Every time a company issues a press release, it is officially communicating with the rest of the world. A press release will be used by the media and what you say in a press release can have a huge impact on the image of your business.
In this article, I want to discuss how a press release has to be an integrated effort rather than something that only the marketing communications or press/media relations people do. Let us take a look at a press release by Merck yesterday. As you know, Merck has had a major problem with its image since the recall of Vioxx, a drug for arthritis patients. (Related article: Merck's flawed Vioxx recall strategy) However, the day the media all over the world was reporting that as many 140,000 Americans have been injured by Vioxx, Merck's Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kenneth C. Frazier proudly boasted in the press release, "We have stated previously that we intend to defend these (Vioxx class action) lawsuits vigorously." Merck's CEO Raymond Gilmartin did not want to be left behind in showing complete insensitivity to its customers, and added, "As a company, we are moving beyond the Vioxx withdrawal. We are focused on renewing growth and accelerating the process of change to position Merck to best meet the demands of the market and the challenges of the environment."
While both Frazier and Gilmartin were talking to investors in their press release, these statements sounded too harsh to its customers who feel mistreated by Merck after it recalled Vioxx. In the same week, researchers also reported that Vioxx was marketed to patients who did not need it and were more likely to suffer adverse side effects and another research paper claimed that Merck forced one of its scientists to withdraw her name from after the findings showed that Vioxx indeed was a dangerous drug.
How to write a press release that offends no one?
In this article, I want to discuss how a press release has to be an integrated effort rather than something that only the marketing communications or press/media relations people do. Let us take a look at a press release by Merck yesterday. As you know, Merck has had a major problem with its image since the recall of Vioxx, a drug for arthritis patients. (Related article: Merck's flawed Vioxx recall strategy) However, the day the media all over the world was reporting that as many 140,000 Americans have been injured by Vioxx, Merck's Senior Vice President and General Counsel Kenneth C. Frazier proudly boasted in the press release, "We have stated previously that we intend to defend these (Vioxx class action) lawsuits vigorously." Merck's CEO Raymond Gilmartin did not want to be left behind in showing complete insensitivity to its customers, and added, "As a company, we are moving beyond the Vioxx withdrawal. We are focused on renewing growth and accelerating the process of change to position Merck to best meet the demands of the market and the challenges of the environment."
While both Frazier and Gilmartin were talking to investors in their press release, these statements sounded too harsh to its customers who feel mistreated by Merck after it recalled Vioxx. In the same week, researchers also reported that Vioxx was marketed to patients who did not need it and were more likely to suffer adverse side effects and another research paper claimed that Merck forced one of its scientists to withdraw her name from after the findings showed that Vioxx indeed was a dangerous drug.
How to write a press release that offends no one?
- Always work with the hypothesis that a press release will be read by everyone. There is no such thing as corporate news, investor news, product news, etc. Or in other words, while you may want to please your investors (as Merck tried to do by telling them the company didn't care about lawsuits and was moving on), you do not want to defend others.
- The shorter a press release, the better it is. Be as brief as you possibly can. There is a tendency to say more to try to impress the editors or to make a point with lots of detail. But as a management consultant, I know that a lot of competitive intelligence can be done simply by perusing the press releases. Plus, when you talk more, you are more likely to say something stupid.
- While you might think that you have hired the best public relations people or have a great PR agency, use the people inside the firm effectively. Make sure that different functions within the company can take a look at the press release before it is made public. Will it slow things down? Absolutely, but it is well worth the time it will take.