] Many publications had to diversify their business in order to stay afloat. (Source: InfoQuest)[/caption] The Diversification of Print Media: Magazines and newspapers have been on a decline as consumers prefer to get their news and information from online sources and social media. Print media, therefore, had to make adjustments and switched to present their content via online channels and social media instead. At the same time, these publishers also expanded the scope of their business by tapping on the experience and expertise of their editorial staff in other areas. They include organizing events, seminars and offering public relations services. READ MORE: To get more insights on the APAC media industry, visit PR Newswire's Asia-Pacific Media Landscape series. New key media outlets [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="661"] Independent news website Thisrupt.co publishes opinions and analysis pieces on what's happening in Thailand.[/caption] The COVID-19 crisis has affected many media outlets and pressured them to restructure their organizations and reduce their workforce. The situation allowed journalists who were laid off to turn the crisis into an opportunity by starting their news websites. Some media outlets also rebranded in response to the needs of their diverse range of consumers. Finance news website MoneyClub.asia and independent news website Thisrupt.co., were started by experienced journalists, who utilized their media experience and experiences in their new ventures. News outlet WorkpointTODAY underwent a rebrand, which introduced new types of content such as news articles, interviews, videos and podcasts. These changes help to address the shift in information consumption habits towards online news sources. What lies ahead in 2021? The competition for media coverage continues to be intense this year as Thailand has to grapple with both the COVID-19 outbreak and the political tension. Consumers are closely following news about these issues. As these political movements are led by young people, online channels are their preferred source of news and information. As a result, media outlets have adjusted the way news is presented. However, their roles and credibility are often scrutinized as audiences are paying attention to how news is reported in this area. Therefore, the challenge for the Thai media is to build credibility in their news reporting. Besides the main, traditional news outlets, online news agencies, websites and social media influencers will have to work hard to be recognized as trustworthy news sources. For more insights on the key media trends and developments in Thailand and how they have been impacted by COVID-19, get the Thailand Media Landscape 2021 Report. The blog article is written by Sunita Phanraksa, Editor, PR News and Media Relations at InfoQuest, a leading media intelligence organization and news agency in Thailand.
From The Editor’s Desk: April 2021 Press Release Highlights
With the end of the year’s first quarterly earnings season, the number of press releases on “Finance/Investment” declined in April, while the newly emerging topic of “Carbon Neutrality & ESG” continued to gain the audience attention. Compared to the same period last year, the overall press release distribution volume in the APAC region has increased by 39%. Despite being severely impacted by COVID-19, the trade show industry is on track to recovery this year. The number of press releases on business events and exhibitions in APAC saw a huge year-on-year increase of 179%. Top Press Release Topics In April, the most popular press release topics are Carbon Neutrality & ESG, AI and Trade Show News. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="785"] (Source: PR Newswire)[/caption] 1. Trade Show News: The tradeshow industry made a full recovery – with a 179% year-on-year increase in the number of press releases. The recovery was more prominent in Mainland China, where major trade shows were held last month. They included Auto Shanghai 2021, one of the most talked-about trade shows in the automobile industry, followed by the Canton Fair, which was held online. The digital edition of HANNOVER MESSE was also held. Press releases on these trade shows mainly featured new products and solutions that were launched. Examples: Trend-setting SUV HAVAL JOLION at Auto Shanghai 2021; The 129th Virtual Canton Fair Presents Cutting-Edge Vehicles and Parts, Leading Sustainable Development. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="779"] The 129th Virtual Canton Fair’s releases, which were written and distributed by PR Newswire, received over 80k views and more than 2,960 media pickups including Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.