1. Press Releases
In the good old days, press releases were printed out and mailed to the media. However, with the advent of technology, the media releases that I have sent out are rarely in hard copies, but all through email. The exceptions that I have encountered are when a creative press kit is utilised to capture the attention of the targeted journalists, or when the press releases are distributed personally at press conferences.
There are obvious pros and cons to this, as a digital release would reach the journalists so quickly, but may not be noticed as their mailbox are usually bursting at its seams. But with the attention span of our audiences (and us!) getting shortened and the need for instant news growing, it becomes essential for hot news to be delivered as quickly as possible.
Press releases can also now be uploaded online onto portals such as Mynewsdesk (www.mynewsdesk.com). This increases the exposure of your press release exponentially, as journalists or individuals can search for news and updates in real time automatically anywhere in the world. Someone from Austria could pick up your press release that was written in Singapore just by browsing through these platforms. I find that so cool and exciting, and it really brings the point across - technology makes the world so so so much smaller.
2. Newsletters
Likewise, in a corporate communications setting especially, corporate newsletters are rarely printed out for every employee in the company, but simply sent to their inboxes. So easy and environmentally-friendly!
3. E-invites/eDM/e-Cards
I'm sure everyone is familiar with these, but it really wasn't too long ago (maybe 10 years ago?), when I was still receiving birthday and Christmas cards from my friends. In the same vein, companies who used to send physical cards, invites to the media, and direct mailers have gradually stopped doing so, and started relying on communicating electronically.
My company is totally paperless. I create eDMs twice a week, and send out e-invites to the media to our events. Maybe it is just because I'm an old soul by heart, but I do miss the personal touch of snail mail and actual hard copies of things.
With technology developing so rapidly (even more so within these past few years), I'm really excited to see what changes it would bring to the PR industry, and how our working styles and habits would evolve in time to come. Maybe we will all check back on this blog in a couple of years, and laugh at how old-fashioned or "predictable" a blog or a written press release is!
That's it, friends. Hope you enjoyed my final post, and see you in space!
3 comments:
This was a really great read!
It's interesting that the company is totally paperless! It's also crazy how much time we spend online or in front of a computer at work!
I think over time we would see everyone spending almost the whole day in front of a screen!
Caitlin
I agree that this was a really interesting blog post!
A paperless office seems wonderful!
My intern experience was completely different.
A paperless office is a far away dream for West Australian Ballet (where I interned). As the target market for WAB is the elderly and children, the company believes paper is an essential tool. I understand this but still found the amount of paper used to be astronomic.
Everything from invites to programs, tickets to newsletters and brochures are printed and sent by mail to ballet patrons. This is also very time consuming.
As a young person I expected paperless or at least a very small amount of paper within that office, but I was mistaken.
It is interesting to see how different companies have completely different methods but can still be equally as successful.
It sounds like you would have learned a lot from such a progressive company!
Eve :)
I agree that this was a really interesting blog post!
A paperless office seems wonderful!
My intern experience was completely different.
A paperless office is a far away dream for West Australian Ballet (where I interned). As the target market for WAB is the elderly and children, the company believes paper is an essential tool. I understand this but still found the amount of paper used to be astronomic.
Everything from invites to programs, tickets to newsletters and brochures are printed and sent by mail to ballet patrons. This is also very time consuming.
As a young person I expected paperless or at least a very small amount of paper within that office, but I was mistaken.
It is interesting to see how different companies have completely different methods but can still be equally as successful.
It sounds like you would have learned a lot from such a progressive company!
Eve :)
Post a Comment