A look at high-performing press releases from March and other trends for PR pros to know
In somewhat of an evolution of my column on the most impressive press releases of the month, I want to bring you an even more data-driven look at the press releases that are making waves on the wire and in the media. I invite you to take a look at some of the highest performing press releases from the last month and consider which tactics they’re using that you can apply to – and enhance – your own press release creation and distribution strategy.
March releases performing well on prnewswire.com:
These releases captured some of the most eyeballs in the past month. Was it a compelling headline that made each so popular? Eye-catching visuals and an easy-to-read layout? Great story telling elements? Why not all of the above? Take a look and judge for yourself:
- On Wednesday, March 30: Jersey Mike's Donates ALL Sales to the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games
- CBS INVITES AMERICA TO 'COME ON DOWN' - THE ICONIC CBS ORIGINAL GAME SHOW "THE PRICE IS RIGHT" CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF FUN WITH A 50-STOP NATIONWIDE "COME ON DOWN TOUR"
- BNY Mellon Announces Leadership Succession Plan Naming Robin Vince CEO-Elect
March releases with some of the highest multimedia engagement on Cision channels:
Here at Cision, we’re also touting the benefits of using multimedia in your press releases. Not only does including visual elements help to break up the text and provide more context for the story you want to tell, multimedia has been proven to increase reader engagement. Below are just a few press releases that exemplify best practices with multimedia.
- On Wednesday, March 30: Jersey Mike's Donates ALL Sales to the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games (video)
- The world's first virtual beer is here, Cheers to Heineken Silver (video)
- The Polls Are Open - Cadbury Needs YOUR Vote to Determine the Newest Cadbury Bunny (photo)
Earned media spotlight:
- Heineken’s “first virtual beer” story received a lot of earned media, including this BBC coverage: Heineken launches virtual beer in self-mocking metaverse 'joke'.
- Another release that received quite a bit of coverage in March was an ESG-focused announcement from Stellantis and LG Energy Solution. This Bloomberg article, for example, used the same executive quote found in the release; and CNBC cited many of the data points also found in the press release.
Trending news for PR pros to know:
The Ukraine-Russia war continues to have an impact on trending news, of course. The keyword “Ukraine” appeared in releases on our global wire 124 times from January 1 to February 22 and 964 times from February 22 to March 31.
March examples of Ukraine-related press releases included:
- Boeing Commits US$2 Million to Support Humanitarian Response in Ukraine
- Ball Corporation Announces Decision to Leave Russia
- TD increases donation to $1 million in support of resettlement efforts and humanitarian relief in Ukraine and globally
- McCormick Announces Suspension of Operations in Russia and Details Humanitarian Efforts for Ukraine
Other trending keywords from March:
- “Digital transformation” was used 718 times throughout press releases in March (of particular note are its use in these releases from Google on March 23 and March 28). This compares to its use in February 637 times; in January, 654 times.
- “NFT” was used in 370 releases in March versus 315 in February and 272 in January
- “Supply chain” topped February, with 1,830 in March; vs. 1,698 in February (and a high of 1,892 times in November).
Inspired by what you’ve seen here and ready to take your next press release to the next level? See how PRNewswire can help.