POV: It's time to make your press releases less "thrilling"

by Kristen Kauffman, Senior VP, Editorial | SPM Communications

A recent article in Adweek noted the increasing use of hyperbolic language in press releases in 2024, touching on a crusade I’ve been on for years to remove words like “thrilled, proud and excited” from our media materials.??

A scan of PR Newswire databases found the word “thrilled” nearly 20,000 times in releases last year – nearly triple from 2017. The bad news is, we’re going in the wrong direction. The worse news is – it’s hurting our credibility in a tough media landscape.???

We have always counseled our clients to avoid these filler words in our press releases.? We know brands stand out more – not less – when we offer substance, facts, trends and data instead of hype to help reporters write their stories. It may not be as “thrilling” – but it gets the job done.?

A few tips:??

• Break the habit. When you start typing the words thrilled or excited or proud, STOP. Just don’t do it.?

• Dig deeper. Think why the client might be excited about the news and write about that instead. For example, does the news drive a key initiative? Meet a goal? Provide a specific consumer benefit??

• Make your quotes work harder. The quote is usually the only part of the release used verbatim in media stories. Rather than waste that opportunity with a “thrilled” quote, write a quote that delivers key messages for a stronger story.??