Having a good story is one thing. Working out the best way to tell it can be surprisingly difficult.
There’s often an instinct in PR to jump straight to the format. A business has an announcement coming up, so it needs a press release. An executive wants to build their profile, so perhaps they should write an op-ed. A big story has broken in the news and suddenly everyone wants to get a comment out.
Sometimes that instinct is right. Other times, starting with the format can mean overlooking what is actually interesting about the story in the first place.
Before deciding what to write, it helps to think about what you genuinely have to say, who is likely to care and why it is relevant now. A significant company development will naturally lend itself to a different approach than an executive with a strong perspective on an industry issue, while a fast-moving news story brings its own set of considerations.
Getting that distinction right can make a big difference to whether a story lands.
There’s a reason the press release remains such a familiar part of PR. When a company has something genuinely newsworthy to announce, it gives journalists the key information in a format they know how to work with.
Funding rounds, acquisitions, significant partnerships, original research and major product launches can all warrant a release. What matters is that there is a clear development at the heart of the story and a reason for people outside the company to pay attention.
One of the most useful questions to ask before writing is simply: what has changed?
If a journalist can understand that within the opening few lines, you’re probably on solid ground. If it takes several paragraphs of background to explain why the announcement matters, the story may need more work before the drafting begins.
This is also where knowing your audience becomes important. A development that is significant internally won't always carry the same weight externally. Reaching a company milestone, making a small update to an existing service or announcing something primarily relevant to current customers may be worth communicating, but that doesn't automatically mean a press release and media outreach will be the most effective home for it.
A strong release gives the news room to speak for itself. The messaging and supporting detail should make the significance clear without trying to turn every announcement into a major industry moment.
Some of the strongest media opportunities start with expertise rather than company news.
An op-ed gives a spokesperson space to develop a perspective on an issue they understand well, drawing on their experience to say something useful about where an industry is heading, what businesses are getting wrong or what deserves more attention.
The challenge is finding an argument that can sustain a full article.
Broad observations rarely do. We already know AI is changing how businesses operate, cybersecurity is important and sustainability requirements are evolving. An editor is much more likely to be interested when an expert can get underneath those conversations and offer a perspective that feels specific to what they are seeing in the market.
That point of view doesn't have to be deliberately provocative. In fact, trying too hard to manufacture a controversial take can weaken an otherwise credible argument. What matters more is having something distinct enough that a reader comes away with a new way of thinking about the issue.
Timing helps here too. Changes in regulation, new technology and shifts in the way an industry operates can all create a window for thought leadership, particularly when an executive has direct experience of the challenges being discussed.
An op-ed should usually have a longer shelf life than the news story that inspired it. A current event might provide the opening, but the argument itself needs enough substance to remain interesting once the immediate headline has moved on.
Then there are the opportunities you can't plan weeks in advance.
A major cyberattack happens. New regulation is announced. Fresh research changes the conversation around an industry. A company at the centre of a market makes an unexpected move.
For journalists covering these stories, outside expertise can help them quickly understand the wider implications. This is where news commentary can be particularly valuable, and where companies that are able to respond quickly have an advantage.
There is a balance to strike, though. Speed matters because news cycles move quickly and journalist deadlines are often measured in hours. At the same time, rushing out a comment that simply describes the news back to the journalist isn't going to add much.
The best commentary usually answers the question that comes immediately after the headline. What does this mean in practice? What could happen next? Is there an implication that hasn't received much attention yet?
That requires spokespeople who are close enough to the subject to offer a useful perspective and a PR process that allows them to do it while the story is still live. Having agreed areas of expertise and a clear approvals process in place can make a significant difference when an opportunity appears unexpectedly.
Choosing one format doesn't necessarily mean that is where the story ends.
Original research is a good example. The initial findings might provide a strong news story for a press release, while one of the trends uncovered in the data could develop into an op-ed with a much broader argument behind it. Months later, the same research might still give a spokesperson useful evidence when a related issue appears in the news.
The same can happen in reverse. A comment written in response to a breaking story might uncover a much more interesting point of view than expected, giving the spokesperson an idea worth developing further.
Thinking this way helps businesses get more from the ideas and expertise they already have without forcing every piece of activity into the same shape.
There will always be moments when the right format is obvious. A major acquisition needs to be announced. An executive has a well-developed argument they want to take to the media. A breaking story sits directly within a spokesperson's area of expertise and calls for a quick response.
The harder decisions tend to come when there are several possible routes, or when a business knows it wants to say something without yet being clear on what the media opportunity is.
That is where going back to the story helps. Think about what is new, what is genuinely interesting to someone outside the organisation and what you can contribute to the wider conversation.
Journalists are ultimately looking for useful material, whether that is a piece of news they can report, an informed perspective they can publish or an expert who can help make sense of a story while it is unfolding.
Choosing the right format gives that story the best chance of reaching them.