2009 Vocus Conference Ed Adams

Changing to the Online Press Release

Ed AdamsPublic Affairs Manager

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc.

DuPont at a Glance

• DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and protective apparel.

DuPont and Vocus

• Joined DuPont Public Affairs in 2004 from a non-traditional career path as an Analyst

• Initiated a project with the goal of identifying an enterprise solution to our public affairs needs

• Identified Vocus as a “best solution” and introduced the product to DuPont leadership and the corporate Sourcing Department

• A Vocus client since April 2005 • Participated in several advisory panels at Vocus

Photo courtesy of US Navy

Change Management - The Online Press Release

Benefits

New Reality inCommunications

OrganizationalIssues

ExpectationManagement

Budget

Multimedia

Six Supports

for the Online Press

Release

New Reality in Communications

• This topic is thoroughly covered in other sessions during the 2009 Vocus Users Conference, but there are some key points:– People do not “read” news as much as they “scan” news– Search engines are a daily tool for users (the verb “to

Google”)– The next generation of business leaders grew up with the

internet, and they are use to being engaged– Multimedia has become an expectation

New Reality inCommunications

Change Management - The Online Press Release

Benefits

New Reality inCommunications

OrganizationalIssues

ExpectationManagement

Budget

Multimedia

Six Supports

for the Online Press

Release

Organizational Issues – with a pinch of HR

• Do not underestimate the effort needed to address organizational issues!

• There are two classes of organizational issues, and they must be brought to the surface!

OrganizationalIssues

Individuals• “Placements” are a metric of success – traditional metric• Concern that an individual’s compensation could be influenced• How do I write for the New Reality?

Process• A new way of doing work• New approval process? Maybe a review of digital assets?• What metrics will be used?• What is a “headline impression”?

Organizational Issues – with a pinch of HR

• Address the issues openly• Leadership must discuss and adopt a

new way of “defining success”!• Utilize resources to provide training

sessions regarding online press releases – such as Vocus seminars

• Have people attend together, with leadership support – very stimulating discussions occur afterward!

• Many organizations have very talented communicators with decades of experience and success in traditional press releases – utilize, engage, encourage

OrganizationalIssues

Change Management - The Online Press Release

Benefits

New Reality inCommunications

OrganizationalIssues

ExpectationManagement

Budget

Multimedia

Six Supports

for the Online Press

Release

The Silver Lining in the Economic Cloud – Budget Issues 2009

• For a typical DuPont Global Press Release, two to three online press releases can be distributed for the same cost as a traditional press release

• Your news will appear in Yahoo, Google, Topix searches within a half hour

• Gain flexibility in deciding what news is worthy of proactive work – stories that could not make the budget cut in a traditional setting can satisfy your organization’s criteria for an online press release

Budget

Change Management - The Online Press Release

Benefits

New Reality inCommunications

OrganizationalIssues

ExpectationManagement

Budget

Multimedia

Six Supports

for the Online Press

Release

Cost Effective Multimedia Press Releases

• Traditional press release strategies charge approximately $200 per photo

• PR Web releases permit up to 5 digital assets per release at no extra charge – an efficient and effective way to engage the audience

• More than pictures – graphs can often enhance your message!

• When appropriate – embed a YouTube video!

Multimedia

Some DuPont Press Release Examples

• Study: Consumer's Demand for Sustainable Products Remains Stronghttp://www.prweb.com/releases/DuPont/Sorona/prweb2448384.htm

• DuPont Introduces Innovative Nomex® On Demand™ to Better Protect Firefightershttp://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/03/prweb2240954.htm

• DuPont Unveils Innovative Mobile Wind Machines to Help Improve Corn Yieldhttp://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/02/prweb2121264.htm

Change Management - The Online Press Release

Benefits

New Reality inCommunications

OrganizationalIssues

ExpectationManagement

Budget

Multimedia

Six Supports

for the Online Press

Release

Expectation Management

• This is not Traditional vs. Online Press Releases! Both can coexist for an organization – “success” is when the organization establishes the criteria for such a decision. This situation results in Senior Leadership Support – For instance – quarterly earnings

statements get distributed using traditional press release tools

• Online Press Releases do not get repurposed at Tier One media

• Communicators cannot be judged by “placements” alone – criteria need to be communicated by leadership

ExpectationManagement

Expectation Management

• By appropriately setting Online Press Release “Industry Targets” and keywords – you are targeting your audience

• Communicators will need to be more involved in the process of:– Selecting Industry Targets– Writing to the New Reality – and

using techniques that benefit from reader “scan” as well as SEO

• Coupling a PR Web Press Release with a well designed Vocus email campaign gets your organization’s message to a targeted audience very effectively!

ExpectationManagement

Change Management - The Online Press Release

Benefits

New Reality inCommunications

OrganizationalIssues

ExpectationManagement

Budget

Multimedia

Six Supports

for the Online Press

Release

Other Benefits of PR Web

• PR Web provides clients an opportunity to associate press releases to RSS feeds – you can use a single RSS feed for all of your organization’s press releases, or you can differentiate releases by using different RSS feeds

• The PR Web site generates a type of “multimedia gallery” for its clients by differentiating the assets at the site

Benefits

Change Management - The Online Press Release

Benefits

New Reality inCommunications

OrganizationalIssues

ExpectationManagement

Budget

Multimedia

Six Supports

for the Online Press

Release

Questions?