The Ultimate Guide to Writing Engaging Holiday and Event News Stories

Loy Krathong Festival, Thailand

PR and marketing experts can often run short of story ideas.When there are no special campaigns or product launcheshappening around your company, what can you do to keep yourbrand top of mind?

Besides the breaking news you find on CNN, there are certainspecial days, trade shows and holidays happening over thecourse of the year, from the traditional holidays like Lunar NewYear to the unique and quirky days like Pi Day that can be a richsource of material for marketers to produce some engagingcontent.

This eBook will provide tips on how to write event-related orholiday-themed stories more appealing to the journalists, followby the common press releases objectives and examplescategorized into four main themes: Traditional Holidays, TradeShows & Industry Events, Special Days, and Awareness Days.

Copyright © 2016 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Don’t overwhelm your audience with ads.

Although it seems to be impossible to omit salesy

promotions during the holiday season, remember

that your story will also be up against countless ad-

like press releases. To set yourself apart from the

crowd, show off your expertise by providing useful

holiday-themed information so your audience will

value your content and trust your brand.

Strikes the emotional chords. Creating emotionally-

relevant touch points is important if you want your

audiences to resonate with the cause you are

championing.

Find the holiday angle. Trending topics around the holiday season include year-end round ups, travel tips, entertainment ideas, holiday recipes and philanthropy causes. Be topical and tell an interesting story that your audiences will remember.

Focus on the why. An awareness day in itself is not a news story. Use it as a hook to discuss trend and explain its relevance to the reporter’s audiences. Consider incorporating the latest market research, polls or voices of key opinion leaders to trigger more conversation.


Don’t Plan Late.

Journalists will not want to receive your story if it’s too late,

but they might not feature it if it’s too early either. Do your

research on the editorial calendar of your targeted media and

check how far in advance they look for stories. Mark down all

the important dates and do some backwards planning.

Offer a new story twist for journalists to write their features.

While many retail brands may focus on nailing a sales surge on

Single’s Day, an airline company can provide a new spin on the

typical event stories by sharing a fun mix of research and

listicle release like “Top 5 Travel Spots for Singles and Tips for

Going Solo”.

Think twice when pulling an April Fools’ Day hoax.

No journalists like to be teased or are willing to let their

professional reputation suffer. Do not violate that trust and

put your credibility at risk by sending a phony news release.

• ‘Tis the season to engage your audience. From the playfully spooky Halloween story to the announcement release of “Disability Pride Emoji” on World Emoji Day, there are plenty of fun and wacky inspirations for marketers. Instead of sharing a 20-page dating research on Valentine’s Day, consider featuring bite-sized content in your release, such as infographics of dating polls or how-to videos to make your content more enjoyable to read.

Don’t be too corporate speak. Whether it’s the ALS ice bucket challenge or the Always #LikeAGirlcampaign, human interest is the key element that makes these campaigns go viral. Heavy use of corporate speak can cause your readers to disregard the content as salesy, leading them to lose their interest in your story.

Don’t overdo it. While it is refreshing to see some zany and off-the-wall content that are different from the typical corporate stories, your audience will turn from being amused to big yawns when they see a holiday-themed story every month. Marketers should not lose sight of the importance of upholding a long-term content marketing plan to keep their audiences engaged.


http://www.thestrengthcoach.com/disability-emoji-ready-for-world-emoji-day-and-ada-25th-anniversary/


Don’t simply use the headline “ABC company to

exhibit at XYZ event” as there is no news value.

To make your story stand out, do not just tell people

what is happening. Identify the heart of your story and

focus on the impact of what is happening.

Highlight your call to action.

Make sure to place your call to action in the first or

second paragraph of your press release. Your readers,

including journalists, do not usually have the time or

patience to finish the entire story.

Don’t overly use industry jargon.

Besides the industry professionals, the media is also

your primary target audience. Make the press release

easy for journalists to digest so they can retell your

story to their general readers.

Use bullet points.

Whether you are writing year-end round ups or

sharing an interesting study on gift buying, avoid the

giant blocks of text. Consider creating holiday-themed

listicles to inspire your readers.

http://misc.prnasia.com/atd/custeventreg.php?event_id=245&utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=slideshare&utm_campaign=ebook-holiday

When the holiday season approaches, consumers are often in the mood for some lighthearted and holiday-themed stories.