[/caption] 2. AI & New Gadgets/Apps: Topics related to new tech remain popular, with a surge of 31% in press release volume compared to March. These press releases covered topics like smart products, AI solutions and corporate digital transformation. Examples: WiMi Hologram Announces Partnership with Electronic Subsidiary of Toyota Group; New TCL 20 Pro 5G Powered by AI-based Pixelworks Processor Disrupts Premium Smartphone Market with Affordable Flagship [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="827"] A Multimedia News Release on Toshiba's lithium-ion batteries.[/caption] 3. Carbon Neutrality & ESG: Like in March, the number of releases distributed on this burgeoning topic saw a huge increase. There was a spike of more than 100% of press release volume as compared to in March. Examples: Toshiba released a Multimedia News Release on how its lithium-ion batteries can drive the future of a decarbonized society; DB Schenker and Lufthansa Cargo launch regular CO2-neutral freight connection from Europe to China. 4. Survey & Research: April saw an 8% increase in the number of press releases on this topic. Most of the content focused on sustainable development, the green economy and digital transformation under COVID-19, and spanned industries from consumer, retail, travel to investment. Examples: IBM Consumer Study Points to Potential Recovery of Retail and Travel Industries, as Consumers Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine; As Digital Gap Widens in Wake of Pandemic, 'Masters of Change' Will Define the Future, According to Accenture Technology Vision 2021 5. Holidays: April provided many events to celebrate causes such as environment awareness (Earth Day), quality healthcare (World Health Day) and workplace safety (World Day for Safety and Health). Get our series of 2021 Communications Calendar here. Recommended Article: From the Editor’s Desk: March 2021 Press Release Highlights Note-worthy Press Releases of the Month 1. Disney Shanghai's news on its spectacular night-time show is both timely and entertaining. The news is appealing as more people in mainland China are looking forward to re-embarking on travel opportunities like in pre-Covid times. The release, which includes multiple visually appealing photos, enables travel media to spin off their own stories. The release secured media coverage from several travel media such as Attractions Magazine, Thrill Geek, and Blooloop – on top of syndication to media outlets. 2. Linking a brand’s news to a major event makes it attractive for media outlets to pick up the news. Chinese tech giant Baidu announced that it would operate fully driverless robotaxi services to the public in Beijing from May 2. The service was launched in Beijing's Shougang Park – one of the venues for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Games and will be used to transport visitors at the games. The press release has clear talking points and multimedia, which makes it easier for the media to develop stories on the same topic. The release received 121 direct media pick-ups in the U.S. market and secured coverage from leading automotive magazine Autoweek, automotive industry media motor1, and popular car news site TopGear. 3. Unified call recording service provider Dubber announced its collaboration with Zoom to enhance worldwide video calls with voice-enabled AI to deliver transcriptions, sentiment data, real-time search and more. The press release breaks the information up into digestible content with bullet points, brief paragraphs, and demarcated quotes. The quotes allow journalists to build a story around the details, which can easily be summarized or paraphrased without a lot of extra work. The release garnered 195 media pick-ups after being distributed to the U.S., Australia and Europe circuits. The news also gained coverage from leading tech media, UC Today and voicebot.ai. - 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,
Travel Bubble: 3 Comms Ideas For Brands
The travel industry has been in a state of flux with COVID-19 movement restrictions and business grinding to a halt. With vaccinations underway and the borders re-opening across APAC, many companies are striving to resume some form of normalcy. In a bid to revive the travel and tourism industry, some governments have been setting up travel bubbles, which would allow quarantine-free air travel in between destinations. However, with the unpredictable COVID-19 situation, travel arrangements remain erratic. After two cancellations, the highly anticipated Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble is set to take off on May 26. New Zealand has resumed its travel bubble with Australia after restrictions to Western Australia were lifted last week. