Press release competition: the judging criteria

So what is the judge of this year's Guild press release competition looking for?
Well here it is straight from the pen of Cedric Porter, editor of competition sponsor Farm Business.

What I'm looking for is a product that or angle that is genuinely new.
As all editors, I get hundreds of releases in a week. I estimate that I only follow up on around 5% to 10%.
There are too many releases that are a variation on previous ones. These can be very frustrating and from a PR point of view very counter-productive - too many releases means that I'm likely to ignore them, potentially leading to the loss of a good and useful story.
For product releases, it is important to make it clear what benefit the new product/service or development will provide its target audience.
Releases saying that x has repainted the wheels on its tractor range are unlikely to impress.
For releases about issues/news then extra information allowing me to tackle the subject from a different angle is helpful. When using releases I always try to put a different perspective on the story to make it stand out from the competition.
Naturally, releases need to be well written and spelling needs to be correct - particularly of products and people and it is always useful to have reference to any titles of people quoted. This is particularly important for women who might prefer Mrs or Miss to Ms.
Contact numbers are important and not just those of the PR agent.
Speaking directly to the person quoted is preferable and it is vital they are available for comment. Too many times I have got releases where the contact is not avaialable/gone on holiday or their secretary knows nothing about the release and feels affronted that anyone should want to be in contact.

I expect the winner of the competition will be someone who comes up with a release on a truly different product/service/news story that is written clearly and with ample information to follow up on.

The wooden spoon is likely to go to a release without a particularly different story to tell that comes from a PR agency that can show it is putting out a certain number of press releases a month.


Well there it is. As a mere hack I agree fully with Cedric; too much time has been wasted following up press releases only to find the person named has disappeared. A lack of co-ordination between PR and client and a disaster for all concerned.

So now you have what the judge is looking for, go for it! Let's have a batch of lively, informative and truly interesting material this month.

I look forward to awarding my bottle of malt to the overall winner. I must confess that the biggest pleasure I'll get is from sending out the other, smaller bottle to the recipient of the wooden spoon.

Don't let it be you; you have been warned.

Perhaps in the interests fairness we should have a prize for the worst "news" story of the year. I'm all ears for potential entrants.

Best of luck to all



Joe