According to a new study by Outbrain, consumption of holiday-related content began to steadily increase around early November while the amount of content created struggled to keep up. With the increasing appetite for holiday-themed content, marketing and PR experts need to start their holiday marketing campaigns early to gain a competitive edge.


http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/infographic-consumers-want-holiday-content-and-they-want-it-now-167975

Drive direct sales Share holiday tips (e.g. gift buying, recipe, etc.) Give appreciation Promote goodwill Share an in-depth study, new research or report Promote special events or festivities Drive traffic to the website

Tips for travelling, entertainment and other festivities are no doubt the trending topics around the New Year. Besides listicles, why not top your holiday story with some sweet multimedia elements? Infographic, for example, is a great way to engage your audience and encourage social sharing. See how World Design Capital utilized infographic in its story.

Five New Ways to Spend New Year's in Taipei

1 in 5 Employees Determined to Land a New Job in the New Year, According to CareerBuilder Survey [read]

700,000 Celebrate Chinese New Year in Trafalgar Square, Millions Around the World Join in [read]

Opera House Turns China Red for Lunar New Year Celebrations [read]

Zhouzhuang Brings Back to Life Ancient Traditions Through the Dragon Boat Festival [read]

The German Christmas Market Comes to Stanley Plaza [read]


http://en.prnasia.com/story/139574-0.shtml?utm_source=ebook_holiday&utm_medium=ebook&utm_campaign=PRNreleases

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/1-in-5-employees-determined-to-land-a-new-job-in-the-new-year-according-to-careerbuilder-survey-300196815.html

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/700000-celebrate-chinese-new-year-in-trafalgar-square-millions-around-the-world-join-in-300221275.html





Nowadays, it seems like every day is marked with a health, cultural or environmental observance. From the well-known awareness days like Earth Day to the new pop-up Instagram awareness campaigns like #nomakeupselfie, tying your brand to an awareness day, week, or month has developed into a common PR strategy to spotlight your charity cause and garner media coverage.


Build public awareness Draw attention to your charity work Inspire audience to advocate for your mission Fundraising Drive campaign engagement Promote corporate philanthropy/CSR objective

It is proven that people engage with visual content more than text-only stories. Catering to people who are not aware of pancreatic cancer, this story was a great example of using a multimedia news release that incorporates visual and interactive elements to attract people’s attention and drive engagement. The story starts with some interesting stats that indicate its relevancy to all of us, then it breaks down the key information to an easy-to-read bullet points format. Not to mention those “did-you-know” visuals, the informative video and the click-to-tweet feature that lead readers to give the issue a thought, prompt them to act and spread the awareness.

Second World Pancreatic Cancer Day to Elevate Conversations, Awareness and Education About One of the Deadliest Cancers

On World Water Day, Nestle Waters Expands its TOGETHER 4 WATER Events with Project WET and Reaffirms its Commitment to Water Stewardship [read]

Sands China Properties Go Dark to Support Earth Hour 2016 [read]

New Accenture Research Finds Digital Skills Help Narrow the Workplace Gender Gap [read] (*in Mandarin)

Durex Launches Campaign to Create the First Official Safe Sex Emoji [read]

World Cancer Day: Reflecting on progress and hope for the future in cancer treatment [read]


http://www.prnewswire.com/blog/the-state-of-multimedia-in-press-releases-study-and-infographic-16244.html

http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7292454-world-pancreatic-cancer-day/?utm_source=ebook_holiday&utm_medium=ebook&utm_campaign=PRNreleases

http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7782751-nestle-waters-expands-together-4-water/?utm_source=ebook_holiday&utm_medium=ebook&utm_campaign=PRNreleases


http://www.prnasia.com/story/144137-1.shtml?&utm_source=ebook_holiday&utm_medium=ebook&utm_campaign=PRNreleases

http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/durex-launches-campaign-to-create-the-first-official-safe-sex-emoji-551328591.html

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-cancer-day-reflecting-on-progress-and-hope-for-the-future-in-cancer-treatment-300215109.html


Marketing

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Engaging Holiday and Event News Stories