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="570"] A round-up of travel bubble-related phrases trending on social media (3 to 7 May) (Source: Falcon.io)[/caption] As the travel situation remains fluid, brands need to be flexible and nimble in reacting to a varying range of situations, such as reassuring stakeholders and reshaping their comms strategy. While contingencies can be put in place, it is prudent to start planning campaigns and keep in touch with your media contacts with tips from PR Newswire's COVID-19 Travel Industry Recovery Toolkit. To get started, here’re some key messages that brands in APAC have been communicating amid the imminent travel bubbles in the region. 1. Assure consumers that healthcare and safety standards and protocols are in place [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Melco City of Dreams in Macau (Photo: Melco)[/caption] Melco properties in Macau and the Philippines among first in the world to achieve health security verification from Sharecare and Forbes Travel Guide In a bid to attract guests, Melco Resorts & Entertainment announced that its hotel properties in Macau and Manila have recently achieved a Sharecare Health Security VERIFIED® rating. The comprehensive facility verification is from Sharecare, a digital health company and the renowned Forbes Travel Guide Certification. The latter is a renowned independent global rating system for luxury hotels. This certification ensures that health and safety procedures are enforced to minimize the risk and impact of COVID-19 on its business. Trip.com Group partners with The Commons Project Foundation to develop safer cross-border travel initiatives Keeping travellers up to date with accurate information such as cross-border entry and vaccination requirements is crucial in today's unpredictable travel situation. Online travel services provider Trip.com Group has tied up with The Commons Project Foundation and the World Economic Forum to facilitate cross-border travel initiatives. One way is through the CommonPass app, which enables travellers to show their health status to comply with country entry requirements while protecting their data privacy. Trip.com also launched a COVID-19 International Traveler's Guide, an online portal that promotes safe travel protocols and providers travellers with information on the latest entry requirements for countries around the world. READ MORE: Media Pitching Tips in a COVID-19 World from TTG Asia Media’s Group Editor Karen Yue 2. Give insights into travel sentiment and confidence through data Booking.com research explores Australian traveller optimism In light of the Trans-Tasman travel bubble, Booking.com released a report on Australian travellers’ sentiment towards travelling in 2021 and how they felt towards safeguard measures. Key findings include 72% of those polled preferred to go on a holiday than to find true love or success at work. Two-thirds of Australian travellers (67%) felt more hopeful about travelling in 2021 with the roll-out of the vaccines. Agoda: Australians and New Zealanders look to Trans-Tasman travel bubble for public holiday travel adventures in 2021 In the lead-up to the opening of the Trans-Tasman travel bubble, digital travel platform Agoda reported an 850% increase in website searches by Australians looking for accommodation in New Zealand, and a 470% increase for New Zealanders searching for trips to Australia. It also revealed the most searched international destinations on Agoda.com from travellers in both countries. 3. Launch travel-friendly products Evercare launches in-home COVID-19 testing, certified for all cross-border travel With the impending rise of travel bubbles, Hong Kong medical start-up has rolled out an internationally accepted, 99.9% accurate COVID-19 test designed specifically for cross-border travel. Evercare adopted the internationally accepted nasal and throat swab testing method, which can only be administered by nurses. Results are ready within 24 to 48 hours of testing. Tencent Cloud Collaborates with Incheon Tourism Organization in South Korea on Smart Traveling Solution to Boost Tourism Incheon Tourism Industry is tapping on Tencent Cloud's innovative technology to better connect with inbound travellers, reach its target audience with travel and culture content recommendations and understand its Chinese tourists more deeply. Tencent cloud will provide a one-stop smart tourism solution for travellers through its Weixin and WeChat platforms, which enable travellers to bookmark hotels, discover shopping and tour guides, explore local attractions, download coupons, obtain tax refunds before and after travelling, and more. Get PR Newswire's COVID-19 Travel Recovery Toolkit to chart out your comms plan and get travel media pitching tips with this toolkit tailored for PR pros in the travel and tourism industry. This article is written by Kenneth Goh, Senior Marketing Executive at PR Newswire. A former journalist, he relishes keeping track of breaking news as much as telling stories with trends and data. Connect with him via Linkedin.
