The Candy Palace Press Release Example

Author: \ October 22, 2017 \ Advertising, Business, Marketing \ 0 Comments

Newsworthy hook & story linking young author to non-profit organization.
Industries: non-profit and publishing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nine-Year-Old Author Inspires Foundation To Feed The Hungry

Nine-year-old Isabel Janavs’ original story, “The Candy Palace,” a playful adventure that follows a young girl as she tries to undo the magic spell of a well-meaning candy monster, teaches children the importance of helping others. Creative and tenacious, Isabel wrote the story with thoughtfulness and purpose, expressly wanting to show other children that there are kids who need help from other kids. It was this combination of creativity and sensitivity that inspired the MMJ Foundation to develop The Candy Palace Program. This program sponsors an annual writing contest that transforms the original story of one Orange County child into a published, illustrated children’s book whose full proceeds are donated to the Kids Cafés Program of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Though the story “The Candy Palace” was not discovered through a writing contest, as the inspiration for the program, it will be the first book published through the program of the same name.

The foundation’s president and, as it happens, Isabel’s mother, Michelle Janavs, recognized an opportunity to encourage and empower children to help others while also promoting reading, writing, and creativity. “Isabel is my daughter but she absolutely surprises me every day with her passion for helping others and her voracious creativity, explains Mrs. Janavs. “I know she’s not the only young person in Orange County with these qualities and I wanted to provide kids with a way to help others that were also fun and resulted in an exciting, tangible achievement. These young authors see their stories published into a real book and the hungry children of Orange County are fed. In fact, it was Isabel’s idea to donate one hundred percent of the profits to Kids Cafés, so I can’t even take full credit for that.” Kids Cafés provides after-school snacks and summer meals as well as nutrition education to underprivileged children throughout Orange County. This program, in particular, has become increasingly important over the last couple of years, as the amount of food needed has increased while donations have decreased due to the recession.

The writing contest will be held annually for Orange County children of all ages and a grant will be provided to a professional children’s picture book illustrator to help create the finished product. “The Candy Palace” will be illustrated by J.H. Everett and will be available for purchase and to retailers in September 2010. A Hope Medal will be awarded to both author and illustrator for their efforts and inspirations.

The Candy Palace Program may be in its infancy, but the MMJ Foundation is confident that Isabel’s story and her book will be just as inspirational to other Orange County children as it was to the MMJ Foundation itself.

Marketing Material vs. Press Releases

Author: \ October 18, 2017 \ Advertising, Business, Internet, Marketing \ 0 Comments

This past Friday one of my consistent clients came to me with a new copywriting project.  She wanted me to write a press release with a hard sell of the benefits of her particular service. She made a common mistake: she assumed that a press release would be written and used the same way as marketing material.  This is simply not the case, and yet plenty of people confuse press releases with marketing material.  My copywriter friends tell me they run into the same problem with their clients. So let me take a moment to explain the difference.

Marketing material is a huge category that encompasses any print or electronic media that sells your product or service, including brochures, websites, radio and TV ads, banners, advertisements, flyers, postcards, sell sheets, product descriptions, direct sales letters and so on.  As a copywriter, when I create your marketing material, I’m focusing on the features and benefits of your product.  The client and I agree on a hard sell or a soft sell and make sure that all the unique selling positions are clearly stated using engaging copy that makes them want to buy.  The goal of any marketing material is to show the consumer that they need this product or service and they need it now.

But press releases are a whole different beast.  Also referred to as “news” releases, they are just that: announcements of news.  These materials do not push the features and benefits of a product or service, though they may certainly explain what the service is or what the product does.  But there should be no “sell” to a press release.  Editors are looking for a news story, so copywriters need to find a news angle for their clients.  You might be launching a new business.  You might have a new product line or hired a new Director Of Marketing.  Maybe you’ve signed on a celebrity spokesperson or have a special limited offer available.  Perhaps you’re responding to a current event with your service (a pizza place brings free pizza to striking union workers).  The point is, a press release must be newsworthy or, quite frankly, an editor will throw it in the “round file” (also known as the wastebasket).

So when you hire a copywriter to write your press release, remember that the goal is to create news about your product or service that peaks the readers curiosity.  Then you can hit them with the hard sell when they visit your website or store.