A press release is a formal written announcement distributed to media and news outlets to share news about a business, organisation or person. A well-written UK press release follows a specific structure: headline, sub-headline, dateline, lede, body, quote, boilerplate, media contact.
When a press release is the right tool
- Formal announcements (funding, M&A, appointments).
- Product launches with specific news hook.
- Research or data reveals.
- Policy responses.
- Partnership deals.
- Regulated disclosures (UK MAR for listed firms).
When a press release is NOT the right tool
- Opinion pieces and thought leadership (use op-ed pitches).
- Feature stories (use direct journalist pitches).
- Routine company updates that are not newsworthy.
- Most product launches (one-to-one pitches outperform broadcast releases).