Doing Good With Technology: A Q&A With Tencent Charity Foundation
Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, lifestyles have evolved considerably and global capital markets are also attaching greater importance to sustainable investments. In response, technology companies are striking a balance between business objectives and social responsibilities through sustainability efforts. To get insights on how technology companies conduct initiatives on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) and CSR (corporate social responsibility), PR Newswire interviewed Ge Yan, Secretary-General of the Tencent Charity Foundation. She discussed Tencent's ongoing sustainability investments, fine-tuning messaging for global audiences and how “no boundaries” communications is driving its Tech for Good initiatives. Ge Yan is the Secretary-General of the Tencent Charity Foundation, Vice President of Tencent Cloud, President of Tencent Cultural Tourism and Assistant General Manager of the Corporate Social Responsibility Division. She joined Tencent in 2008 and took part in various business development initiatives. In 2013, Ms Ge was promoted to Assistant General Manager of the Regional Business Group and Assistant Editor-in-chief of QQ.com, directly managing 13 of Tencent’s websites and three of Tencent’s key verticals: government affairs and community affairs, real estate and automobiles. Tencent Charity Foundation, created by Tencent in September 2006 and registered with China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs in June 2007, is a national private foundation. It is the first charity foundation launched by a technology company in China. Tencent donated 20 million yuan (around US$ 3.1 million) as seed funding and has continued donating a percentage of its annual profits. Recently, Tencent announced that it will sponsor a public welfare investment initiative worth 50 billion yuan (around US$ 7.66 billion) to promote "sustainable social value innovation." [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Tencent's 99 Giving Day raised a total donation of RMB 3.044 Billion Yuan in 2020. (Photo: Tencent)[/caption] 1. Share with us Tencent’s CSR and ESG programmes and communications challenges that are related to them. Ge Yan: Everything that Tencent does is focused on our users and our corporate mission is “Value for Users, Tech for Good”. In line with this approach, we have been striving to fulfil our social responsibilities in all of our businesses. We are the first among our technology peers to launch a charitable organization. As part of this foundation’s philanthropic efforts, we continue to invest in digital technologies that provide support for basic scientific research, online charities, poverty alleviation in rural areas as well as environmental conservation and carbon reduction. In terms of communications related to our social responsibility goals, Tencent is the first technology company in China to publish CSR reports. Since 2008, we have released these reports annually, disclosing ESG initiatives in a special section of our annual financial statement. In addition, we also leverage English and Chinese press releases and corporate newsroom updates to keep our stakeholders, including investors, informed on our Tech for Good initiatives. One key challenge is to communicate how technology serves as an enabler in our CSR programs and why it matters to the communities we partner with. The Tencent Charity Platform is the largest of its kind and consolidates funds from millions of donors. However, as such platforms are relatively rare elsewhere in the world, we extend our product-driven approach to communications: to make these programs interesting, relatable and meaningful. For the 99 Giving Day last year, we highlighted the use of blockchain technology to enhance transparency in philanthropic drives and extended the campaign to Hong Kong. 2. On Tencent’s Tech for Good initiatives, what are some of its communication highlights in the past year? Ge Yan: Our communications plan is aligned with current trends and key social issues, with an emphasis on how technology may enhance societal welfare in the post-COVID-19 context. To cite an example, the launch ceremony of Tencent’s 99 Giving Day campaign in 2020 was held in a temporary hospital in Wuhan to be in tune with public sentiment. We subsequently launched a light show in collaboration with 1,000 buildings lining the banks of the rivers that flow through Wuhan. The campaign’s logo - a small red flower – was projected onto buildings, including the landmark Yellow Crane Tower. This “no boundaries” approach to technology adoption created a feast for the senses, drawing widespread attention both within China and abroad. Our Foundation’s videos garnered a record 452,000 views during this campaign and attracted the attention of leading global media including the Financial Times, Business Insider, and Morningstar. This has helped our message reach a more diverse global audience. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="750"] The 99 Giving Day logo projected onto the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, China. (Photo: Tencent)[/caption] In early 2021, we announced the launch of our ESG-related carbon neutrality program, using various technologies to help achieve zero carbon emissions. As part of an initiative to reduce energy consumption, the Tencent Cloud Data Center in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province, has been equipped with many rooftop solar panels, which generate clean energy. This Data Center was launched in July 2020 with a capacity of over 1 million servers and is the first ultra-large data center established by Tencent Cloud. The PUE (the ratio of energy consumed by the data center relative to the energy consumed by the equipment) is below 1.25, which is the lowest in the region. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="621"] Tencent Cloud Data Center in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province (Photo: Tencent)[/caption] 3. When planning Tech for Good communications within China and in the APAC region, what’re the differences in your communications approach? Ge Yan: Across the APAC region, we face audiences with different cultures and levels of digitalization. In China, our campaigns may leverage cultural icons such as the Yellow Crane Tower. In addition, the power of technology is more readily understood due to China’s technology ecosystem. For international communications, we highlight universal values that will appeal across cultures while answering the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind the Tech for Good initiatives. For example, we highlighted that Tencent Music Entertainment organized an online concert, Learn to Love Yourself as a conclusion to 99 Giving Day last year. This concert tapped on technology to bring fans and musicians together and shares a powerful message of caring and healing amid COVID-19. 4. What do you think are the indicators to assess the impact of Tech for Good communications? Ge Yan: We assess communications impact on three levels. First, reaching various stakeholders, including users, shareholders, government agencies, business partners, public interest organizations and local communities. Second, attracting additional peers, business partners and industry experts to engage and respond. Third, projecting the value of sustainable development and positively influencing our business strategies and practices. To achieve these objectives, we need a deep understanding of industry trends and the demographics of the target audiences to select the right story angles, while maintaining the consistency and frequency of our messaging to influence these audiences. Read more press releases on Carbon Neutrality here 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. Interested to amplify your news or get started on crafting your press release? Get in touch with us here. This blog post is written by JX Tan, Head of Content at PR Newswire.
