"89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases"

Lesson #15:  Awards

Today, we're starting Week #3, and we'll concentrate on how to write press releases for routine news events like awards and promotions.

In many cases, journalists will pluck out only three or four sentences from these releases for newspapers or magazines. But you stand a chance of seeing a bigger story if you mention why the recipient received the award. Many press release writers fail to mention this, and it's a key piece of information. 

Let's take a look at a sample press release for an award. This one was written by Yvonne Fitzner, president of the High School of Art and Design Alumni Association in New York City, to announce an honorary degree that the school gave to singer Tony Bennett, a high school drop-out.

I like several things about this press release:

• The quote from Tony, instead of a boring quote from one of the school administrators.
   
• The history about how he got his start as a singing waiter.
   
• The exact time he is scheduled to appear onstage.
   
• The call to action telling readers what to do if they want to be placed on the guest list.

The only thing I would have added would have been links throughout the press release.

Notice the "###" at the end of the release. It's an alternative to "-END-" which I suggested you use in Lesson 11.

Here's the press release:
  

 

Tony Bennett to be Honored on June 29  at Art & Design High School Graduation Ceremony

Bennett, who is also an accomplished painter, will receive an honorary diploma from the high school he attended more than 60 years ago.

(PRWEB) June 27, 2005 -- Singer Tony Bennett will be awarded an honorary diploma at the High School of Art & Design graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 29. The ceremony will take place at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and will begin promptly at 12:00 p.m. Mr. Bennett is scheduled to arrive on stage at 12:15 p.m. to receive his diploma. The presentation will be made by principal John Lachky and alumni president Yvonne Fitzner, who lobbied for the award to be bestowed. Mr. Bennett, who is also an accomplished painter, attended the High School of Art and Design when it was known as the School of Industrial Art. He would have graduated in 1945 but left the school to support his family by working as a singing waiter. Tony Bennett has often spoken with great appreciation about his former high school in his interviews and in his autobiography, The Good Life. In a 2001 interview with writer Mira Tweti, he stated, "I had a wonderful experience. They taught you the basics and techniques of all the art genres and I soon knew this was the real deal for becoming an artist. I owe my singing career to my music teacher, Mr. Jesse Sonberg. At the time I was torn between my two passions of singing and painting, and he encouraged me to stick with the singing, so I did. But I have been fortunate enough to continue painting and it has become a wonderful second career for me as well." The ceremony's keynote speaker will be former judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, who is a candidate for Manhattan District Attorney. Alice Tully Hall is located at 1941 Broadway at 65th Street, New York City. Admission to the graduation ceremony is by invitation only. To be placed on the guest list, contact Mr. Hal Mason, Assistant Principal of Administration, High School of Art & Design, by phone: 212-752-4340 or by email: e-mail protected from spam bots. # # #

Opportunity #15: Death of a major figure in your
                               organization

If a major figure in your organization dies, don't rely only on the newspaper obituary to tell readers what they need to know. Remember, not everyone reads a newspaper. Instead, write a press release and be sure to scatter several links throughout the release leading readers to more in-depth information about the deceased, including, perhaps, an online media room where people can find a variety of photos. You'll learn more about photos in Week 9.

Also, when writing about the deceased, talk about things that are unique to that person such as their hobbies, pets and where they liked to travel. Read more about this in the item I posted at my blog.     

P.S.  If you're new to public relations and you write press releases about routine events such as awards, events and quarterly earnings, you can use press release templates to get you started. Don Crowther's ebook "Creating Powerful Press Releases: 11 Steps to Creating Press Releases That Get Printed" and the companion ebook "Press Release Templates: 10 Templates to Simplify Creation of Incredible Press Releases" are good resources that tie into the free 89-day tutorial you're reading here.  

Tomorrow: Employee recognition ceremonies
 

Need help with publicity?
The Publicity Hound's Resources List includes products and vendors that can help with many aspects of your publicity campaign. You'll find press release writers, publicists, audio experts, ghostwriters and more.
 

***Have you missed previous lessons in this tutorial? You
      can find them below:

Lesson 1     Lesson 2     Lesson 3     Lesson 4     Lesson 5     Lesson 6      Lesson 7     Lesson 8     Lesson 9     Lesson 10    Lesson 11    Lesson 12   Lesson 13   Lesson 14