Why Press Releases?

I think that question can be answered by the people who first came up with the idea.

A Little History

The origins of the press release can be traced back to 1906, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At that time there was a train wreck involving the Pennsylvania Railroad Service that killed 50 people. Terrified by the negative publicity the accident might receive in the press and hurt the company's reputation, the Pennsylvania Railroad Service collaborated with a young journalist that came up with a great idea.

With his help, Ivy Lee convinced the company to write their own version of the accident and submit it to the media before the media could come up with their own negative story. By doing this, the media had a ready story and the company had the chance to write their own version and maintain it's reputation. To read more click here.

Press releases are widely used today in the industry. Organizations either write their own press release by their marketing teams, or they hire an agency to do it for them. In the above example the press release written by Ivy Lee was published in the media as is, meaning the publisher did not change or revise the submitted story, which was fortunate. You have to keep in mind that your submitted material can be changed by the media. Once you submit it, you have no control over what gets published. But by submitting it, you can greatly influence what the media reports! And thats why press releases can be very effective.


Reference:

The Origin of the Press Release and Its Importance to Press Release Marketing. (2012, January 21). Retrieved from Press Release Monkey: http://www.pressreleasemonkey.com/the-origin-of-the-press-release-and-its-importance-to-press-release-marketing