From the Editor’s Desk: March 2021 Press Release Highlights
PR Newswire distributes numerous press releases on a multitude of industries across APAC daily. From the high volume of press releases, our editors glean key press release trends, buzzy topics and note-worthy press releases in this new monthly column, From The Editor’s Desk. In Q1 of 2021, companies in APAC demonstrated strong potential for business recovery from COVID-19 challenges. In March 2021, the overall press release distribution volume showed a 36% year-on-year increase. The month’s trending topics were “Earnings”, “AI”, “Carbon Neutrality” and “Holidays”. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="836"] Source: PR Newswire[/caption] Top Press Release Topics [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="648"] Press releases on carbon neutrality saw a high month-on-month increase in March 2021.[/caption] 1. Earnings: During the first earnings season of the year, 168 earnings releases on fourth quarter and fiscal year 2020 financial results were distributed in March. The most popular topic of the month was still Finance/Investment. March saw a big increase (33%) with 208 releases distributed, compared to February (140 releases). Examples: Acquisition/merger announcements by Sina, Alibaba Group and Yum China; China Distance Education, China Customer Relations Centers, Ruhnn announced going-private transactions 2. AI & New Apps: Topics related to new tech were popular, with 39% increase in such press releases compared to February. Examples: Huawei launched Top 10 trends of data center facilities; Cambridge Quantum announced largest ever natural language processing implementation on a quantum computer 3. Carbon Neutrality: A burgeoning topic in March. Carbon neutrality has become an important goal for enterprises, which is an integral part of their sustainability plans. Examples: ST Telemedia Global Data Centres pledges to become carbon-neutral by 2030, as part of its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy; Baidu Receives Green Light to Demonstrate Commercialized Autonomous Driving 4. Holidays: March saw events such as International Women’s Day, World Consumer Rights Day, and World Sleep Day. These releases were focused on corporate social responsibility initiatives by companies. Read More: 2021 Planning: How COVID-19 Changed Press Release Trends? 3 Note-worthy Press Releases of the Month Clé de Peau Beauté’s release on its philanthropic award was picked up by The Taiwan Times, which also used photos from the release. The release had 690 media pick-ups globally. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="451"] TTG Asia's coverage on Trip.com's news on its new train booking features[/caption] Leading global travel services provider Trip.com launched new train booking features and seat selection services in South Korea to enhance safer travel around the world. A few days after the release of this news (and 101 syndicated media pick-ups in APAC later), travel trade media TTG Asia reported on the news and carried quotes from Trip.com’s South Korea General Manager that were in the press release, among other details. Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund’s press release on the results of its JUMPSTARTER 2021 Global Pitch Competition earned 113 syndicated pick-ups across media outlets in APAC. Key media coverage included an article on Futureiot.tech, which reported the news and carried quotes from the press release. - 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,
Top Investor Relations Trends to Watch in 2021
Cision, our parent company, recently partnered with the US-based National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) to release the 2021 State of Investor Relations report, an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities IR teams are facing in a still uncertain time. For the study, Cision and NIRI spoke with senior IR leaders from companies representing a broad set of industries and market caps to get their views on 1) how they responded to an unprecedented year with a crisis around every corner and 2) where they see the industry headed. Among the findings, four major trends emerged: Trend 1: Embracing Technology and Innovation [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="433"] Source: Cision 2021 State of Investor Relations report[/caption] It should come as no surprise that COVID-19 was a major disrupter for the IR industry. The vast majority of respondents (83 percent) said the virus had somewhat or strongly impacted their programs. Yet, more than more than 90 percent felt satisfied with how they pivoted to deal with the new reality. For many, embracing new technology was the key to their success in connecting with portfolio managers, shareholders, analysts, retail investors and the broader financial community. Many IR teams pivoted from face-to-face meetings to video and phone calls. One participant cites how the move created more engagement from portfolio managers, who normally do not travel but could easily join a virtual conference. READ MORE: Investor Relations