Our Favorites This Week: Unique PR Ideas

Posted on 22. Jun, 2011 by Tara Geissinger + in Presss Release Examples

In many cases, press release writing can get stale. A typical news release announces a new product or service and talks about how “excited” the company is to be launching said product or service. But sometimes you actually find a little nugget of uniqueness — someone who has found a way to spin their news in a different manner. When this happens, it’s inspiring! These are the nuggets that we like to share with our readers, so hopefully their creativity will inspire you as well!

For this edition, we decided to showcase a couple releases that either announce something that’s not the standard new product or service, or that do it in a unique way. No matter what goal you’re striving for with your marketing strategy, you need people to want to read what you wrote! Let’s see how this week’s selections do just that.

This Week’s First Example:

Maryland Solar Installer Certified by Top National Board

Announcing that your company has achieved certification or accreditation by a recognizable organization is basically granting you permission to brag about your accomplishments. It also proves to the media world as well as your customers that your company or brand provides top notch products or services. Don’t forget about this opportunity as a solid press release idea! The fact that the client added a headshot photo really makes this press release stand out. Even in a digital world where people are doing business online, people still want to work with people. As human beings, we’re naturally drawn to other people. Including a picture of a person or people in your PR (which becomes the thumbnail in Google News) can have a great impact on whether or not people click through to discover more.

Up Next For Our Second Example:

Weed Out The Weiners: AccuScreen.com CEO to Share Best Practices on Social Media Background Checks

First of all, let’s talk about a catchy title! We tell people constantly about using recent news to connect to THEIR news, but this is doing it very effectively. You can’t announce something else as your news, but you can certainly relate it to what you’re announcing in your own company. We clicked on this release to see what the connection to a recent scandal was, and were interested in what the release had to say. You might not be interested in background checks, but “Weeding out the Weiners?” Where do we sign up?

Last But Not Least…

Jonathan Perkins, Hartford Personal Injury Lawyer, Sponsors 2011 Wounded Warrior Watersports Event

Here we have a personal injury lawyer sponsoring a charitable event. It not only brings publicity to the sponsor, but also shines the spotlight on an important cause. The lawyer isn’t announcing a promotion, a case he won, or a new staff member, which would be expected. Instead, he’s showing that his firm is not only a legal firm, but that they care about their community as well. The keywords in this release all relate back to the sponsor (the law firm) but allow people to learn about a cause they might have otherwise not known about.

Making this work for you!

What unique ideas have you used for a recent press release? How have you gotten a typical announcement to really have some punch? What makes you click on a release to read more? What kinds of multimedia can you include in your press release to really hook readers? What are some of your favorite press release examples?

Photo Credit! This fun photo of London Street Art was taken by London Attraction Guides and can be see on their Flickr Gallery.

Tags: press release examples, press release samples

10 Responses to “Our Favorites This Week: Unique PR Ideas”

Amber K

24. Jun, 2011

Thanks for the inspiration!! I’ve actually recommended to a couple of my clients to write about their philanthropic deeds, but always get shot down! They don’t think it’s directly related to their business. But in today’s economy when a lot of people aren’t giving as much as they used to, it’s GREAT to read about local businesses still getting involved in their communities!
Megan

24. Jun, 2011

Love the examples! The AccuScreen.com release is so timely, and you can’t help but do a double take at that title — what a clever idea to tie it into current news!
Peggy Malone

24. Jun, 2011

I love the creativity used in the second example. I would probably click on that too!
Good inspiration to get moving on some PR for my own world. Thanks Tara!
Peggy Malone recently posted..My Backyard Vegetable Garden
Liyya

24. Jun, 2011

I love these examples and agree that AccuScreen.com’s catchy title will probably get ANYONE’s attention! I also love to see client’s announce certifications and charity work – it’s something that businesses should really do more of – it really gives the chance to brag about how great you are because you have the certifications to back it up and to humanize your business, showing that you do care!
Katie

24. Jun, 2011

Great examples! I love the last one about the charity work. Charity is something that many companies are already doing and announcing it with a press release is a perfect idea.
Carla Gardiner

24. Jun, 2011

Thanks, Tara. As I read each example of the business owner’s creativity shining through in their press releases it gave me incentive to really meditate on what I want to say in ours. Excellent tips for any business owner with any product, even auto transport.
Carla Gardiner recently posted..Angry Auto Transport Customers and How We Learned to Empathize
Fay

28. Jun, 2011

These are fabulous examples for us to follow here Tara. I’m at the point of doing some Press Releases so these are going to be really useful to help me get the best bang for my buck.
Barb Smith

28. Jun, 2011

Great examples Tara! When writing press releases, it’s always helpful to see ‘fresh’ ideas to get a little inspiration. I am and have been a fan of including pictures or video in my releases – makes them a lot more interesting to the reader, and not to mention the search engines! Thanks again.
IB School in India, India IB School

05. Jul, 2011

I love the creativity used I am and have been a fan of including pictures or video in my releases. what a clever idea to tie it into current news!!!!