Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

The world's worst press release landed in my inbox the other day.

Competition is stiff for that title but this release, which came with the subject line, "Lifesaving information for Chicago citizens," ran away with the crown.

After a cheery, "Hi Mary," it began:

"We are only a little over a halfway through with 2017 and Chicago's violence shows no signs of stopping."

No argument there. Violence is the curse, the tragic flaw, the interminable disease of this great city — a psychological undercurrent even in the many neighborhoods that rarely witness it; and this wasn't the first press release I've ever gotten that takes note of that fact. I routinely get pitches involving violence, some with ideas that sound productive, like programs that work with kids in struggling parts of town.

The world's worst press release wasn't one of those.

Should you REALLY invest in a PR Section on your website? We think not-- and here's why.The time has finally come: You can go ahead and get rid of that “Company News” section.

Nobody’s reading it. In fact, a recent analytical report compiled by Chris Scott of Headscape suggests that the fewer than 1% of visitors who DO read your press releases tend to leave your site shortly after.

So there you have it: your company news page – with all its press releases, employee event descriptions, award notifications and job promotion updates – is actually driving your prospects away...

The practice of public relations is so powerful that the simple act of composing a press release can turn an ordinary citizen into a raving monster. This is PR Dummies.

Going WAY haywire!!! on subluxated flackery, every week.

The common practice of using current events as a "news peg" for press releases, no matter how tenuous the connection between the event and the PR item in question, is so ingrained that no level of national horror can stamp it out. So the Aurora Dark Knight massacre has brought with it a predictable and depressing wave of massacre-pegged press releases. But none have quite the savoir faire of this one, from a Minnesota chiropractor. (Our correspondent notes that an apology for this went out the day after she received it.)

[Stunning poor taste, insensitivity and a PR fail with this press release. Mind-boggling! - JD ]

Sometimes, when I boil down a piece of writing, I find nuggets of truth embedded within a matrix of jargon and bullshit. But sometimes, I just find nothing but platitudes, emptiness, and evidence of incompetence. That’s the apparent communications strategy of Revolt PR.

Here’s what the press release says: Revolt PR believes it can help you reach millennials, and it has a new web site. It takes 270 words to say so. And it’s a revealing exercise in why, if you have nothing to say, you should say nothing.

Need a news fix? How about rack of goat; a score of new websites; 10% retail savings; a two-month old talk show appearance; NYPD Nudie cop; 50 year-old abs; aerospace engineers and car repairs; albinos in Tanzania; air hockey and better relationships; the end of a store sale?

We’ve got it all in the 2nd installment of our Bad News Releases feature.

Our first collection of bad press releases was our most popular post in 2010. We’ve got 25 brand new press release turkeys that will never get past the editor’s or reporter’s inbox.

Here are seven reasons why these news releases fail...

[Just in time for the holiday, an old favorite: 25 Press Release Turkeys ~ Jeff]