Pros Share Communications Tips Amid The COVID-19 Uncertainty Trend 2: Increased Focus on CSR and ESG [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="334"] Source: Cision 2021 State of Investor Relations report[/caption] Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives got renewed focus in 2020, spurred in part by the protests for social and racial justice in the US that began in May. According to one participant: "This year really accelerated what investor relations professionals were having to communicate around ESG, primarily [around] human capital measures, diversity, inclusion, health, and safety of employees, and benefits offered during COVID." Looking ahead, IR will continue to highlight companies’ ongoing investment in CSR and ESG initiatives as consumers, investors and partners gravitate toward more purpose-driven businesses. Similarly, while Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has long been part of IR communications for many companies, over a third of IR respondents (36 percent) indicated that the events of 2020 brought the conversation further into the spotlight for their organizations. Examples of ESG-related press releases in APAC: Award-winning Sequis Tower Pivots Towards Sustainability In Face Of The Pandemic [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Award-winning Sequis Tower Pivots Towards Sustainability In Face Of The Pandemic. Source: Sqeuis Tower[/caption] Sequis Tower, an office building in Jakarta's Central Business District, offers a sustainable, eco-friendly and safe working environment for companies amid a renewed focus in these areas by various businesses amid the global pandemic. Through innovative architecture and high technology, Sequis Tower aims to help companies achieve their ESG goals. The building's green features include AI temperature detection, UV-C light to sanitize the air and a contactless door entry system to help limit the spread of COVID-19. ST Telemedia Global Data Centres Launches Group ESG Plan, Pledges to Become Carbon-Neutral by 2030 Singapore-based data centre provider ST Telemedia Global Data Centres unveiled its new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, which outlines its ambition, goals and targets for the next 5-10 years. In light of climate change concerns, the company plans for its data centre operations to be net carbon neutral by 2030. It is also committed to the world-class safety performance of construction and operational activities, among other initiatives. Firmenich Singapore Leads on Equality in the Workplace, Reaching Next Level of Global EDGE Certification Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, upgraded its EDGE Certification for gender equality in the workplace to the next level. It is one of the two companies in Singapore that have the EDGE certification measures where organizations stand in terms of gender balance, pay equity, equitable career flows and an inclusive culture. In Singapore, the company has had an exceptional track record in the recruitment and integration of visually impaired sensory panelists. Trend 3: Newswire services continue to dominate When it comes to releasing their quarterly earnings reports, all respondents – without exception – said they rely on newswire services. Nearly all of them (98 percent) also post the information on IR websites, while 30 percent utilize social media. Contact CRMs were also among the top communications vehicles for IR teams. As for what messages IR professionals are communicating via these channels, the vast majority (90 percent) are actively engaging investors as they predict and react to trends. Nearly two-thirds are using them for disclosure purposes, while around 20 percent are commenting on market volatility and mergers and acquisitions. Activism, crisis communication, and financing were also cited. READ MORE: Earnings Press Releases Distributed by PR Newswire Trend 4: Planning Around an Uncertain Future [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="344"] Source: Cision 2021 State of Investor Relations report [/caption] When asked what their plans were for their 2021 events (including shareholder and annual meetings or investor days), 45 percent of respondents said they will host a fully virtual event, while 42 percent said they are undecided. Only 6 percent plan on hosting in-person events, while 4 percent said it will be a hybrid (both virtual and in-person). Heading into 2021, one of the biggest priorities for IR teams will be finding new and creative ways to interact with current investors -- and attract new ones to their companies. Many are also planning to enhance existing digital tools such as their IR website. Along the way, they will continue to assess how their current virtual engagement strategies are working and adjust accordingly. For more insights on how Investor Relations pros pivoted their strategies to face a challenging 2020 and adjusted their strategies for 2021, download our 2021 State of Investor Relations Report. This article is adapted from 4 Investor Relations Trends for 2021, which originally appeared on Cision.
