Fate can also dictate the news agenda. For example, a pileup of several vehicles happens along Sydney’s major thoroughfare. At the same time, you are about to hit send on a press release about new, affordable car insurance plans. As the news break, you question whether this is the right time to be pitching such a story which can be seen as controversial and advantageous to the insurance company. Can the release wait until a few days after the accident when emotions aren’t high? As with other things, timing is key. You can either get the release out now, or specify a date when it can be published.
There’s many ways around bending the news, and one of them is called an “embargo”. A press release embargo means a media agency is prohibited from publishing an article until a specified date, or until certain criteria are met. Basically, if the media breaches that agreement, the company can withhold information from it in the future. In the above situation, the timing of the release is open to interpretation: it can be good or bad, depending on the reader.
Marketing experts, however, highlight the following as being good and bad times when it comes to issuing a press release:
Weekends and Friday afternoons
Weekends are often slow news days for media outfits because offices generally have no work. Releases made on weekends are largely ignored as the staff focuses on producing legitimate news articles. Alternatively sometimes big announcements that companies don’t want too much attention about are released on a weekend or at a critical news time, such as interest rate rises. The Reserve Bank is famous for doing this a few minutes before Melbourne Cup every year.
Mornings
Mornings are a good time to send press releases, but not too early. PR professionals estimate 9:30 a.m. as the ideal time, to avoid having the release buried under other pending releases. In the afternoon, 4:00 p.m. is the best, just before the work day ends for most offices, and when media outfits are busy finalising the day’s news line-up.
There’s many ways around bending the news, and one of them is called an “embargo”. A press release embargo means a media agency is prohibited from publishing an article until a specified date, or until certain criteria are met. Basically, if the media breaches that agreement, the company can withhold information from it in the future. In the above situation, the timing of the release is open to interpretation: it can be good or bad, depending on the reader.
Marketing experts, however, highlight the following as being good and bad times when it comes to issuing a press release:
Weekends and Friday afternoons
Weekends are often slow news days for media outfits because offices generally have no work. Releases made on weekends are largely ignored as the staff focuses on producing legitimate news articles. Alternatively sometimes big announcements that companies don’t want too much attention about are released on a weekend or at a critical news time, such as interest rate rises. The Reserve Bank is famous for doing this a few minutes before Melbourne Cup every year.
Mornings
Mornings are a good time to send press releases, but not too early. PR professionals estimate 9:30 a.m. as the ideal time, to avoid having the release buried under other pending releases. In the afternoon, 4:00 p.m. is the best, just before the work day ends for most offices, and when media outfits are busy finalising the day’s news line-up.
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