2020 Taiwan Media Landscape Highlights
Overview 2020 was a year of changes in the media industry in Taiwan. Besides adapting to new technology, media companies also had to accelerate the speed of digital transformation to keep up with fast-paced developments. Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic injected more uncertainties into the industry. With the fast-evolving situation, news organizations have to quickly change their editorial directions and scope of coverage, while working within movement restrictions. To sustain in a competitive landscape, companies are tapping on new business models such as paid content subscriptions and producing innovative content in new formats. Key Developments Notable Movements: CTiTV News channel exited from Taiwan’s satellite broadcast network as it failed to get its license renewed by the National Communications Commission last year. The decision sent shockwaves in Taiwan’s news industry. CTiTV News is now broadcasted live on its YouTube channel, which has more than 1 million subscribers. One of its popular programmes, Sisy’s World News was transferred to rival network TVBS. United Evening News, which was Taiwan's only evening newspaper, ceased publication last June. Its Chief Editor Wang Mao-chen shared that the dip in its advertising revenue was a result of media digitalization, changing habits of readers and the impact of the pandemic. Move Towards Paid Content: Apple Daily News in Taiwan is moving towards implementing a paid subscription system for its digital content. This move comes after the company has witnessed declining advertising revenue in a competitive media landscape. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="809"] Zi Media is an online media outlet that aggregates news and articles from media outlets and social media users.[/caption] New Avenues for Revenue: Some media companies are generating revenue from digital advertising allocation systems. Breaktime Inc, a Taiwanese AI-based online publishing platform, provides data consulting services that help bloggers and publishers generate advertising revenue, and it runs ZiMedia, an online media outlet that aggregates news articles from media outlets and social media influencers. The highly popular site, which is ranked 36th in online traffic in Taiwan by Alexa, is home to a large user-generated content community. ZiMedia has proven to be commercially viable, with an 82% take-up rate of its online advertising space. Breaktime also runs another user-generated content website Wreadit that analyzes extensive user data and habits to develop new content. READ MORE: 2020 Hong Kong Media Landscape Highlights New Key Media Outlets [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="653"] Goodest Channel by Apple Daily[/caption] Goodest Channel Apple Daily started Goodest Channel, a subscription-based media that offers paid content including in-depth news, documentaries and exclusive interviews and feature stories to attract more subscribers. Topics that Goodest Channel covers include financial investment, food and current affairs. 17LIVE 17Live is a newly established bi-monthly magazine by the Taiwanese live video streaming mobile app. It covers pop culture and entertainment, including topics like fashion, beauty, food and lifestyle, and features stories on celebrities. The magazine incorporates content from 17Live's online streaming service that delivers real-time information that is popular among audiences from 15 to 30. ETToday ETToday has transformed into a full-fledged online media platform. Last year, ETToday released a new series of online programmes, including talent show Jungle Voice, cooking programme, CooKing and a new short video platform, iM that gathers content from news sites and online influencers, and offers original variety shows. 2021 Media Outlook News outlets will continue to push ahead in their digital transformation journey despite challenges, such as declining viewership of traditional media, increasing competition from online sites and slimmer profit margins from traditional advertising. This year, two media trends will emerge. Firstly, more media companies will provide online live-streaming platforms and podcasts that offer innovative narrative and interactive experiences, so content becomes more attractive to viewers. Through sponsorships, product placement and online advertising, media companies can receive additional sources of revenue. Secondly, more media outlets will operate on a content subscription model. Audiences can look forward to more in-depth and well-produced content that are customized to their interests. READ MORE: 2021 Asia-Pacific Media Landscape Outlook This is the 7th and final instalment of PR Newswire’s 2020 Asia-Pacific Media Landscape series. Our Audience Development team, which is based in 9 markets in APAC, gives an overview of media developments across the region. For more information on receiving media insights, get in touch with us here.
